Aaron Amos

Anyone seen any letters to the editor about Kelly Clarkson since she won "American Idol"? Mods if this the wrong place feel free to move to TV Talk.

Published: Fri, Sep 13, 2002
Should we be worshipping that 'idol'?
Reporter Editor:
Gimme a break. Just watching the roving reporter, Mark Pita, interviewing the newest American idol, Kelly Clarkson, I have my reservations and can't help to voice my biting remarks.

I guess this young woman portrayed a better appearance on national TV, where at least her hair looked more attractive, than during Mr. Pita's interview, where she chewed gum, sloughing in a chair.

Judging her bearing and manners, I have a serious problem depicting her as an idol. Her vocabulary maintained an abundance of "oh, yeahs" and "cools." And she doesn't strike me as particularly intelligent, either.

There are more attractive, well-mannered young women in our society than her. Like the proverbial "girl next door."

So, who are these people who select these "idols"? I strongly believe that they themselves have low standards and really don't know, what makes a woman attractive.

I had my role models, when I grew up. My parents.

I didn't need multimillionaire jocks or weirdos in the entertainment industry to apply myself to. But then, maybe there a quotient missing in our nation: a good parent, which in a lot of families is nonexistent.

Thus, youngsters emulate these so-called idols.

Sigurd Bauer, Vacaville

http://www.thereporter.com/Current/plet.html#05friday

DodgingCars

Does he realize that she was chosen because of her amazing voice?

flair

Ummm, can i ask who is Kelly Clarkson, and whats american idol?

BigPete

I agree. One talent, an idol should not make.

SBatL8y

DC-I agree. She wasn't chosen because she was pretty (well, that may have played a small part in it) or because of the way she sat in a chair or because of her vocabulary. She DOES have an AMAZING voice. -jealous-

Jadzia

I didn't know we were supposed to worship her?

eXcentris

I can't worship someone I've never heard about. I was going to say "someone I've never seen" but plenty of people do that.

Brian Shannon

Who?

AndyCapps

I guess this thread may be served better in TV Talk since more people there have heard of her.

Static Cling

Does this make any sense at all? If you compare a real person to a constructed archetype... "the proverbial girl next door"... of course, the real person will fall short.

I watched half of one episode of American Idol, so I don't think I'm biased... but I think Mr. Bauer missed the point and woke up on the wrong side of the bed one morning.

Aaron, what do you think about the article?

das Monkey

• Quoth Aaron Amos •<HR SIZE=1>And she doesn't strike me as particularly intelligent, either.<HR SIZE=1>

With all the sentence fragments, spelling errors, and grammatical mistakes in that letter, I'm not so sure her intelligence is the best place for this author to assert superiority.

As others have suggested, someone missed the point. They were searching for someone who could sing/present factory-produced pop music, not the role model for your children.

das

J-Dubya

popcorn

For those who never saw her before:



Like many, I never watched American Idol. My friend sent me a copy of her final performance that won it all for her. She has a great voice. I think that's the extent of it.
No worship involved...

Patman

I've been watching the clips of Kelly's performances on AI, and I'm still stunned by them given the backdrop of the whole competition. I think my favorite is still the big band number "Stuff like That" (or something along those lines). She can do it all in terms of singing styles.

She gets the props for being an AI because of her ability to entertains us, not by her example (or non-example) in terms of everyday living. She can do something that only a small percentage of people can, which is sing and sing well with a lot of range and verve, and she's only going to get better with time and training.

Kelly didn't win the Miss Young America title, no, she won a singing competition. That's it. What more needs to be discussed if she likes to chew gum and has bad sitting posture?

Buford T Pusser

WORD!

WarriorPrincess

I only have a little to add since das and Patman did such a great job of explaining why the writer of that letter was just wrong and had no idea what he was talking about. That being said, I'll counter his letter anyway.

Kelly has a wonderful voice and spirit, and I think that is worthy of popstardom. Much more so than most pop stars these days. As to her looks - I think she's lovely. She's fairly ordinary looking with no makeup, but when she's all decked out she's quite pretty. Add that natural beauty to her internal sparkle and life, and that is "the girl next door."

I also love that she's not a size zero. She has a lovely figure and style, and is much closer to a "real" girl than the other girls in the competition, not to mention models and actresses today. So in that respect, I do think she should be looked up to by young girls - far better to have Kelly as a role model (look, everyone can be pretty, being a normal weight is pretty, etc.) than someone like Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera. I'm tired of girls today thinking they need to be anorexic to look good. If I had a daughter, I'd teach her how true beauty comes from within - just like with Kelly.

Josh-da-man

She won a recording contract on a game show.

Big whoop.

She'll fade into obscurity faster than that Jesse VJ on MTV.

Aaron Amos

Thanks for saying that ! That's what I would of said anyway!

Buford T Pusser

No prob.

Static Cling

Uh... so... what do you think about the article? Or do you have no opinion?

Buford T Pusser

Once again, but in a smaller way, WORD!

Aaron Amos

no opinion.

Jackskeleton

Shouldn't we be discussing something here?

In any case. what is there to say? So she's not mrs. perfect. but guess what, every chick has a flaw just like every guy. Should we worship her? Nope. but thats saying you shouldn't worship any "person" save that for your religion or something. is she an Idol. not really, she just won some contest. this is like saying is Ms. America really the all american chick? Nope.

basiclly, this means nothing. have you seen half of the biggest actors/actress when they are not all made up? N-A-S-T-Y!! some of those on screen are really Miracle jobs you just have to wonder how they changed with the make up department.

Lets see if she can keep up a singing career.

huzefa

What did this Kelly Clarkson ever do for me? Why should I worship her anyway? Now if she can perform a private show for me, I might change my mind.....

Patman

Sounds like many who posts in this thread just aren't the demographic that AI is aimed at.

BTW, according to US magazine, Kelly's a self-professed virgin.