As those who have visited this grain of sand on the internet will know, I often use "American Idol" as a springboard for my social commentary. It has so much ripe for the picking, as it were.
The latest is the apparent desire to make Simon more cuddly and lovable. You have the constant whining of the goofball host Ryan and Paula and even Randy and of course now the contestants themselves about how mean and hateful and intolerable he is blahdeblahdeblah. But they miss one key point. I promise you that Simon is the reason most of us watch the show. Maybe not the teenyboppers, but people like me who don't watch Fox's latest "Blind date with a washed up celeb who wants to get off an island" or whatever the lastest "reality" show is.
Don't make Simon hug people or dance around like an idiot, he is refreshing in that he tells it like it is, he is not afraid of offending everyone.
A sample of what it's like after yet another contestant sings yet another Mariah Carey song badly.
Randy Jackson "Yo Dawg, Yo man, you got the skizzah to the hizzah and word to your brother's mother, you know man? C'mon dawg."
Paula Abdul "Come here and hug me okay? You need to follow your dreams and reach for the stars and somewhere over that rainbow is a pot of gold. And it's not just the Prozac talking, you are beautiful flower who needs to bloom where you are planted."
Simon "You sucked ass. Not just regular ass but giant, toxic, festering ass."
This is generally followed by the pre-requisite shock and outrage and booing, hissing and guffaws by Paula. But think about your own life. What is of more value to you? Cliched, "find your happy place" gobblygook? Or someone who says "you know you should just find something you're better suited for"? We all need Simons in our lives somewhere, someone to actually tell you the truth and not just what you want to hear. May we all be lucky enough to have such people in our lives.
So I implore the Producers not to take away the heart and soul of the show for many of us. A hugging Simon? Perish the thought!