A Lack of Musical Taste

Let me set the record straight:

I love classical music and enjoy good jazz. I like some Oldies...but my friends have always considered me something of a fuddy-duddy when it comes to music. And, until this season, I rarely watched "American Idol"...figuring that it was (a) a bit hokey, and (b) featured talent that wasn't really worth all the hoopla.

This season, was different.

This season, the show featured a number of very talented unknowns---who were also, it seemed, highly likable.

And this season, the show had a major star in the making, in the person of a well-mannered kid who is a natural performer---and whose performances were, in the main, bold, fresh, and electrifying.

This season belonged to Adam Lambert...at least, until the final vote---when the country gave the "title" to a very nice young man, who was also very talented. But, like the rest of the group, he didn't really belong on the same stage as the runner-up. (And, in what I regard as a telling comment---both on Adam's level of talent, and on the kind of human being that the "winner" is---even Kris Allen, in the aftermath of winning, was (a) shocked, and (b) falling over himself to say that the title really belonged to Adam.

This was a nice group...a very talented group...and an entertaining season.

It's too bad that the Final had to demonstrate a truth that we often forget: the Public, as a whole, suffers from a lack of musical taste.

Other than prejudice (it's reported that Adam was photographed kissing another guy...and his eyeliner suggests an "other-than-mainstream" orientation), it's the only reasonable explanation for choosing the star over the nice guy.

JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.