TVSquad

The people who whine about a "mean Simon" are the same smug ninny's who get a hard on in their britches while watching the truth.com anti-cigarette commercials and think that their opinion is so much more important than everyone else's and that they alone know whats best for society. If you don't like it....stop watching. And by looking at the ratings, people are still in love with watching no-talented karaoke rejects make fools of themselves on TV.

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Also, I have a problem with the contradicting article. In one breath you say "In my own humble opinion, American Idol is a show with a serious split personality. Only the second half of the season is a competitive talent contest."

ok, and THEN you turn around and say this "And by allowing increasingly bad and insane performers to audition (or planting them as some suspect), the Idol producers are telling America that they are more interested in providing shameless, shocking, "ratings-grabbing" programming, than they are in finding a true singing sensation."

that doesn't make any sense. Are they one half a serious show looking for a real singer or are they more interested in making fun of people who cant sing? You cant have it BOTH ways. Pick ONE side of the argument.

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The nastiness of the whow Wednesday was appalling - NO ONE should make fun of challenged people on television. The sad boys who tried and failed should have been thanked and praised. But when they were done trying out the camera lingered on the judges laughing and mugging for the camera. DISGUSTING! I will never watch your show again. I have uncomfortable feeelings towards the 'stars' as well.

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Simon's sheer nastiness is the main reason I don't watch this show. It just seems unnecessary. Come to think of it, nastiness is a big reason why I never watched The Weakest Link.

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I quit watching the early portion of this show last year. I absolutely hate watching people who are only there to be bad, so bad they will be the ones on tv. They know they have to be so awful to be the ones on tv and it gets worse each year. It gets old for me very quickly. And I think the show is more than willing to humiliate for ratings or these people would never be in the room with the judges. Bad singers would be screened out and only the good ones would see the judges. But I can see there is clearly a demand for this, as the ratings tell. I for one am just bored of it, so I turn it off. How P, R & S can stand to sit through it all I can only imagine is clear in their paycheck.
I also think that having to give this show 4 hours and 2 days a week or so is too much of my life to commit to it. Last year I watched when they had about 5 finalists left. And don't miss the fact that I didn't see all the useless stuff early on. I saw only the better singers compete which was the original intent of the show anyway.

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what simon said about that young man looks on january17th was un call for.people can't help the way they were born,and i think he should apologize.but being simon has money invested in the show ,i guess he can get away with murder if he choose to.simon,just judge the people on the singing not on looks cause you aint all that ur self.

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I've seen about 5 episodes ever of Idol. 2 were the early rounds when they're seeing people in cities. I was disgusted as the people were invited in JUST to make fun of them. That's not my kind of fun. Not at all. To each his own.

The other episodes involved the groups as they moved toward 1 person. Wow, the music is pretty darn lame. Not a pop music guy though.

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I love the show BUT I am very uncomfortable with Simon's cruelty and, I think SOMEONE who he answers to (if he does) should say something to him. Some of those kids are stronger than others but there were a couple who were traumatized by what he said. That is totally unecessary.

Also, I think I remember reading Paula has an illness that requires her to take narcotics. I don't think she is drinking.

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edward, so only non-challenged people should be made fun of because they cant sing? Doesn't that go against the "treat everyone the same, im just like you" mentality that challenged people and liberals demand from society?

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Blowing with the wind a bit aren't we? Idol has always been this way. Nobody should be shocked by this. It's all spectacle. People come on stage and act totally ridiculous and the judges do the same. It is what it is. Everybody laughed in previous years. What is there now a line that you cross in making fun of somebody and laughing at them? Very hypocritical.

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I only watch AI's audition episodes. I really hate the show, but damn the initial episodes are HILARIOUS. Sure, it's cruel, but what the hell. Those idiots shouldn't be on the show in the first place...haven't they seen all the previous seasons? It's clear that most of them are audition just to be on TV. And they know Simon is going to insult them.

It probably gets old after a while, but I only watch about an hour of the 4 hours they show each week.

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Some of those kids are stronger than others but there were a couple who were traumatized by what he said. That is totally unecessary.
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ummmm...who? The I guess the "traumatized" ones were the crying ones because they were told they cant sing...when they CLEARLY couldn't? I guess everyone should get a gold ticket and at the end of the day they can all drink punch and eat cake and proclaim everyone is a winner?

sorry....life is hard and sometimes the truth hurts.

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I thought Simon was VERY VERY nice this season. They are only mean when the people are assholes. There were a few people that were really bad and the panel were nice to them because they were nice people. The mean people, or the joke people get pissed off at.

