I caught tonight's episode of Pinoy Idol, right after watching American Idol's rerun and seeing Magnolia triumph (surprisingly) over Red Bull. It's kinda strange, watching Coach Siot just stand calmly by the sidelines. It's not something I'm used to.

Anyway, where was I? Ah, Pinoy Idol. Tonight, they screened the almost 200 contestants who escaped the auditions and received a golden ticket, narrowing the hopefuls down to a mere ninety. I never had high hopes for this competition in the first place, disliking the fact that they were advertising it as though "Philippine Idol", which aired on ABC5, had never existed. COME ON. Load of dung. Besdies, "Philippine Idol" wasn't that successful anyway; they certainly didn't get people with enough charisma to draw me in, and I'm pretty certain I can say the same for the general public.

But then again, I suppose ABC5 back then did poorly in marketing "Philippine Idol" and so failed to attract fantastic singers. Hell, they even failed to market their winner (don't even remember her whole name, duh) so she could sell. I expected better marketing skills from GMA7.

Okay, so they had people from all over the country flock to their auditions... and all sorts too, from the son of a datu to people with ah... special abilities (that's what they call it today). Everybody had a chance (or so that's what the judges tried to make the people believe). But again, COME ON. This is show business; some people are born to do it and some aren't. I certainly spotted more than a few contestants who made it based on that they looked, well, looked like their looks needed less work than the others. That's fine with me.

What I didn't like was that it was painfully obvious what they were looking for. They weren't on the search for the "Pinoy Idol"; they were looking for the next "Pinoy Pop Superstar". Yeah, I know they had an old show that went with the same title, but I couldn't help but use that pun. The judges favored those who could sing R&B, pop songs and ballads. I mean, I guess I couldn't fault them because they probably had no choice, seeing as all the contestants sounded THE SAME. Or rather, they all sounded like somebody I've heard in the past. And I just don't mean their style on singing; they have that same voice quality that just screams, "Hey, I'm copying Regine Velasquez or Jaya or Ogie or somebody else equally famous". I can excuse, certainly, the more different ones: there was one who sounded like nails scratching on the blackboard, one who sounded as though he was in a declamation contest... They were different, certainly, but they were awful.

I was hoping this one guy who had a really good voice, a voice that's almost theatrical, could get in. His voice was whole and pure, and yeah, never mind how he looks like. And then Wynguard Tracy, who obviously goes for the pop thing, had to make a crack about the Broadway voice. Stupid. I don't know why they're encouraging pop so much when we already have more pop singers than we can use them for. Isn't it obvious that Pinoys dig more into rock bands nowadays? Seems to me like Pinoy Idol is on a suicide mission.

I also hated the comments that went along the lines of "Hindi iyan ang hinahanap namin sa Pinoy Idol", just because the contestant wasn't pop-ish, even though the contestant sang just as well as the others who preceded him (Er, that wasn't exactly a compliment). Damn, the show does not recognise individuality, not even the charm that each musical genre can offer. How can they ever hope to appeal to the Filipinos' different tastes in music?

So yeah, to conclude this little rant, all I can say is that the judges are screwing Pinoy Idol. Totally. Ogie was complimenting a singer, saying "parang daling-dali ka," when in fact I think the girl's face was so scrunched up in difficulty, she's going to develop lines all over. Jolina, I can excuse, because I think the show has scripted her to be the kind, encouraging one, and also because she's a pop icon. And she's on target when she says somebody misses too many notes, etc. However dim, she's the only light in this show.

Pinoy Idol is headed for disaster, that much I can say. It was the same way with Pinoy Pop Superstar; they kept on producing the same kinds of winners (gosh the girls all even look something alike), the public has gotten rather tired of it.

I wanted to say something about American Idol in relation to this post, but now I'm not so sure if I should lest I get bitten by narrow-minded bugs who'd slam me for being colonial in mind. But I guess I'll say something, if only briefly: American Idol has high ratings, despite all talks about the show being rigged, because they showcase different kinds of singers. Take a look at their Top 4: Syesha's the diva, David A's the pop balladeer, David C's the rocker, Jason's style is more laidback, something suited for acoustic nights.

I'm sure the Philippines doesn't lack a diversity of singers, but I'm also sure they didn't all try out for Pinoy Idol. That begs the obvious question of why. Maybe they think they don't need Pinoy Idol at all, and that's a point against the show and the way it has been marketed. Or maybe there have been those who tried out and, like Mr. Broadway, got rejected. Maybe they weren't good enough, or maybe, like my conspiracy theory suggested, the show had been conceptualised so that it discriminates against them. I'm willing to be some bucks the one who ultimately wins Pinoy Idol is somebody like Ogie, Regine, and all the other young contestants who've won before them.

Whatever the reason for the mediocrity, the blandness and lack of versatility among the contestants (nobody needs a crystal ball to be able to predict that, or even be a masterclass, for that matter), the fact that it will happen only has one inevitable conclusion.

Oh, wow. Why am I not on tenterhooks?