World Idol: In Defense of Kelly Clarkson

Now that the dust has settled and we’ve had a week or so to think about all of this, I am still convinced that Kelly Clarkson should have won World Idol. Her performance of “Natural Woman” was clean as a whistle and she exhibited the polish and professionalism that can only come with time and experience. While I was watching and listening to her the night of the competition, I felt it was almost unfair to have her in the competition. And with one exception, the judges agreed. She was that good. But Kelly didn’t win the competition; Kurt Nilsen, a Norwegian plumber, won and did so convincingly.

Now, although I am American, I have watched many reality/talent shows in the past year and was able to set aside any potential for national bias and view the World Idol broadcast objectively. If anything, I was hypercritical of Kelly, looking for notes that she didn’t hit or a missed lyric. I know how to do that! But she was outstanding and when her performance was over, I was certain that she had set the bar so high no one else would be able to reach it. And no one did. After having watched her performance a few more times, I was even more convinced.

So what happened? There are a number of reasons why Kelly did not win. The first, and maybe the most critical, is what I call the “Tamyra” factor. People watching the show assumed that “everyone” was going to vote for Kelly so they didn’t bother! It was Christmas, after all, and while people may have gathered around the television to watch the show, two hours of power voting might not have fit into a lot of people’s schedule! For example, in my household, I was able to watch the show, but once it was over, I needed to attend my guests and finish cleaning up the kitchen! I had no time to power-vote.

Some people love an underdog and Kurt certainly was that. I don’t think many people really thought he would win it but the combination of the lack of Kelly votes with Kurt’s underdog votes was enough to push him over the top. For Kurt, winning will gain him new fans and increased sales. It may even get his CD into the U.S. market. Already, clever Norwegians are selling his CD on eBay and benefiting from his victory. It is only a matter of time before Amazon will offer this CD at a reasonable price.

Kelly also lost votes as a result of a Simon Cowell backlash. Simon behaved badly that night and this was one way for viewers to say, “Screw you Simon!” This is a shame. Certainly, either Randy Jackson or Paula Abdul would have been a more pleasant addition to the judges’ panel and Simon could have represented Great Britain. He couldn’t have hurt Will anywhere near as badly as he hurt Kelly.

And, while some may argue with me, I believe that Kelly lost votes as a result of anti-American sentiment in other parts of the world. It wouldn’t have mattered who was up there singing, there are people in this world who hate the U.S. and wouldn’t vote for an American if it were Bruce Springsteen himself. Again, it’s not fair but certainly was an added factor in her defeat.

There have been reports that Kelly was very upset by this defeat, so upset that she left the studio without congratulating Kurt. She certainly appeared to be disturbed as the results were read and I can’t say that I blame her. She had to know how well she did. Will Young of Great Britain was also reportedly miffed at his poor showing and refused to attend a party with the others. But both Kelly and Will have establish themselves as artists and are pretty firmly rooted in the pop cultures of their respective countries. Winning World Idol would have been nice, but not necessarily all that important in the long run. Losing doesn’t mean a lot either, all things considered. But losing poorly and displaying any diva-like tendencies does. Kelly Clarkson is a newcomer in the industry and there are a lot of people who are still not convinced. If she can continue on with grace, despite this defeat, it will probably mean more in the long run than if she had actually won the competition.

Will there be another World Idol? I personally hope not. Although I love American Idol, this show left me rather unimpressed. I had no investment in the outcome and it seems that all the life was edited out of it. There were too many judges and the playing field was uneven in that, while they all (but one) sang in English, for half of the contestants, English was not their first language. Some of the contestants had been their countries’ “Idol” for years while others only weeks. Certainly a person who had been performing professionally for a year had an advantage.

Finally, how can it truly be “world” Idol with only eleven countries represented? This is not the world. There were no Spanish or Asian countries represented and these two segments represent a large portion of the population of the world. This wasn’t even a Euro-world competition since neither France nor Italy was represented.

Hang in there, Kelly. This is just a minor bump in the road. In fact, it was recently announced that Kelly will be touring with Clay Aiken later this winter. There is no doubt in my mind that these shows will be sold out, standing room only.

Donna Reynolds is a freelance writer and technical writer from Syracuse, NY. You can e-mail her at dlrturtle@earthlink.net.

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