It's rare when the internet is struck with a series of logical, thoughtful points to be made about any one subject. Over on the American Idol subreddit, though? That's a smart group of folks! The conversation revolves around a trend more than a few American Idol fans have noticed in recent seasons. Left unchecked, some believe this underlying factor could very well spell trouble for the show's future.
"What's your guys' opinions on when a contestant comes onto the show with hundreds of thousands of followers?" the post begins. Basically, the gist of the musing is this. "Should there be additional restrictions for potential contestants who already have a massive following/are related to well-established stars?"
Shockingly, great points were raised!
"Will [Moseley] said it best. Paraphrasing here, but he said it's a platform to promote yourself," one user said. That sounds awfully similar to a point someone else made regarding Idol today, but who's keeping score?
"It's quite a slippery slope if we put in piles of random restrictions whether it be having a social media following or who you are related to. None of that connects to the most important thing -- talent," another user said.
'American Idol' Fans Debate On An Aspect Of The Show That Could Lead To Its Ruin
I remember making an argument against a similar point before. In that case, Bryan Olesen joined The Voice despite being part of a Grammy-nominated group. There's no rule saying he shouldn't be on the show, nor would I argue such a restriction should be imposed. I did think it was unfair only because it felt like he had his chance, and The Voice skews toward promoting more "unknown" singers.
That being said, it's true that a massive social media following and "inside connections" don't always work out for these contestants. If anything, American Idol has shown that nepotism rarely takes any of the contestants but so far. Now, if it gets to a point where the only contestants the show will accept are people who exclusively have a big-time social media presence, that's different.
As it stands, the show's recruitment format is as "ideal" as it can be. But what do y'all think?
