This article is probably 6 months overdue, but there’s no denying it – American Idol is the music phenomenon of the 21st Century. While other genres and trends come and go (nü-metal/ska anyone?), the American Idol brand has lasted 6 seasons, and just gets bigger with each year.

      But an oft-repeated question arises, “Is American Idol good for the music industry?” Detractors point to the cookie-cutter approach to identifying ‘talent’, lack of true diversity among the thousands of Mariah/Whitney wannabes, and the highly dubious voting process.

      I only started watching Idol last season – Season 6 – so I’m relatively new to the phenomenon. Nonetheless, I believe that Idol is not only a force of good for music, but also for entertainment in general. Let me explain.

Conqueror of the tube

      First of all, Idol makes for great TV. Week in, week out, an average of 35-40 million Americans cram in front of the telly to keep up with Simon Cowell’s latest barbs. Even the annual Grammy Awards, supposedly music’s most prestigious night, was thrashed in the ratings by an ordinary episode of AI in 2006.

      However, American Idol is not merely a hit in the US – viewers from all over the world can’t get enough of it. But why the immense popularity? Simple - American Idol is completely accessible, unabashedly providing something for everyone.

      It is often described as a reality TV show, but…is it? In my opinion, Idol fills that nice chasm between reality and scripted television. Unlike your typical America’s Next Top Model/Survivor/Amazing Race, viewers don’t have to put up with endless backstage-bitching by bratty contestants. Indeed, once the Final 12 rounds begin, every contestant comes ready-made with a bright “vote-me!” smile. What’s not to like?

      And in the same way people loved Ross, Rachel et al. in Friends, we can’t get enough of the whole American Idol family, made up of judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, and host Ryan Seacrest. I mean come on, each of them plays a perfectly scripted role – Paula’s the nice one, Simon’s the mean one, and Randy says “dog” and “pitchy” a lot. There’re even hilarious quarrels between Seacrest and Cowell about who’s more queer!

      Besides filling the niche between real/reel TV, what’s great about AI is how controversial it is. For one, there are the annual voting shocks, like when relatively weak singers like Sanjaya Malakar or Jasmine Trias stay in the competition when obviously better singers are voted out. There are also the hilarious William Hung-type clowns, who redefine humiliation in the early weeks of each season.

      But there’s more to AI than that. Ever since the beginning, there’s been a real air of sleaze in the background that, while rarely addressed during the show, is usually subliminally alluded to. Famous scandals include contestants with criminal records, contestants with naughty pictures all over the Internet, and…Paula Abdul, a modern-day beacon of notoriety. She was even alleged to have an illicit affair with Season 2’s Corey Clark!