| BGSU prof studies 'Idol' phenomenon |
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| Written by By DAVID DUPONT Sentinel Arts & Entertainment Editor | ||
| Saturday, 06 February 2010 08:49 | ||
Growing up in a family of musicians, scientists and teachers in California, she loved classical music, and followed her muse into a career as an opera singer. Then, after earning a degree in performance from Oberlin College, she headed back West to do graduate work. Teaching voice students, she felt she needed to learn something about the popular music they were interested in and was intrigued by an article in the New York Times criticizing the style of singing on the hit show. She watched a few episodes of the first season of "American Idol." Something clicked. She watched all of season two. Meizel, now in her second year as an instructor at Bowling Green State University, has a book forthcoming on Indiana University Press, "Idolized: Music, Media, and Identity in 'American Idol'" that carries the tag line "How a TV Show Changed the Way We Hear America Singing." With the ninth season underway - the Hollywood round begins Tuesday - Meizel is writing a regular Thursday blog on the Fox show for Slate.com. And it wasn't necessarily the music that drew her in at first. "I was a little bit of an opera snob ... I didn't like the singing, I wasn't invested in the singers." She was interested in the way the show presented "very clear portrayals of different American identities.' "It was captivating seeing people's responses to that. You could see those portrayals were really powerful for viewers." Meizel had made another discovery while studying for her doctorate at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She found she also loved ethnomusicol- (See IDOL on 5) ogy and ended up getting her doctorate in the discipline. She'd always had an interest in the musicology, which is more theoretical. "Looking at what music means to people is something I was missing," she said. "American Idol," the most popular show on television, provides plenty of opportunities. The show appeals to so many ways people identify themselves- religion, ethnicity, race, gender and gender identity. That's true for all the versions that air around the world whether its the Arab "Superstar" or Finland's "Idols." Even a scholar feels the draw. Meizel found herself cheering on Elliott Yamin in the fifth season because she identified with him as Jewish. As in so many cases this appeal to ethnicity was not explicit but was powerful all the same. As the current season moves out of the auditions stage, Meizel has seen a trend emerging with one contestant with Tourette's Syndrome and others with disabilities. It's an area the show hasn't explored before. Those early rounds are more noted for their sometimes bizarre displays of lack of talent. With squawking, out-of-tune singers summarily and rudely banished by the show's judges. What some viewers may not realize is that those contestants have already passed through two panels of producers before they meet Simon Cowell and his colleagues. "The audition rounds are all about casting a television show," Meizel noted. Selecting who'll go on has less to do with music than shaping the show's storyline. "The whole show is an illustration of how we think about the American Dream," Meizel said. "Part of the American Dream is the role of failure ... Part of this is watching people rejected." That plays into the notion that in order to succeed, someone has to overcome obstacles. Probably no contestant symbolizes this more than William Hung, the tone-deaf, at times, spastic singer, who still made it into the late rounds of season three, though being widely mocked, including by the judges. He's gone on to appear in film in Hong Kong, in commercials stateside and to record four CDs, Meizel said. "He's not done poorly for himself." Among those who have survived the audition rounds to earn a Golden Ticket to Hollywood this year is Luke Shaffer, who performs under the name Luke James. Meizel said the Eastwood High graduate has potential. She missed his local ties at first - he was listed as coming from New York City where he now lives. Meizel said she was "thrilled' when she reviewed video of his audition. He has "a lovely voice," she said, and "he seems like a sensitive guy ... People like that in their 'Idol' boys." This ninth season is notable as the first without Paula Abdul on the panel. "Nobody's been as nice," Meizel said. The original three judge panel had "a nice balance," with Abdul's sensitivity, Randy Jackson's more detached outlook and Cowell's scowl. "Simon's looking at them as a viable product," Meizel said. Kara DioGuardi joined the panel last season and Ellen DeGeneres will start her duties in Hollywood. More importantly this is Cowell's last season. The Brit, who is one of the show's producers and creator of the brand, is splitting off to launch another American version of a British import "X factor." Meizel doesn't expect this breakup to end well. She expects season 10 "to be messy, and then it will end." For a TV show, especially a talent show, to survive 10 seasons is a good run, she said. "I will desperately miss 'American Idol'." |
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