American Idol will lower its eligibility age for Season 10, reports USA TODAY's Bill Keveney, allowing 15-year-olds to audition for the first time. "A lot of young, talented people are now seeking careers and representation before they turn 16," executive producer Cecile Frot-Coutaz. says. "Lowering the age limit allows us to tap into this talent pool." The show previously had a 16-to-28 age limit.Ok. Here's what I have to say, DUMB IDEA! Haha.
Sure, talent is talent - no matter the age - but Idol is just obviously doing this to try and find the next Bieber or Miley Cyrus before she/he can be discovered on YouTube or something. I mean, say what you want about Bieber - and we all have, trust me. haha - but the kid is a goldmine. So, I really can’t blame them for wanting to appeal to a younger demographic. I personally think that this does harbor a change to cater the show to a younger audience, something I had suspected they were considering.
That said, the idea is still beyond crap because kids that young are mostly not anywhere near ready to be professional touring musicians. I’ve always felt the youngest ones are not really ready and could use more time getting experience – in both performance and life.
Yes, there have been teens that were capable of doing Idol, and I'm sure there are more. But they really have to be ready like Diana Degarmo, Paris Bennett, Jordin Sparks, David Archuleta and Allison Iraheta - all had years of performance training before they embarked on Idol. Heck, even the teens I mentioned were a bit raw for the whole Idol experience - or machination.
Wrong direction for Idol, if you ask me. I think they need to increase the age to 18, not lower it. Going from 16 to 15 is fairly odd on their part. I could name a laundry list of things to change about the show, but this would not make the cut. Oh well. I don’t see how one measly year will make much of a difference anyway - if they changed it to 12 or something like that then that would be a big deal. 16 to 15, not so much.
This move - at least to me - feels very superficial, and until Idol addresses the deeper issues that have derailed their ratings train, I have no doubt that it’s going to just be more of the same next season. Idol has much deeper fundamental problems than this..
