2oceansvibe’s disgust at the incredibly low levels of professionalism over at IDOLS has been echoed throughout the media world over the past couple of months. The most recent of which was yesterday in IOL’s Tonight Section:

Check, check, check it out (source – iol):

Idols, hitting the wrong note
March 22, 2009
By Claire Angelique

“Oh my baby, I have just one thing to say to you, amandhlaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Um, ja, hmmm, what can I say, I know I might be contradicting myself here but …”

“As I’ve said before at this stage of the competition its very important that you give a defining performance and that was quite frankly …”

“‘Never mind those two, I thought you were rocking”, “Not dynamic enough”, “You got it baby”, “I was bored”, “It was kind of cheesy”, “I love you, my baby.”

Recognise these gems? Well, if your Sunday evenings are as boring as mine you must be tuned into the circus of performing monkeys commonly known as South African Idols.

Yes folks, M-Net’s fifth season of Idols is shamelessly slurping up your money in the guise of your choosing the next big thing.

That is if you’re gullible enough to spend R2 per SMS voting for your favourite and, boy, is there a desperate batch of contestants to endure before one is crowned king.

King? Well if we take Sony/ BMG honcho Dave Thompson’s word, this year it’s going to be the unfairer sex that will win the car, the contract and the fame.

The thing is, though, is that this year’s Idols just feels hackneyed and amateurish. As does the new presenter, Liezel van der Westhuizen.

Internet forums and Monday morning coffee machine conversations are filled with remarks about the sub-standard quality of the contestants in comparison to, say, the initial glory years enjoyed by Idols, which spawned real talent such as winner Karin Kortjé and Melanie Lowe (who came third) or media darlings Heinz Winckler (winner) and ex-presenter Colin Moss

This year, by discontinuing the judges’ vote, it’s a wonder why they’re even there in the first place.

After four seasons anybody with half a memory can quite easily predict their commentary.

 

Randall Abrahams,
as seen in the MNET TV guide

Randall, a calculating, serious, no-nonsense doubting Thomas, ensures that contestants are kept in their place before their heads explode. Sloth-like Dave’s observations are as exciting as a marmite sandwich, while Gareth, the opportunistic Hollywood-styled Adonis, obviously wants to see a bit more of Pixie Bennett – and that’s not only about her making it through to the final three. Finally we have Mama Africa, Mara, who can hardly contain her excitement when one of her many “babies” actually manages to hit a note.

[click here to read more]

Good work, Claire! And I strongly advise the readers to read the rest of her article, because she seems to have nailed it on the head and has an acute understanding of the pain and embarrassment that we all feel when we see how a clever TV franchise has completely wasted and abused by our local broadcasters.

I still can’t quite understand why they didn’t get the likes of Johnny Clegg, Arno Carstens or McCully Workshop to do the judging. Christ, even Danny K and Patricia Lewis would have added some credibility and quality and, dare I say, professionalism.

So sad.

[thanks francois]