American Idol

I worked for American Idol this week. They held a whirlwind audition here in Salt Lake City. I was excited merely for the value of their name. I can now say, hey, I worked on the production crew of American Idol.

I don’t watch the show. I think it is boring and the fanaticism it receives is verging on, ironically, idolism. All most workers cared about on the production was whether or not Simon, Paula, and Randy were going to visit. Would we meet them? Well, I met Ryan Seacrest. He alone came to visit. We were lucky for that. He only comes when he has time and only visits a few of the tryout cities.

But like I said, I didn’t really care. I was more impressed and excited about meeting the producers of the show. For three days I got to work with the people who make American Idol. I mean really make it, and make more than $2 billion a season. They hire the crews, work the cameras, plan the tours, schedule the talent, seek the sponsors; everything. And they work insanely hard schedules. My shift was around fifteen hours a day. Theirs started before mine and ended long after mine. They are just ordinary people. They were nice, funny, tired.

Once again, whether you watch the show or not, love it or hate it—I heard plenty of both, there was something there I hadn’t expected. I had my suspicions about the shallow Hollywood production that seemed the epitome of capitalistic business and marketing driving out what art and purity there was left in the entertainment world. But as I walked the line of thousands of people waiting to enter, I found that something more. They played guitars and sang. They laughed with one another, complete strangers mere hours before. It was a party atmosphere. Everyone was accepted. If you were in line, you were now part of the American Idol family.

The motives of the top executives may be questionable. But the show really has created a movement on the public level. Democrat, Republican, black, white, Jew and Christian; it didn’t matter. The problems of the world drifted away; all that mattered was singing. And for three days I got to be a part of it.