I came to the whole Susan Boyle thing a bit late–I think I arrived somewhere in between the backlash and the backlash to the backlash–but one thing got me about her performance of “I Dreamed A Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent : She made Simon Cowell’s face contort into an expression that made it seem like the grouchy mogul actually loved his job. Given that on these shores, he’s been a bastion of fairly grouchy sanity even when he’s claimed to love the performances he’s watched, is it any wonder that he’s thinking about maybe leaving the States behind and focusing full-time on his career as chief arbiter of Britain’s singing talent?
Of course the virginal yet strong-voiced Boyle was a plant; that’s not the point. The point is that Cowell seems to be growing weary of the demands placed on him by his transcontinental commute, the three other judges crowding the table, and, of course, the American market, which, let’s face it, has proven to be more frustrating to his ambitions of flooding the dwindling ranks of record shops with Leona Lewis clones and novelty records by aw-shucks regular folks than his homeland. He’s already talking about putting out a record by Boyle; previous Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts, a.k.a. “the dorky guy who sang opera,” sold four million copies of his debut album. The American Idol equivalent to those two singers is probably Taylor Hicks, whose Soul Patrol-fueled success seemed to frustrate Cowell more than anything and whose album sales haven’t reached anywhere near Pottsian heights.
Of course, this could all be a last-ditch effort by Cowell to save the faltering ratings of this season of Idol, which has had its own struggles this year. (Tonight’s Disco Night should put pretty much all of them, from Danny Gokey’s drunken-uncle flailing to the four judges’ shouting over one another so much that the show runs past any DVR’s limitations, on display.) Or it could just be a way for him to push the producers to lift the age limit on contestants, since it being stuck in the late 20s has resulted in a lot of bred-from-birth singingbots making it past the “Shoot The Freak” stage of the show in lieu of people like Boyle, who are at least more relatable than another preternaturally voiced “only 16-year-old.”
Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent [Dailymotion]
Will Simon Cowell Quit While He’s So Far Ahead? [NYT]
I think Simon’s biggest problem with American Idol is being disappointed - not by record sales, but by the actual performers on stage. Again and again we watch him back a singer, support them, give them useful advice, and then there’s a point where they’re not doing what they’re supposed to do, and Simon just has “enough.” We’re seeing that with Anoop now, who the judges loved at first but Simon can barely disguise his disgust. We saw it before, strangely enough, with Nick Mitchell (Norman Gentle), who Simon gave chance after chance, knowing that the guy *could* sing, but in the end, was more comfortable as the character and never let his potential through. Simon again, showed signs of disgust.
He’s frustrated.
I wouldn’t blame him either. Between all the flying and the contestants that get so far who rarely surprise or do anything different, it probably sucks for him. He builds up contestants like Lil Rounds that always fail him. I’m sure he’s only in it this season to be shocked by Adam every week, like most viewers.
I do think he and the producers have a hand in it– how great would last seaon have been if Carly got to the top 3? She would have continued to surprise and perform unexpected songs. Her Jesus Christ Superstar was trashed by Simon, since he was done with her or whatever, and she was voted out.
But I think to lose him on Idol would be terrible and make it unwatchable–he’s the only one that gives honest criticism and the only one that makes any sense. I would also stop watching if Paula left, so don’t listen to everything I say.
@Lampbane: Well, that, and how many times can you see some vat-bred teenbot belt out “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”? I mean, Simon’s responsible for his own little Hell, and if AI’s showing its age, it’s because it was never hip to begin with, but this season, with the exception of Adam Lambert (glambot ankh-ring-wearing supertheatrical gayboi), we’ve seen all these types on Idol before. Every other contestant is off the shelf. There have been so many Alisons and Anoops and Matts and Dannys that it’s like, ugh, enough.
Also, the cultural differences might finally be wearing on him. Like, in the Susan Boyle clip, I’m surprised as to how relaxed he is in the context of the UK. Like, he’s (quite literally) at home. In Idol, he has to be Mean British Judge, whereas he can be a bit more laddish in the UK. (Calling Susan “darling,” having one of the announcers jibe him for his “load of tosh”, little things like that.) He just seems so much more at ease at home, and that might be a huge factor for him.
Let’s not forget… he has to work with Paula and Randy (and now Kara). Every week it borders on SCTV’s Half-Wits.
At least part of his malaise re: American Idol has to be that he’s less involved in the recording career of the winners/success stories coming out of the franchise. With Leona Lewis, his role was very pronounced, whereas the past AI winners have signed to a variety of labels, and there’s been very little emphasis on his role in their success (compare that to him introducing Leona on Oprah). He sees himself in the mold of Clive Davis, and AI doesn’t give him the chance to be that guy.
That said, I’m sure that the travel, crowded judges table, huge amount of success as a produce of these shows, and boredom do play a role, too.
No joke, Simon’s face @ 3:59-4:03 is some touching grinch’s-heart-grows-three-sizes shit.
Not sure I’d buy the “lack” of success by Idols for Simon’s disenchantment (after all his involvement ends once the show is over). It’s surely all about the ridiculous travel schedule he undertakes. With three shows on the go in Idol, X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent plus his record company in the UK to run and exec producing America’s Got Talent can’t leave much time outside of travelling and studios.
Also don’t confuse BGT with X-Factor as they’re very different shows. Susan Boyle and Potts came out of the former show so should be compared to those that AGT is producing. BGT seems to be his release valve with all the variety acts and if he makes some money out of one of them so be it, but there’s no pressure on him as the show is merely a mirror of a whole ream of previous such variety/talent shows in the UK. It also has a much more condensed live show period - a succession of shows dominate TV for 9 or 10 days until the winner is decided.
With X-Factor and Idol it’s professional pride at stake in making the correct judgements on the show over three months - and then in the UK organising the winner’s career post-show. In many ways it’s easier for him with Idol as he doesn’t have the pressure to guide a debut record post-show, and with America being a far larger market with more sub-genres of music a number of thr Idol finalists are likely to hit big even if the winner disappoints. In the UK you’re toast unless you win and even then of the 4 winners only Leona has had truly major success in both the local and international market.
@dusty vinyl: do the early episodes of x factor have the same freakshow appeal that the audition episodes of idol do?
@Maura it’s very much the same Maura - about 6 audition shows of freaks/glimpses of those who get through. Next up is a couple of shows of bootcamp which equates to the Hollywood round in Idol.
Then there’s the big reveal where the last 28, who have been selected so there’s equal numbers in each of the four categories (groups, over 25s, under 25s girls, under 25 boys), are assigned a judge with much built up drama amongst the judges over which category they want/get.
Each group flies to somewhere euphemistically labelled the judge’s house (rented apartment by the sea) where the judge and an invited confidant whittle down the contendors to their choice of a last three which the judge then has to mentor through the competition.
It’s at this stage that Simon really comes into his own as he absolutely relishes the chance to beat his fellow judges and he carries that enthusiasm through the live shows.
A good summary of the process can be found by looking at the YT video of Leona’s winning story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aSlrAqlaV0#t=02m26s
(there’s been a slight adjustment since this series as the young category has been split into two to increase from 3 to 4 groups adding a judge, and in this video the groups were allocated as soon as they arrivbed at bootcamp so the judges did more individual culling - the last two series has been a collective decision at bootcamp until the last 7 per group).
Another reason I think Simon likes X-Factor is it’s a one day gig. The live show is roughly 7pm-8.30pm on a Saturday night followed by about an hour away fopr othe rprogramming where everyone votes frantically before returning for the live results show and the last two sing off before the judges decide who stays among the two lowest vote getters. Idol takes up a chunk of the week in comparision.