Josh Bates & Kristin M. Barton
The Idol competition is not without merit in terms of musical talent, but
an accomplished artist that advances from round to round can still deliver a
wanting number, particularly when he or she merely replicates the tones of
the artist whom originally performed the song. Caryn James of the New York
Times writes, “The music and arrangements [of American Idol] are trite, full
of wannabe Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder wails. Originality is a losing
strategy.” With this in mind, it is arguable that any musical product “conceived,
manufactured and marketed” (Stahl 217) around American Idol can carry value
outside of its use as a commercial asset. “‘Idol...is a slick new step in music
marketing,” laments Boston Globe writer Matthew Gilbert, “it’s not some kind
of altruistic attempt to give a young performer a chance at the big time; it’s the
Charting the Progression of Popular Music
Due to the subjectivity of ever-changing musical tastes and preferences,
research must include the examination of a myriad of objective songwriting
components and musical elements, including (but not limited to): harmonic
content; dynamics; mixing (the spatial arrangements of instrumentation);
song structure (formatting sections such as verse, chorus, and bridge) and
in terms of their relevance for distinguishing between music that is diverse
and meaningful and music deemed homogenous and unsubstantial. Analyzed
within the context of popular songs both before and after the creation and
airing of American Idol, these musical components can be used to measure
not only the differences between the aforementioned song distinctions, but
also to determine a causal relation, if any, between Idol and the proposed
decline in original and interesting music.
A look at the progression of increased similitude in chart-topping music
in the past three decades of Rolling Stone’s (hereafter abbreviated RS) topranked lists reveal a parallel to the unvarying music of today and the advent
of American Idol
at this time), as charted by RS, were from the following artists: 1) REO
Speedwagon 2) Steve Winwood 3) The Who 4) STYX 5) Rush (RS, 1981).
R&B soul-singer. By June, 1990, the magazine expanded the top-ranked lists
to incorporate the expansion of growing musical artistry. The top 5 singles
at this time were from: 1) Sinead O’Connor 2) Madonna 3) Heart 4) Janet
Jackson 5) Michael Bolton. Found in this category are solo female artists with
disparate qualities, a female rock band, and a soulful male singer/songwriter.
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