And so it begins.
The Fox network has created the largest reality show ever in terms of viewers and publicity. American Idol has consistently, for four complete years, garnered national interest and creamed the television competition.
The show has evolved with such popularity that even the tryouts across the land have become widely watched, beating out such media events as the Olympics and other opposing televised programs.
Such is the world-wide popularity of the series, there is now even an Arab version of the competition, perhaps the first time many in this region of the world have been introduced to pure democracy as the selection of American Idol purports to be.
I've watched several of the tryout shows and, again, Fox has figured out what appeals to the mainstream American public. The tryouts are cleverly clipped and quipped to guarantee a continuing viewer interest and amusement.
It's late February, the tryouts are done, the Hollywood finalists have been culled, and we're down to the final 24 — twelve females and twelve males. On Tuesday, 2/21/06, the final twelve female contenders showed the voting viewers their stuff.
Out of the twelve, I managed to pare down the competition to the three female contenders that I feel certain will make it into the top six. I've also pegged a few that also show potential.
Let us move on to a quick and dirty recap of the contenders that began their quest to be the fifth winner of American Idol in the 2006 competition.
Another Blogcritic wrote up a review of the first night of the competition. I agree a bit with her conclusions but yon reader might want to compare.
We begin with Mandisa. That's right, her name is just "Mandisa" and this shtick is catchy. Cher did it. Can Mandisa pull it off?
I was very impressed with Mandisa's performance and immediately considered that she will move on to at least the top six, if not the top three, of the female contenders. Just as soon as I made the note that Mandisa was potential finalist material I fretted that I might find all twelve good enough to be finalists, risking my entry into the Paula Abdul wing of the blogosphere.
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