Okay, here goes: my name is Laurie and I am addicted to “American Idol.” Watching it is one of my (no longer secret) guilty pleasures. But really, as far as guilty pleasures go, I can think of lots that are much, much worse.
So yes, it’s Idol time for this blogger. That means blocking out whole sections of my evenings, and feigning important deadlines when it's on (which is a lot) that prevent me from coming to the phone. But unlike some other viewers, though I watch the beginning shows of the auditions in the various cities, something about them makes me cringe.
Please tell me I’m not the only one who doesn’t like watching these beginning audition clip shows. (And yet. I Can't Stop Myself.) Maybe it’s the mom in me (although my friend Marisa doesn’t have kids and she feels the same way), but I hate to see these wannabes – with or without talent – being humiliated on camera (although I do love to see some unassuming candidate come out and knock everyone’s socks off vocally).
So, how does everyone else feel: Do you love or hate the AI audition shows? Am I being too all sensitive and mom-like?
PS: And to add insult to injury, during last week’s auditions, everyone who left the audition room in one city tried to get out the wrong (left) side of the double exit doors. Then Simon or someone else would pipe up, “Other door, sweetheart.” – as if these people hadn’t been humiliated enough. Note to the American Idol producers: how about spending three bucks at Kinko’s and putting up a sign on the correct exit door that says something like “Exit Here” next time around?
