American Idol's impact on reality television and American culture

Media Influence on Today's Society

Details of the Media Artifact

The reality TV show, American Idol, was derived from Pop Idol (a British singing competition; Simon Fuller is credited with creating both. Nigel Lythgoe, a TV producer got the idea from Australian talent show, Popstars, and helped begin a similar concept in the UK (Armstrong). Popstars' concept of auditioning singers through a panel of judges was utilized by Fuller while designing the show. American Idol personally engaged TV audiences with contestants by means of voting, and required contestants to give their best shot because, on TV, communication takes place, for the most part, by way of visual imagery; that is, TV portrays conversations in images, rather than words (Postman 7). American Idol became, by the year 2004, the most popular and most-viewed of American shows-- it retained this status for seven seasons in a row.

Social Historical Context

Aired from 11th June, 2002 on Fox, the U.S. reality series, American Idol, has emerged into one among the most successful of U.S. TV shows. The series aims at discovering fresh artists to add to the solo recording arena; American viewers decide who wins, by means of telephone, SMS text, and Internet voting. Its origin lies in Britain's Pop Idol; spin-offs cropped up in over a hundred countries across the globe. However, in America, the audience could still envision a quintessentially American aspect in the way the show is designed to employ democracy for granting success, wealth and fame to one of the worthy contenders every season. This show was launched soon after a decline was perceived in the U.S. album sales; it began defining the sort of career in music that blooms in today's post-CD world (Kornhaber).

The current determinants of the nature of American Idol include: its host, Ryan Seacrest; judges Keith Urban, Harry Connick Jr. and Jennifer Lopez; show ratings; and most importantly, its viewers. The series has a very bleak future; latest news indicates chances of it coming to a close. Fox TV has, for long, relied heavily on the Idol. After a long deliberation with show producers, regarding its future, it was collectively agreed that it is now time to wrap up the show (Nededog).

Positive Influence on the Society

The show has had a tremendous influence on the U.S. culture, as well as on the wider world. Many have sensed and appreciated this influence. Here, the claim that the show's positive impacts supersede the negatives is supported. American Idol has generated some lasting performers, such as Jennifer Hudson, Clarkson, and Carrie Underwood. However, performers such as Adam Lambert, Chris Daughtry, and Clay Aiken, have also had their fair share of success. In turning these commoners into sensibly-presented mini celebrities, the Idol appeared to prepare its viewers for the phenomenon 'social media', and how it would transform the lives of ordinary people into a sort of continuous broadcast (Kornhaber). The show and its contestants offered hope, in a way, to a particular segment of Americans, no matter how strange that appeared. It's hard to view that in a very cynical light. Apart from being a source of hope (to some), the American Idol also impacted the dwindling music business sector, which would have collapsed without the show's influence. Furthermore, the TV industry (or at least, network TV) wouldn't really be thriving if not for the show's influence. As television audiences swarm towards cable TV, typically, it is only reality series that aid network TV (Harris). The show's influence on the TV realm is highly evident; it rivaled national elections and Super Bowls, and dominated the scene during its initial years. American Idol was the inspiration of a large number of similar televised talent competitions (Kornhaber).

Exploring the Blog's Multimedia Potential

Web link www.americanidol.com

Video links http://www.americanidol.com/watch/549056067756/7716941568

http://www.americanidol.com/watch/388372035575/7716941568

http://www.americanidol.com/watch/416858179583/7716941568