"Some Idol thoughts for the day..."

Whether you are a fan of American Idol or not, you can't argue with the phenomenal ratings that series pulls down week after week, year after year. Yeah, it's heavily edited, to the point of accentuating someone's, shall we say, less than stellar talent...accusations flying in 2007 about how extra mean the judges are, poking fun at some who may even be of a 'disability'...don't lose sight that this is willfully manipulated programming to make it SELL itself, keeping people glued to the TV set and talking around the water cooler for days to come. Like it or not it works.

If there is one thing that leaves me shaking my head in life isn't just hearing somebody that is really, really bad...that stuff is a dime a dozen...it's those individuals who are truly deluded enough to believe that they have a chance to 'make it' to Hollywood and the finals. Ego is a powerful thing, and having it help you lose sight of any sense of reality is a double whammy. And then they act so hurt, dejected, crying 'victim' to judges' criticisms which were deserved in every respect. OK, so you don't have to drop a skunk from 5 feet up in the air; you can just lower it to the ground, stroke it and say, "Here's a lollipop...off you go, sweetie..." Sometimes the drop just has to happen to drive home a point...and then the worst of the worst STILL don't get it.

Everyone laughs about William Hung who hit fame with his Ricky Martin "She Bangs" rendition years back...he sucks, he's horrible...but we as a society have a distorted way of celebrating stupid stuff, and people still pay to have him cut CDs, do talk show interviews, and sing at special shopping mall functions. Unfathomable.

Yep, I tape and watch the auditions and such. It's good entertainment, even for all the moments of fingernails on a chalkboard. And then there are those deliberately placed, delicious vocal nuggets where you breathe a sigh of relief when you hear someone with real talent. So far, Sundance Head sang a number to rewrite the Blues at the recent Memphis auditions...we shall see.

Talent. The kind that makes your jaw drop as you think back to when you were their age and what you were doing with your life and spare time...that's what I'm going to leave you with for this morning...

I realize some of you may pull this up at work but don't have speakers or headphones to hear these following clips, but you need to. By accident I sort of came across these 3 selections that will leave you agape...they did me...

"I do hereby testify that these video clips are worth listening to more than once..."

an 11 year-old that innocently sits on sofa and rocks some R&B out...

an 11 year-old girl from an "Idol" off-shoot program that, honestly, I ain't never heard such an 'experienced' sounding voice from a "Tween"...

and lastly, while older than 11, a young man sitting in Central Park playing a ukulele like I've never heard one played before...actually, I can only remember Tiny Tim and his "Tiptoe, Through The Tulips" song...while a little long, listen to all of the ukelele song...raw from-the-Soul talent.

Clickable links:

11 year-old guitarist

11 year-old diva

Ukulele master