66% of the Dummocrats staff are into The Amazing Race. Sadly, I've not seen it. I'm an American Idol viewer, which in the pantheon of reality shows tends to put me on a par with the average Wheel of Fortune contestant. Whatever.

I guess I like it because in a former life, I was tangentially connected to the music world, although it was classical and not pop. But still, it's kind of interesting to see the public presentation of the "artiste" on shows like this and know what's likely going on behind the scenes. Suffice it to say it's a crappy world, obsessed with labels and niches (it's no accident that "niche" is Paula Abdul's favorite word...she's probably heard it all her professional life.).

Anyway, after watching last night (and inspired by a Daily Page thread), I thought I'd write up some general thoughts.

It's a wide field, and unusually so in my opinion. I think there are two people who are way out in the Red Zone, and everyone else is wandering on their own 10 yard line. Those two are Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice.

Carrie undoubtedly has the look of the pop singer. She's the young, cute, blonde, non-saggy pop tart. She's non-threatening. Safe. And yes, she has talent in no small amount. My main complaint with her is that she's largely untrained or self-taught. That's fine if you're limited to singing ballads at the Bumbletweed County Fair, but when it comes to the big leagues those limitations become more apparent. With that said, it's certainly reasonable to point out that the majority of the pop audience doesn't even care...I give you Madonna's early career.

Bo Bice is almost the antithesis of Carrie. He's not what you think of when you think pop music. He's older and doesn't seem as approachable. And if you were to badger me incessantly about it, I might admit he doesn't have as much raw talent as others in the show. But what he does have in spades is professionalism and experience. He knows what he's capable of and he excels at it. During the inane parts of the earlier shows (like when they were talking about their astrological signs) you could sense this undercurrent of disgust from him at having to put up with it. That isn't his thing. He's the kind of musician who shows up on time, ready to play, does so very well, and then leaves with no fanfare or diva attitude. He takes his craft seriously. And I respect the hell out of that.

As for the others, I view them as largely unremarkable. Your mileage may vary.

update: Looks like there was a problem with the voting, and we're going to have a do-over:

According to an "Idol" statement released early Wednesday morning, "due to an error with the graphics shown on-screen, incorrect voting numbers were displayed during the performance recap at the end of [Tuesday's show] a live, one-hour show will air Wednesday, 9:00-10:00 p.m. to enable a re-vote. This new show will combine new live elements with encores of Tuesday's performances from the remaining 11 contestants."