American Idol & Popular Music

If you’re watching American Idol you may have noticed a contestant that is from San Antonio - Haley Scarnato. It turns out that my brother went to school with her, so she is the first AI contestant that I am in some way connected to. I did, however, see one of my fellow actor/singers from New York briefly during the first few episodes. He didn’t make it to Hollywood, not because he’s bad, but maybe because he’s not different enough. Anyway, back to Haley. She’s good, and I think she should make it to the top 12, but I’m not so sure about how far she’ll go. There’s some pretty tough competition this year. My current favorite girl is Melinda Doolittle, and my favorite guy is Blake Lewis, but Chris Sligh is way up there too. But why, or why are Antonella and Shanjaya still there?

If you’re not watching AI, then all of that means nothing to you. That being said, I’m just wondering how many of you would consider yourself up to date on popular music? I’ve come to realize that I’m definitely not. So far, I haven’t recognized many of the songs that the contestants have chosen to sing, and I hate to admit that I didn’t know many of the Grammy nominated artists this year either. I just don’t listen to the radio anymore, or watch MTV (not that there is much music there anyway), so how am I suppose to stay current? I’m sure I’d like a lot of the stuff out there if I gave it a chance, but I don’t want to spend money on something that I might not like. Where to begin? Advice is welcome.

That being said, I came up with what I think is a pretty good idea for a CD. It should be titled “What the Kids are Listening To” . It would be a mix of the most current music and would be marketed mainly to parents, youth workers, and teachers. This CD would not necessarily be liked by the people purchasing it, but would serve as research – a way to attempt to relate to teens today.