News / Entertainment
‘American Idol’ Gets it Right as Jordin Sparks Wins Season Six
Despite the lengthy runs of Antonella Barba and Sanjaya Malakar, and the premature dismissal of Melinda Doolittle in the end ‘American Idol’ crowned the appropriate winner when Jordin Sparks received the lion’s share of the 74 million votes cast over the past two days.
At 17-years-old Sparks became the youngest ‘American Idol’ winner in its six seasons as she overcame the beatboxing skills of Blake Lewis to earn the title.
The end was a bit anti-climatic as Sparks was considered an almost sure bet to win ‘American Idol’ once Doolittle was voted out. To his credit, Blake Lewis was an entertaining contestant and brought some originality to a show that often resembles a karaoke bar but he just wasn’t a singer.
Last season was a lesson learned for both ‘American Idol’ and its fans as Taylor Hicks won the competition with a great voice but obvious marketing issues. When the name Taylor Hicks comes up now not many people could name a song off his album but most will remember he sang in a truck commercial. Not exactly an ‘Idol’ moment.
Blake was on the other end of the Hicks spectrum and had he carried the pipes of Taylor he very well could have won. While Lewis is extremely marketable that shelf life is short lived when there is little substance to back up the product. That’s were Sparks earned her victory.
Jordin not only has a voice worthy of winning ‘American Idol’ she also is a marketers dream. Young and pretty, Sparks will soon be on the cover of every magazine that targets girls under eighteen. She’ll have her face plastered all over MTV and be pitching products from skin care to milk. Sparks is exactly what the producers of ‘American Idol’ envisioned when they started the competition and exactly what they need to keep the show strong.
It’s true Melinda may have deserved a better fate but the reality is the show is about much more than just singing. If ‘American Idol’ wanted fans to vote on the best voice they would keep the contestants behind a curtain throughout the competition and only reveal what the winner looks like after the votes were counted. Don’t hold your breath on that idea; it’s not likely to happen any time soon.
