Elliott Yamin: The Rodney Dangerfield of American Idol
By Shirley Kennedy
May 16, 2006

I have a burning question for American Idol viewers: What the heck happened on Wednesday? I don’t know what’s going on this year, but slowly, the best singers have systematically been eliminated from the competition. First, Mandisa; now, Chris. What in the world is the voting public doing? I’m starting to agree that American Idol is little more than a popularity contest. While I’m certainly no musical expert or executive, I know a good voice when I hear one, and both of these singers have great voices. I’m sorry, but I can’t vote for the “cutest,” the “funniest,” or the “most likeable.” I’ve got to vote on the singing, period. As I’ve said before, I love good music; being cute, funny, or likable just doesn’t cut it for me.

The Rodney Dangerfield of American Idol
The Rodney Dangerfield of American Idol

As if the shocking elimination of Chris Daughtry is not enough to drive some viewers over the edge, the continued disrespect shown to Elliott Yamin by the media boggles the mind. Elliott turned in possibly his best performances to date on Tuesday night. He displayed “bad boy” attitude on “Trouble” and demonstrated better than decent performance skills for an inexperienced performer. I was impressed. (Okay, so I was already impressed, but that’s beside the point.) The next day, however, some media outlets—including MSNBC and Fox—had already tapped Elliott as the next elimination. Good thing they were wrong. I have decided that Elliott is the Rodney Dangerfield of singing: “[He] don’t get no respect.” Some of the criticisms I have heard of Elliott is that “I don’t care for the type of music he does,” which makes little sense to me. I’m not a country music fan, but I absolutely love Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying.” Yes, I even have it on my MP3 player. As a true music lover, I find that I can enjoy a variety of types of music, especially when the vocalist is on. I’m sorry, but Elliott Yamin was “on” Tuesday.

As for Chris’s performances on Tuesday, I loved “Suspicious Minds” but wasn’t overly thrilled with “A Little Less Conversation.” I still believe that Chris deserved to stay in; he’s a strong performer with mad skills. As he did with Elliott the week before, Nigel Lythgoe had to go on radio to compare Chris’s performance to that of an earlier contestant. I was blown away by his comment that “John Peter Lewis’s performance [of “A Little Less Conversation”] was better.” Sorry JPL fans, but he cannot and should not be compared to Chris Daughtry. Please. Many Chris Daughtry fans are up in arms; they have signed a petition regarding alleged voting irregularities and are demanding that a recount be made. At the very least, the fans would like a “do-over.” I can certainly feel their pain. However, “do-overs” and irregularities are not the issue; the voting system is.

American Idol allows fans to vote as many times as they possibly can for “at least two hours.” What does that mean exactly? For example, does it mean that if you’re voting for Elliott you only get an hour and a half, but if you vote for Taylor you get three? I’m not sure what the “at least two hours” means, and I think the show should either explain or rephrase. If voters honestly receive two hours to vote for all contestants, why not just say, “Vote for the full two hours?” The very act of using the phrase “for at least two hours” leaves room for suspicion, doubt, and complaints. Perhaps the Idol producers like the complaints; they certainly enjoy the games. On Wednesday’s elimination, Taylor was requested, allegedly by a celebrity, to perform “Jailhouse Rock” again. From my perspective, this request was scripted and was designed to lead viewers to believe that Taylor was in the bottom two. That was certainly my first thought. Because of this game-playing, we were robbed of Chris’s final performance on the show. Oh, the games we play. Mostly, however, the voting system serves to eliminate good contestants like Chris before their time.

I am also a fan of “Dancing with the Stars,” and I much prefer their voting procedures to those of American Idol. If you’re not familiar with this show, voters receive a number of votes per line, plus one Internet vote. These votes are then added to the judges’s votes, to arrive at a total for each pair. This could work on Idol. I emphasize “could” because I’m not sure that the current panel of judges can be unbiased enough to accomplish this. The DWTS judges’ never show favoritism toward any of the contestants (despite Bruno’s lust for Stacy); they merely commented on their performances. Idol needs to limit its votes in some fashion. Allowing unlimited voting for two-hour blocks of time heavily favors the younger set. Only the very young and teens can sit and mindlessly dial a phone for two hours. I’m sorry, but I have other things to do after the show folds for the evening. However, because I have a definite favorite this year who I want to see win, I have incorporated all kinds of voting tools into my Tuesday night routine. A friend of mine at work commented the other day that he no longer votes. Why? He figures there is no point. To him, allowing speed dialers and text messaging makes the competition unfair, but does it really? Not if everyone has them.

Unfortunately, if you want your votes to make a difference, you must jump on the bandwagon. The massive voting numbers make the producers happy, and if you want your favorite to stay, you must reduce yourself to the ranks of the voting fools on Tuesday night. So be it. In spite of myself, I have joined the ranks. If I had joined in last year, I might have been able to help my favorite, Bo Bice, win the title. I can’t sit idly by and watch that happen again with Elliott. Even if he doesn’t win, I will know that I did my part. Just like in any election, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain, but I’m not voting so that I can complain. I’m voting to help the person win that I believe most deserves to win. This statement is not a slight against the remaining two competitors; both are talented, but I prefer “that other guy,” as a radio personality has referred to Elliott.

As long as they continue to bring in millions of dollars, American Idol is not going to change its voting procedures. Only a massive drop in ratings will accomplish changes. Are you upset that Chris was prematurely eliminated? What about Mandisa? If so, and if you plan to watch again next year to choose a favorite, you must also jump on board. Otherwise, you will sit in outrage as your favorites are eliminated by those with faster fingers and more time. We are now almost at the end of this journey. Who is going to take it all? My money’s still on the crooner, he of the magical pipes—Elliott Yamin. No matter the outcome, you’ve got to admit this show makes for great TV. Where else can you watch a Cinderella story unfold? Where else can a guy who dropped out of school, got a GED, and worked just about every odd job known to man become an international star? When all is said and done, I have to say that’s pretty cool.

Shirley has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, with an emphasis on Creative Writing, from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Hey Loth, beautiful and thought provoking post. Thanks for taking the time to post such an intelligent essay of sorts.

Btw, don't you mean "Cinderfella" story?