OPINION

American Idol 6: Chris the Controversial Christian

Written by Amrita Rajan
Published March 29, 2007
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From faithx5

In the process, he ran out of breath, couldn’t find a beat and looked really pissed about being on stage. Finally, he told Randy this week that he felt as though he was “taking a Master's class”. I guess he flunked.

Too bad, because had he survived this week he could have become the show’s controversial Christian which might have given him the visibility that he needed. Yes, folks, that’s the big reveal – Sligh is a Christian. Did that just blow your mind? This writer suspects it did.

Who knew that Chris Sligh being publicly exposed as a Christian would lead to his demise? Now, considering today's political climate in America, that is what you call irony! But how else do you explain his meteoric fall from guy-favorite to total shlub in only two short weeks? Surely he wasn't bested by a beat boxer, was he?
Well, that certainly explains my sudden desire to book Yankee Stadium and rent a few starving lions every time I see Sligh. Crucifixion’s too good for him, I say!

I wish I could say I’m surprised by what some people will choose to believe but after getting a look at what the Sanjaya puzzle has done to the blogosphere, nothing surprises me anymore. I bet someone somewhere doesn’t think Paula Abdul was kidding when she said her strange behavior is the result of an alien abduction.

Not that the hated man of faith angle is a bad one. Godless Hollywood Takes Revenge on the Faithful (for whatever it is that the faithful have done to it) has a certain ring to it. Too bad the people who seem to have a problem with Sligh are the ones on “his” side such as:

Jonathan Pait, a spokesman for fundamentalist Bob Jones University where Sligh attended for several years, said: "We really are somewhat disappointed with the direction he has gone musically."
I guess Blake is Satan in disguise then, beatboxing poor ol’ Chris onto the ways of temptation and deep into the savage realms of music as represented by bands such as 311 and Jamiroquai. To top things off, Sligh isn’t even the only practicing Christian on the show. Frontrunner and everybody’s sweetheart Melinda Doolittle is just as much of a Christian and nothing seems to be rocking her boat:
Doolittle, before joining American Idol, was a backup singer for several gospel music acts, according to a report by The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville March 21. Some have compared her to last season's Mandisa Hundley, who portrayed a strong faith on the show and is now recording a Christian album.

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Amrita Rajan keeps an eye on the world from NYC.
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American Idol 6: Chris the Controversial Christian
Published: March 29, 2007
Type: Opinion
Section: Video
Filed Under: Music: Live Concerts, Music: News, Music: Popular and Standards, Music: Video, Video: Cult, Video: Film and TV Business, Video: Reality TV
Writer: Amrita Rajan
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Comments

#1 — March 29, 2007 @ 21:00PM — Dawn

That was astounding. I am floored - great job Amrita!

I really liked Chris' voice, but he lost is appeal in the last few weeks. I hope he and his band do well, he definitely has talent.

#2 — March 29, 2007 @ 21:06PM — Kaonashi [URL]

First of all, thank you for the MeeVee links to his American Idol reviews. They were a hoot to read! And I thought I was mean to Sanjaya.

Oh and BTW, I almost choked on my water when I went on the Vote for the Worst site last night and they called a certain contestant Nos-Phil-atu. I can't stand those VFTW guys, but they sure are funny.

As for Chris Sligh, he was definitely one of my favorites early on, but then he just lost steam. I understand why now, after reading this exit interview. Chris never really took the show seriously, which is a disappointing shame because he had so much potential. I know that some musicians think they're too "cool" and "hip" for this show, but then why even try out? I recall that Bo Bice once said that he didn't really think of winning very early on, but I guess something clicked in him and he decided to actually go for it, which apparently is what Chris never did.

#3 — March 29, 2007 @ 21:07PM — Kaonashi [URL]

Oh, and thanks for a great read Amrita! It's about time someone wrote about a contestant other than you know who ;)

#4 — March 30, 2007 @ 00:36AM — Amrita [URL]

Dawn - thank you! :)

Actually, I think Chris does a good job with his band. Much better than what he did on the show. He seems like a pretty ambitious guy so I bet he'll show up again.

