Arts & Entertainment
Idol Worship
TV's American Idol provides a stage where the politics
of national, regional, ethnic and religious identity
are performed before millions of viewers.
"The main framework of the book is the
idea that American Idol becomes a perfor-
mance of many different kinds of American
identities," says the author, who holds
atherine Meizel knows what it
advanced degrees from the University of
means to have a change of heart
California, Santa Barbara, and currently is
— particularly when it comes to
a visiting assistant professor at the Oberlin
entertainment. As a young person thinking
Conservatory of Music in Ohio.
about careers, she did not start out wanting
to study opera. As a university student, she
"This is a really important historical
moment [in time], when confirming, reaf-
did not start out watching American Idol to
firming or searching for American identity
pick tomorrow's music stars.
has become a very significant part of early-
Both interests emerged as strictly aca-
21st-century experience post 9-11.
demic.
"There has been a
Meizel, growing up in
real push to rework and
California, was thinking
re-identify what makes
of going into musical
Americans "Americans"
theater when a voice
and what makes
coach advised her to
America "America."
learn the classics as a
Through music and
foundation. That ulti-
particularly [personal]
mately led to a doctorate
stories, American Idol
in vocal performance.
gives this stage where
Along the way to her
identities are per-
first doctorate, Meizel
formed and this entire
became interested in
history of thinking of
ethnomusicology and
American-ness is per-
decided to get a second
AMERICAN
formed for us:'
doctorate. An appropri-
Idolized covers the
ate dissertation, she
KATHERINE I_ MEIZEL
show from the perspec-
decided, would be on
"The narrative of America's most
American Idol.
tives of reality televi-
popular TV show represents real
sion, musical styles,
That scholarly writ-
ing project led to a book life, and real politics, renegotiated success and failure,
in song," writes author Katherine
religious and civil wor-
and intensifying devo-
ship, mobility, voting
tion to the program she Meizel.
and democracy.
researched. Idolized:
Music, Media and Identity in American
"The entire season of 16 weeks is a
long advertisement for whatever products
Idol (Indiana University Press; $22.95) will
(albums and artists) are going to come out
be released Feb. 3, just after the program
of that season," says Meizel, who does some
launches its 10th season Wednesday, Jan.
performing with an ensemble.
19, on FOX.
"The show invites the audience to pick
"When I started writing about American
Idol, I watched part of the first season and that product so the whole idea is about con-
a couple of episodes of the second season',' sumer choice. It's not just about democracy;
it's about the democratic process."
says Meizel, 37, who attended auditions
Meizel, whose doctoral thesis for sing-
and interviewed production staff mem-
bers as part of her analysis.
ing was on Sephardic Jewish song and the
way classical composers have set that into
"I had been a voice major; and in clas-
sical singing, there's a general sense that
art forms, references Idol's aspiring Jewish
there's one right way to sing. I don't feel
artists in her text (though during the show
neither of the two mentioned his Judaism).
like that anymore. The more I watched, the
more I realized there was a lot to the show;
Adam Lambert in the eighth season is
and I have the highest respect for the con-
discussed in terms of the impact of his
unspoken homosexuality on fans in general
testants because they have a tremendous
amount of work and are really talented."
as well as his unspoken Judaism on Jewish
Meizel fully explains her feelings and
fans, who realized he was Jewish through a
performance in Hebrew at a Yitzhak Rabin
findings in Idolized.
Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News
K
IDOLIZED
memorial seen on the Internet.
"I talk a lot in my book about coalition
voting, people voting for a representative of
whatever [groups] they identify with, and
that is sort of what happened when I voted
for Elliott Yamin in the fifth season',' says
Meizel, whose third-season vote went to the
winning Fantasia.
"I did like his voice, but I had a suspicion
he was Jewish, confirmed anecdotally and
in a Jewish newspaper. It was the first time
I had actually identified with a contestant
other than as a singer."
Meizel, whose late grandmother (Rose
Meizel) lived in Southfield, has written
about American Idol in a blog for Slate and
has thoughts on the upcoming season,
when two new celebrity judges, Jennifer
Lopez and Steven Tyler, join Randy Jackson.
"The new panel has two genuine stars,
one a pop star and the other a rock star;
and it seems like this is meant to explic-
itly confirm the importance (and market
potential) of rock in a show that has until
very recently been more oriented toward
pop and soul:' Meizel says.
"It's needed because Americans still, to
a degree, understand pop and rock as dia-
metrically opposed — pop as commercial
and fake, rock as artistic and authentic. By
including Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, Idol is
maybe out to capitalize on that feeling of
authenticity.
"Jennifer Lopez is a bit like Paula Abdul
in that she is a strong dancer and was
generally very nice to the contestants
when she was a guest mentor in the sixth
season, but she has other qualities that
Idol might build on. She has her own
important audience to bring to Idol with
her crossover appeal in mainstream pop,
R&B, hip-hop and Latin markets."
Two other upcoming books bring differ-
ent insights into the popular show.
Shirley Halperin, recently named music
editor at the Hollywood Reporter and
former writer for Entertainment Weekly
and Billboard, presents a photographic
history of the program in American Idol:
Celebrating 10 Years (Abrams Image;
$22.95; March 1 release date).
Richard Rushfield, who has been writing
about the show for the Los Angeles Times
and the Daily Beast, has developed American
Idol: The Untold Story (Hyperion; $24.99; Jan.
18 release date), taking readers behind the
scenes with alumni interviews. Li
During Season Eight, second-place
finisher Adam Lambert (pictured
on Idol) offered almost nothing
to go on in terms of "the clearly
delineated identity markers that
usually inform the contestants'
Idol campaigns," writes Meizel.
"While press speculation about
Lambert revolved around the issue
of his then unspoken but assumed
homosexuality, the other question
that sent viewers running to the
Internet had to do with his unspoken
Jewish identity."
"The issue of televised Jewishness
is a tricky one and a problem I had
encountered previously as an Idol
viewer," writes Meizel. "Paula Abdul
did not discuss her own Jewish
heritage with the press until Season
Five third-place finisher Elliott Yamin
(pictured on Idol) was a contestant;
she appeared on CNN's Larry
King Live in May 2006, and King
suggested that Abdul and Yamin had
shared a special bond because of
their Jewishness."
American Idol launches its 10th
season 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19,
on FOX.
January 6 . 2011
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