American Idol Has Had on the Music

¶ … American Idol" has had on the music industry and how it has changed the public's perception of music. While there is no doubt "American Idol" has significantly impacted the music industry and the public's perception of music, the author fails to provide any concrete evidence to support the claims made.

The essay begins with the author's claims that "American Idol" changed the public's perception of music because people came to realize that they could instantaneously become successful. Despite the author's claims, I believe they are misleading because this argument is not about the music itself, but rather the music industry. Tastes in music are subjective, but realizing that one can become famous by trying out on the show has nothing to do with tastes in music, but rather it is an opportunity the contestant takes. Becoming successful does not have anything to do with music per se, but rather the individual's talents, skills, and ability to win the audience's favor. The author also contends that the show helped to change people's tastes from rock-and-roll to singing sensations, however, this argument does not make sense. The public's taste was not changed from rock-and-roll to singing sensations, but rather, because of the show's format, the public was forced to judge an individual based on their singing ability rather than their ability to play an instrument. Furthermore, the author completely discounts that the show's format has been revamped in recent seasons to allow contestants to play instruments while they sing. The author does not seem to realize that playing instruments while singing does not automatically mean a song is rock-and-roll. Lastly, the author comments that people enjoy watching "American Idol" because they enjoy watching people fail, which is why the auditions are the most watched episodes of each season. Throughout this first paragraph, the author continuously makes outlandish claims that he/she does not support with any concrete evidence nor does he/she give any examples to support claims made.

The author then continues to argue that the show has changed the public's musical tastes through its diverse song choices and its explorations of various genres. While it may be true that the show has the ability to make past songs popular again and provides an example of Whitney Houston and how a person may be exposed to her music because of the show, there is no evidence in the form of statistics given to support the author's claims, thus making these claims seem less credible.

Additionally, the author comments on how the show has made the industry more profitable because of its ability to profit from the contestants in addition to the original artists. However, the explanation given does not make sense, and that author fails to demonstrate how the music industry profits from the re-release of music beyond actual music sales.