![]() ![]() Hell, even Sanjaya probably still squeezes a few free sandwiches a year out of it. That’s why Idol had the power to give us stars, even randos like the “Pants on the Ground” guy. It brought a little romance and madness back to pop, at a time when the post-Napster industry had lost all its star-making magic overnight. In 2002, a rotten time for mainstream pop, Idol sold the idea that music was still the whole point of American culture - hell, the whole point of life. No time for losers!īut it wasn’t just about selling these kids as stars. Adam got his Freddie Mercury on to “Don’t Stop Me Now” - and out-killer-queened Her Majesty at her own party. Just this past weekend, the Glambert edition of Queen kicked off the Platinum Jubilee festivities for Elizabeth II, outside Buckingham Palace. It also gave us a buttload of Justin Guarinis Bo Bice, who briefly took over as lead singer for Blood, Sweat, and Tears and Adam Lambert, now lead singer for Queen. This show turned nobodies into stars: Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Clay Aiken, Jordin Sparks, Katherine McPhee. But those days are gone.Īmerican Idol was a sensation as soon as it debuted in 2002, with Kelly Clarkson going supernova the very first season. Back in the day, Idol had a moment when it ruled the music world, when makin’ love was just for fun. Nobody noticed when it got axed in 2016, or when it came back two years later. Like America itself, Idol has survived long enough to have totally forgotten why it’s still around. Raise a glass to 20 years of pitchiness and its discontents. ![]() Like the country it’s named after, American Idol is still technically on the map, but it’s staggering in a punch-drunk haze of crushed dreams and betrayed hopes, and the nagging sense that this mission’s failure is the kind of defeat that calls for a tragic piano ballad. When it debuted on June 11, 2002, the TV singing contest was the blockbuster that promised to define the new pop-culture era. Idol has survived long enough to see its 20th birthday. Where have you gone, American Idol? A nation turns its lonely eyes to … wait, seriously? You’re still on?īelieve it or not, it’s true. ![]()
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