Leona Lewis Had to Earn Success in the US
As you probably know, American Idol is a massive hit TV show in the U.S. Each week, 30+ million people tune in to watch the show, sometimes even more. Any contestant that makes even the top ten of American Idol gains a certain level of fame and notoriety. Its a great springboard to a career in the music industry, for those who can make it through to the Hollywood round.
Of course, one of the major criticisms of American Idol is that the contestants are getting a free ride to stardom. A lot of people out there consider an American Idol appearance a method of cheating your way into the music industry. These naysayers cite bands that worked for years and years, and supposedly earned their way to stardom, if such a thing is possible.
Now Ive always held the belief that getting to the final 10 of American Idol takes a certain level of talent, and that in itself is an impressive feat. Sure, there are some suspect contestants that make it much further than their talent should allow (for example, Sanjaya), but most of the time these people have some other star quality that makes people like them and vote for them. But its not like people just show up and get voted through to the finals. They still have to perform and showcase the necessary talent, so in many ways its no different than performing for a packed bar (its just on a much larger scale).
Leona Lewis, if you dont know, won the British reality show The X Factor last year. The X Factor is the British equivalent of American Idol. In the U.K. and other parts of Europe, Leona had the advantage of releasing her first album to fans that were already familiar with her singing from the show (this is one of the great advantage that Idol contestants have). However, Leona Lewis was pretty much unknown in the U.S. until she released her recent single, Bleeding Love. Well, a week ago Bleeding Love reached number one on the Billboard Charts. It has been in the top ten for several weeks now. The "Bleeding Love" ringtone is very popular as well.
Again, most Americans never knew about Leona Lewis before. Bleeding Love didnt reach #1 because Leona was on The X Factor. It didnt reach #1 because people loved Leonas personality, or because they thought she was attractive or had good style. It reached #1 because its a good song that a lot of people enjoy and can relate to.
We often criticize reality show contestants as being successful solely due to their appearance on TV, but a lot of times they do have legitimate talent. Leona Lewis is a reminder of that.
About the Author: Jason Gluckman is a freelance writer specializing in music, TV, social issues and self-improvement. He loves "American Idol" and isn't ashamed to have lots of Idol ringtones and other Cellular One ringtones on his phone.
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