I initially tuned in just to see who the singer would be behind the avatar of the butterfly girl that (according to the commercial trailers) would be performing "Video Killed The Radio Star." One of my favorite one-hit wonders from the 1980's! Well, that butterfly girl used the stage name "Fern." But, she didn't appear on the show to compete until the third or fourth week. And, while she did make it to the quarter-finals, before getting eliminated, not once did she perform that song.
Strike one for what I consider false advertising.
Then, there's the somewhat contradictory voting process being used for the semi-finalists. If two of the semi-finalists are tied at one vote a piece, by the first two judges polled, apparently all the lead contender needs is one more vote (from the third judge polled) to stay on the First-Place Diamond. Yet, the second contender doesn't get the same two-out-of-three basis? He or she needs three-out-of-four votes to supplant their competitor?!
That doesn't seem right. It strikes me as too much like the elitist favoritism glorified by the old "American Gladiator" series back in the Eighties. Wherein the fewer points held by the successful civilian competitors, the bigger the head start that was given to the in-house athletes (with stage names like "Fireball" and "Iceberg") during the concluding obstacle course segment!
So, strike two.
Last, but not least? For a show that's supposed to eliminate the superficiality of judging musical talent based on physical appearance, alone, it seems that more than half the contenders sent home have "coincidentally" been those whom the politically incorrect glitterati of Hollywood would once have called the "non-beautiful people."
Nor have I been too impressed by the celebrity judges. Alanis Morrisette is a proven performer, alright, as is Will I. Am. But, Grimes (nee Claire Elise Boucher) I literally have never heard of, prior to the series premier. And the only thing Nick Lachey is famous for is being Jessica Simpson's ex-husband!
So, strike three. Hopefully resulting in complete cancellation before the end of the holiday hiatus.
Strike one for what I consider false advertising.
Then, there's the somewhat contradictory voting process being used for the semi-finalists. If two of the semi-finalists are tied at one vote a piece, by the first two judges polled, apparently all the lead contender needs is one more vote (from the third judge polled) to stay on the First-Place Diamond. Yet, the second contender doesn't get the same two-out-of-three basis? He or she needs three-out-of-four votes to supplant their competitor?!
That doesn't seem right. It strikes me as too much like the elitist favoritism glorified by the old "American Gladiator" series back in the Eighties. Wherein the fewer points held by the successful civilian competitors, the bigger the head start that was given to the in-house athletes (with stage names like "Fireball" and "Iceberg") during the concluding obstacle course segment!
So, strike two.
Last, but not least? For a show that's supposed to eliminate the superficiality of judging musical talent based on physical appearance, alone, it seems that more than half the contenders sent home have "coincidentally" been those whom the politically incorrect glitterati of Hollywood would once have called the "non-beautiful people."
Nor have I been too impressed by the celebrity judges. Alanis Morrisette is a proven performer, alright, as is Will I. Am. But, Grimes (nee Claire Elise Boucher) I literally have never heard of, prior to the series premier. And the only thing Nick Lachey is famous for is being Jessica Simpson's ex-husband!
So, strike three. Hopefully resulting in complete cancellation before the end of the holiday hiatus.