Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation

Watching American Idol the past two weeks has really pissed me right off. Last week, Andrew Lloyd Webber, the god amongst musical theatre, was the special guest to help mentor the contestants and offered his songs for them to sing. Yesterday, Neil Diamond was the weekly mentor and like Webber, handed out his classic songs.

Here is my problem: do the contestants even know who these people are and what songs they are singing? Seriously. Especially the younger Idol hopefuls like that little annoying David Archuleta who is only 17 and probably couldn’t sing his way out of a karaoke bar. But I digress.

I’m 23 years old and grew up listening to, and loving both of these artists. My mother would constantly play the Phantom of the Opera cassette in the car, and I would happily and enthusiastically sing along to You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore and Forever in Blue Jeans.

Just by looking at the way pop culture trends have been going the past 10 years, I like to believe that there is no way in hell those people on Idol have any concept of is going on around them. Sure, they may have known Mariah Carey, but Webber and Diamond who are timeless, I doubt it. Pop culture trends aren’t what they used to be. When I was a kid, my friends and I loved Phantom, I even dressed up as the Phantom for Halloween one year. Today, it is pretty much, pop (hence pop culture). The musical isn’t popular anymore like it was in Webber’s prime with Cats, Phantom and Jesus Christ Superstar. As far as I’m concerned, teens and tweens don’t want to go see a musical, they would rather just stay home and watch High School Musical(the modern equivalent of musicals past) or go to an actual concert. What kid wants to dress up and sit in a theatre with people double and triple their age?

Maybe I’m just being cynical, but I would like to believe that I’m 100% right about this. It is one thing to listen to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s songs on a CD, it is another to go see one of his productions to get the full gamut of his skills. It is one thing to download Sweet Caroline because you heard it in a commercial and thought that it was catchy, it is another thing to sit down and listen to the Neil Diamond music library.

Two words: record sales. Mariah Carey was on the day her new album came out in stores and what better way to boost sales of her I’m sure fabulous and groundbreaking album than to appear on American Idol, where she knew the perfect audience would be watching and ready to get rid of their disposable incomes. So here is my hypothesis: Webber is in the process of writing new material and Diamond has a new album coming out. It makes sense, don’t you think?

I swear to God, if Neil Diamond isn’t wearing a glitter shirt tonight when he performs, I’m going to be one unhappy girl.