Nice, meritorious fellow that he is, the modestly talented Lee DeWyze is surely the MOST "modestly talented" of the nine IDOL Winners. His victory is more the result of IDOL's weaknesses, biases, shortcomings, and flaws than a victory of his own doing.
It primarily is the victory of an unrestrained, unfettered, and unlimited Voting System which, given human nature and hormones, has become (especially in the past two or three seasons) the province of the 'tweeners and teenyboppers whose frenzied non-stop speed-dialing has propelled largely good-looking mediocrities to the fore, at the expense (and great frustration of those among us who truly "care") of such greats as Daughtry, Melinda Doolittle, LaToya London, Lambert, even Siobhan, etc.
Dancing with the Stars has the obvious and (one would think!) reasonable, self-evident solution: SIX-VOTE-LIMIT.
IDOL should do the same, next Season. IF THERE IS ONE!
Here are the changes and alterations, both cosmetic and operational/procedural, that IDOL MUST MAKE NEXT SEASON:
1) Replace ALL FOUR Judges. Yes. Think about it. IMHO, I'd select David Foster for "Simon's Chair," and...Deborah (Debbie) Gibson...Shania Twain...and Quentin Tarantino. EDIT: Seeing as I've left off the obligatory and vital African-American Chair, let's remove Gibson and replace her with say, someone such as Alicia Keys, Dionne Warwick, Smoky Robinson. Yes! The new, fresh judicial blood and symbiotic energies would work remedial and restorative WONDERS for the Show.
2) Limit of FIVE VOTES PER DEVICE. This addresses, resolves, and mitigates the obvious and NUMBER ONE shortcoming and flaw of IDOL. The 'tweeners and teenyboppers still will have their input, but now it will be proportional with the greater population and demographics.
3) JUDGES MUST JUDGE FAIRLY AND AS OBJECTIVELY AS POSSIBLE. No more playing favorites and trying both overtly and subliminally to slant and orchestrate the voting, or to "push" a favored Contestant throughout a Season.
4) NO MORE INSTRUMENTS. This reduces the "busker factor" and re-focuses the Show on Contestants' vocal prowess, versatility, diligence, creativity, performing impact, and "stage presence."
5) Focus and emphasize even more the "up close and personal" aspects of each of the 24 Semifinalists, then double-down when the Top 12 Finalists are determined. Feature a lot of little, brief cinema-verite'-type clips of Contestants shopping, chatting, hanging-out together while eating or partying or rehearsing, and include the folks, parents, friends, and siblings on the "home front" as well. IDOL must be more about the CONTESTANTS and less about the JUDGES.
In its own unique way, IDOL has been rigged; it's fixed, the more so in recent Seasons. And it's frustratingly flawed. The five suggestions above should go a great way to righting this great, already legendary Show, and restoring it to both viewing and ratings greatness.
All the Best to Everybody! :-)
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