Sigh. There’s no escaping politics — even on singing contest TV shows. While many viewers tune in to Fox’s American Idol to escape the cable news gab-fests, a stubborn segment of the audience can’t help but see political/ideological goblins lurking in every corner. Tonight, the show ended in a dramatic (producer-contrived or not? who knows?) moment for popular top contestant Jessica Sanchez. The California teen, who happens to be part-Filipina, part-Mexican, ranked in the bottom three of seven according to America’s votes. She was forced to sing in a bid for mercy (a “save”) from the judges. They rushed on stage to rescue her from the indignity and used their one-time-only waiver to allow her to compete next week.
https://twitter.com/#!/AmericanIdol/status/190634826968203265
https://twitter.com/#!/JSanchezAI11/status/190616421477257216
Sanchez is phenomenally talented, but her bland personality is overshadowed by some of the older, more seasoned, or more charismatic contestants. Another possible factor: Male contestants tend to fare better on the show because of their more ardent female fan bases. There hasn’t been a female winner in five seasons.
But never mind those inconvenient factors.
AI watchers rushed to Twitter to play the race card, with a few rare, level-headed exceptions. So much for post-racial America!
https://twitter.com/#!/iWantFufu/status/190636271033528320
https://twitter.com/#!/MarkBrainard/status/190634942399647744
https://twitter.com/#!/Tpk1987/status/190629771691032578
https://twitter.com/#!/phoichan/status/190616323439591424
https://twitter.com/#!/EBBrich/status/190637349779144704
https://twitter.com/#!/Zee_Beydoun/status/190606129569607681
https://twitter.com/#!/applegrace/status/190628458844528640
https://twitter.com/#!/jessamendoza21_/status/190624076744757248
https://twitter.com/#!/MiaNickyBelle/status/190610722630275072
https://twitter.com/#!/CholoMGarcia/status/190742616483168256
https://twitter.com/#!/thevintagebomb/status/190741941846159360
https://twitter.com/#!/arvinkulit/status/190670990332796929
https://twitter.com/#!/Queenbhie/status/190745406135730176
https://twitter.com/#!/rikamurase/status/190745021299957761
https://twitter.com/#!/CholoHenson/status/190742423331274753
https://twitter.com/#!/zsharmela/status/190736096584409088
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