March 19, 2024

Randy Jackson is Full of Crap and Destroying Our Culture

I’ve watched American Idol since its inception and am a fan. Months ago, I predicted that Angie would win this year. we will know for sure in a few weeks.

In the post-Simon Cowell years of American Idol, the quality of judging has become tedious, cloying and adoring of the young contestants. There has been little instructive teaching for the kids competing or the audience at home. That’s a shame because American Idol used to feature legendary artists every week as mentors who would perform a quickie masterclass for contestants (and audience) who otherwise would enjoy no such access to expertise. One of my favorite mentors a few years back was Harry Connick, Jr. It was also one of the lowest rated episodes of the season. Despite the relative (un)popularity of Mr. Connick, he taught the kids, played with them and wrote charts suited to their talents. He was a great mentor.

I was thrilled to see Harry back on Idol again this week and he ignited a firestorm when he refused to agree with the incredibly terrible advice being dispensed by an incredibly disingenuous Randy Jackson. You can the details of his awful advice in the well-written article linked below, but suffice to say that Mr. Jackson knows better. He may not have the talent and musical knowledge of Harry Connick, Jr., but he has enjoyed a great deal of success in the music business. If Randy Jackson had been paying for Kree’s studio time as a producer, his advice would have been exactly the same as that of Mr. Connick.

After Wednesday night’s show, an educator colleague of mine posted the following message on Facebook:

Harry Connick seems sort of mean and opinionated. #justsayin
I admit that I lost it and posted the following comment:
TEACHERS SHOULD HAVE OPINIONS and be great at what they do!I could not disagree more. American Idol vs. Harry Connick Jr. is a great metaphor for everything wrong with American culture. The entire season has been spent repeating clichés and telling the contestants that they are geniuses. Celebrity and popularity are not the same as talent or artistry.

How dare those kids call themselves artists? Artist, reformer and revolutionary are terms that must be bestowed upon you by others. As Seinfeld said, “I’m 17. Why aren’t I huge?”

Harry Connick, Jr. is an incredibly gifted singer, pianist, composer, arranger, technology pioneer and he acts too. He has been a professional musician since he was 5.

He is an expert in jazz history and the American songbook.

Amber and Kree’s performance of classic standards was atrocious. It is NOT unreasonable to expect “singers” about to get rich beyond their dreams to learn or understand a song. Countless thousands of peers of the “Idols” studying music around the country do so. In fact, jazz majors at Julliard are required to memorize every piece of music they perform, including full big band arrangements.

My friend Emmet Cohen is 22 years old and knows a few thousand songs that he can play and improvise on in 12 keys. That’s artistry and talent.

Harry gave Kree incredibly good advice and she ignored all of it. She added runs to almost every note. It was unmusical.

Harry Connick is the expert. Kree is the student. She should behave accordingly and be open to instruction. Randy’s advice to her was completely disingenuous. He would NEVER tolerate such a shambolic performance if he was spending his time or money producing her.

The judges do the kids no favor my not teaching them or asking them to “just be Kree.” Being Kree is terrible advice. She’s an amateur with a lot to learn.

I sure wish every American student could have a good music teacher. It would make the world a better place!

It is unclear as to whether the American Idol contestants were disrespectful of Harry Connick, Jr. and his expertise or just so musically ignorant and untalented that they are incapable of following his advice.
Some of you might be asking, “Why are we making kids who want to be pop-stars sing show-tunes?
There are two answers:
  1. As Randy Jackson reminds us constantly, “this is a singing competition!” Singers should be able to sing anything.
  2. The #1 album today is by Michael Bublé, a guy who sings the Great American Songbook. These classic songs are contemporary hits.
“The point Connick tried to make, which Jackson didn’t want to hear, was that the show’s contestants didn’t know these classic songs well enough to take liberties with their melodies and lyrics. In doing so, they were murdering the music.” – John Stark

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