Hmmm . . . Maybe We Should Forget the Words, "American Idol"

Composed in Biloxi, Mississippi--

It's good to be down south again.  I'm here to speak to a large manufacturing company on how to sharpen employee communication skills. 

I really enjoy my life as an author, speaker and consultant.  I enjoyed my previous life as a musician, as well.  When I performed with my brothers in the rock band Caruso, we had a pretty simple professional creed:  Start on time, no wrong notes, no missed lyrics. 

We thought that was the least we could do for the people who hired us and the folks in the audience.

Yet, two of the Top 10 finalists on American Idol forgot the lyrics on national television.

I thought that entertainment standards were slipping when karaoke became popular in the United States.  That's when amateur singers started to replace professional bands in nightclubs. 

Now, the highest rated entertainment show on television features glaring mistakes on a regular basis.   Is this the best we can do? 

Does it bug you when entertainers get it wrong?

Comments

[Brad Walker]

I try to teach my daughter that it is o.k. to make mistakes as long as we learn from them and try to do better the next time. What bugs me the most is when someone expects perfection from those they lead but regularly make mistakes themselves and blow it off as "Oops, I messed up." Hypocrisy has no place in leadership.

[Steven G. Atkinson]

The idea is to always have a perfect performance. Do mistakes happen? Even to the best it happens at times, usually when beginning something new.

That's what I think you have on American Idol. The performers are being pulled every which way and usually perform the songs with limited rehearsal time. That's what leads to the mistakes.

When you consider American idol is little more than an amateur hours, we should expect good, but maybe not perfect.

In my opinion, Carrie Underwood is a much better performer today than she was when on the show. But then again she's had a lot more practice.