The Mini Van Soap Box

I had an entirely different post ready to go up - but I decided to save it for another day so I could throw my two cents in on something else. At the risk of alienating some readers - and probably being one of 4 million people who are going to be blogging about this today....I'll keep this short.

I tivo American Idol. I've been, for the most part, a faithful watcher since the beginning. However, over the last few years, the fast forward button on my clicker has gotten more abuse than usual.

What is, and should be, a competition for the best singer/performer - has turned into hours of blatant, over the top product placement and general pimping of - cars, wireless service, beverages, Itunes and horrible movies that no one would ever go see (Seriously - The Love Guru??)

My husband actually asked me yesterday..."Why do you tivo the whole thing - and then fast forward through most of the show? Why not just read EW.com tomorrow and see what happened".

A fair question - mostly because I DO fast forward through most of it. But I'm actually still interested in who performed and HOW they performed, and with the exception of Paula, what the judges had to say. I like to make an informed decision on who I think should be the American Idol.

By the time the show got to the final 12 you could almost already tell who was going to win. The judges and producers were clearing pushing for Young David (17 yrs old), even going as far as praising a "wonderful performance" when he forgot and botched lyrics. Throw on top of the fact all the teeny boppers in the country voting for this kid every week...He was a shoo in for the finale.

I was very pleased to see Not So Young David make the finale as well. Personally, he was my choice all along - and no doubt an album or download that I will buy.

Color me very surprised when the Not So Young David actually won. Very rarely do my choices actually win. He was surprised as well....he was also overwhelmed, honored and gracious. Bastard made me cry over American Idol.

Both are onto great careers, that I can be sure of. Young David has some work to do - getting a bit more comfortable with the stage and himself, (and possibly emancipating himself from his father) but will no doubt be picked up by someone (if not already). Not to mention, I don't think that kid is going to have ANY problems finding a date for prom next year.

I have the rest of the year off. American Idol does not come back again until January of 2009. I can only hope that the drop in ratings that they had this year, apparently due to everyone doing what I do and recording to watch later, will teach the Powers That Be that the viewing public isn't as stupid as they think we are.

And do me a favor - if you plan on seeing The Love Guru....let me know how long it took for your eyes to start bleeding.