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what simon said about that young man looks on january17th was un call for.people can't help the way they were born,and i think he should apologize.but being simon has money invested in the show ,i guess he can get away with murder if he choose to.simon,just judge the people on the singing not on looks cause you aint all that ur self.
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I'm gonna channel Simon right now and say that you cant spell and that you're English teacher should be slapped. Hell, even the spell check paper clip icon couldn't help you with that amazing display of grammatical errors.

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You know that the judges' looks of amazement and disgust are a put-on at this point. How, after seeing a zillion bug-eyed goons shrieking through a Michael Jackson song for 5 years, can you muster feeling anything? It's all TV at this point, just like how they happen to invite a contestant's mother into the room and she always turns out to be something scary looking.

I know that many of these people are doing it as a joke (the "I shot the Sherriff" guy from last year who returned this year with an even bigger fashion statement comes to mind). But I also know that some are serious even if you can't take them seriously. Maybe Clay Aiken gave some of these people hope, but if i were as unattractive as some of these people are and hadn't had a single voice lesson in my life, and they picked me to go onto the round where I actually got to audition for Simon and the gang, I would be very suspicious.

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Someone needs to remind this character ,Simon Cowell, that he is a guest in another country and should be thankful that he was granted a visa to come to America and pursue his dream. To me his comments last night (you look like a creature from the jungle with those big eyes) revealed him as an english-old-world-kill-the-weakest-link cum new-world-corporate-eugenicist. This thinking may have helped the British rationalize invading half the world at one time, but there is no place for it today.
Criticizing someone for a something they have no control over (ie. the size or shape of their body parts) is immoral and barbaric. His objective was to use this to humiliate someone on national television. The "Cultural Gate Keeper" job he's been given as is a privledge, screw up and there's a one-way ticket back to where you came from waiting.

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The "Cultural Gate Keeper" job he's been given as is a privledge, screw up and there's a one-way ticket back to where you came from waiting.
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boy.....all you need to say now is "he's takin our jeeerrrbbbbbbssss!"

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"I'm gonna channel Simon right now and say that you cant spell and that you're English teacher should be slapped."

Oh the irony...."you're English teacher"??? Sorry couldn't resist.

"Someone needs to remind this character ,Simon Cowell, that he is a guest in another country and should be thankful that he was granted a visa to come to America and pursue his dream......This thinking may have helped the British rationalize invading half the world at one time, but there is no place for it today. "

Seriously? What does his British-ness have to with anything??? Plus you do know that American Idol is a spin-off of the UK show Pop Idol? And now Simon hosts a popular show called "X-Factor" there which is similar in concept. Plus Simon is one of the main reasons the show is so popular in the first place. Simon doesn't need AI, AI needs HIM.

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Seriously? What does his British-ness have to with anything??? Plus you do know that American Idol is a spin-off of the UK show Pop Idol?

If it's a successful British show idea presented to an American audience by a Brit, why should we not think it embodies
the British sensibility?

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I think the difference is this:

There are some people who go on, knowing full well that they are horrible and they have no chance. They are willing to humiliate themselves to be on tv. It is a big joke to them. This annoys the gang and they get what they deserve.

Then there are those that are truly clueless. They think they have talent, either because their family and friends told them that they do, or they just truly don't have a clue.

I think usually, Simon and the gang does treat the latter very harshly for ratings, and also because their time is being wasted.

The very heavy young man, who seemed a little bit off - I think they were actually very nice to him. (I also think he was better then about 95% of the people they showed last night). They let him do his thing, they said sorry no, and let him go. Even when he tried to argue his case, they remained nice to him.

The guy before him - bush baby as Simon said - I am not sure what happened there. Maybe it was his attitude after they said no, so they didn't take him seriously, or thought he was there as a joke, but I think he was actually one of the truly clueless ones that are hurt by the criticism.

I liked it best when a guy showed up dressed like the Statue of Liberty a few season ago. Simon didn't let him sing. He just said, "thank you, no, good bye". That is the way they should treat all of the stupidly dressed gimmick people.

As for Simon, other then the Bush Baby comment, I think Randy has been far more offensive this season. Its not the ones who deserve it, its the ones that actually think they can sing and Randy laughs through the whole performance and you can see the tears welling in the eyes of the contestant as they try to sing. Let them finish and say thanks, no. Or cut them off and say no.

Of course, the easy solution is - don't audition for the show if you don't have talent. You will be humiliated, whether the judges mock you or not, the rest of the country will while they are watching at night.

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