#5 — March 30, 2007 @ 00:44AM — Amrita [URL]

Kaonashi - I know! I had to get the ponyhawk one off my mind!

See that interview bothers me. I hate that whininess that emerged after a while. You'd think the judges were some sort of puppetmasters who made up our minds for us. I'm not saying they don't matter but the worst losers on this show have always ended up on the position that the judges are the ones who make up minds. And thats not true.

re: VFTW. Heh. I used to like them that first year. Then they went viral and I can't stand em anymore. Nos-Phil-atu is pretty funny though :D

#6 — March 30, 2007 @ 12:51PM — Kaonashi [URL]

Amrita- Yeah, like when Antonella was stupid enough to tell Simon, "You didn't like Jennifer Hudson," to which Simon countered, "We liked Jennifer. We put her through. AMERICA voted her off."

#7 — March 30, 2007 @ 13:40PM — Amrita [URL]

Kaonashi - Argh, Antonella! I really thought Haley was going to go the Alaina/Antonella way with her attitude but it turns out all she wanted was some sort of validation by Simon.

You know, my mind has been moving on controversies this season and I realized the only one who's consistently benefitted from AI scandal no matter what is Simon.

I think I knew it already but hadnt thought it out like that.

#8 — March 31, 2007 @ 00:50AM — Jon [URL]

The public often votes for those who are not the most talented, so to speculate is kind of pointless in my opinion. I didn't consider him to be snarky, just hilarious, and I thought he had a lot of talent. I didn't know he was a Christian, didn't know about the run-in with Cowell and I haven't been watching the last few weeks, but in the end, it's simply a strange competition. It would be interesting to see what would happen if the actual judges were allowed to vote for the winners. The public isn't looking for the most talented Idol, they're looking for America's sweetheart, and unfortunately, it appears as if Chris wasn't pretty, safe or nice enough to be that guy this year.

#9 — March 31, 2007 @ 03:44AM — Kaonashi [URL]

Amrita- Well, Simon is pretty much a publicity and money whore. But at the same time he's my favorite judge, because he's the only one out of the three who speaks in coherent sentences. I am seriously so sick of Randy's "Yo, dawg" crap. The guy is what- 45? Jeez, grow up already.

#10 — March 31, 2007 @ 03:47AM — Kaonashi [URL]

Oh, and I don't think we've heard the last of Antonella. I'm betting big money that you'll find her wearing next to nothing on the cover of FHM in a few months. Then, she'll become an "entertainment correspondent" on some vapid gossip show like Access Hollywood.

#11 — March 31, 2007 @ 17:32PM — Fletch

The fact that Sligh is a Christian did not turn me off. I try to be a good Presbytarian boy myself. It was Sligh's connection to Bob Jones so-called "University" that made me sick. Jones is the one place on earth where you can major in bigotry and minor in a blanket rejection of all logical science. They make all Christians look REALLY bad. I'm glad he's gone.

#12 — April 1, 2007 @ 18:16PM — Tara

Hate to tell you this, but 6 of the remaining top 9 contestants are Christians.

#13 — April 2, 2007 @ 02:18AM — Amrita [URL]

Jon - you and Simon think alike :) Thats pretty much what he said about Taylor Hicks winning.

Kaonashi - yeah she said she wouldn't do it but considering she doesnt have a job for this summer, my guess is the same as yours.

Fletch - well, he says he doesnt particularly want to associate with them and only went there because this was the "less crazy school" of the two choices his parents gave him. [I wonder which was the other school?] He actually got kicked out for going to some concert that the university disapproved of. I feel inclined to give him the doubt. There's no way you could list Freddie Mercury as one your favorite artists if you were drinking the same kool aid as the people of BJU, I think.

Tara - yes, I know. I wrote about it.

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