average

Can't watch it. Absolutely miserable dreck. At least Arthur Godfrey, back in the day, occasionally showcased talents like Lenny Bruce and Patsy Cline. Who have we ever gotten out of "American Idol"? Sanjay? William Hung? Kelly Clarkson? What in the hell ever happened to American culture?

Taylor rules!!!

What in the world is all the hoopla about this stinker? Has our pop culture sunk this low? This is a revival of the Gong Show of the 1970's. Chuck Barris imitators--to the wall!

Make ready! Aim! FUEGO!

Manufactured bubblegum.

American Idol is pretty poor and was responsible for spawning the equally inexcusable Australian Idol. But it does not impact on my life, so to hell with it. That's why I am giving it a 4, as opposed to a 5. Also, pretty boy Simon Cow (get it?) is in the show, which is also pretty unforgivable.

It is not as bad as all that. I love it. This year was great and with Taylor Hicks winning the contest it shows that tha American Idol doesn't fit into a mold. Simon Cowell isn't as shocking as he was at the start. He seems to have mellowed and Paula seems to be intoxicated or high on almost every show and Randy seems to have faded a little behind the other two. Its also a great show to watch with your kids as long as they don't pay attention to how strange paula acts.

Awful, it's for little girls dude. I hate this show. Off key scrubs and spares on this show dudes! Too many pretty boys and the chicks aren't hawt enough. I won't even mention Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell!

Pretty god awful. Why? Well, for one reason it personifies/reinforces the 21st Century American notion that the most glorious way one can spend one's life is as a celebrity. Therefore, it plays its part in perpetuating the shallow consumer/appearance oriented culture that we currently have in our country. Sort of like rap music. One man, one opinion.

This show is ruining our pop culture. It is a waste of time. The Beatles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Jerry Garcia, etc. are a lot better than the singers of American Idol. The producer of this show should be deported. The singers of American Idol should be banned from TV, movies, public appearances, magazines, and radio. End the madness now.

Definitely one of the worst. What a load of garbage.

i like american idol but i have to admit all this controversy has brought a raunchy feel to a show that had a wholesome image

If I want to hear people sing kareoke, I will go to a bar. At least there, I will hear a song I might actually like.

why, why, why, encorage dumb people to sing when they suck real bad.

I like American Idol as dorky as that may be. I don't have to think while watching it which is good after a long day of tests, high school drama, and pages and pages of notes. Also, there's no nastiness or any sort of bad content which is very refreshing in today's television market.

I don't know. I actually like it. When my parents were my age, there were a lot of shows, they called them Variety Shows, where you can watch a little comedy and a little music. Ed Sullivan was one of those shows. Those shows are long gone, replaced with shows like I'm so GAYYYYYY, Law and Order, Sexual Perversions Unit, Bumf--k, Montana, or I want to be a Human Sacrifice. But once they get through with weeding out all of the idiots, at least American Idol gives you some fairly decent musical entertainment in prime time. I added a star to AI (in this case detrimental) because I despise those awful results shows where they string you along for an entire hour and force you to sit through guest appearances of William Hung and Justin Guarini singing a duet of Reunited or some other schlock.

proves that even though record executives are doing a horrendous job of picking new talent, they are at least doing a better job than the general populace ever could.

Aside from how Ryan Seacrest reveals the voting, nothing is wrong with this show.

Harkens back to the sappy days of SOLID GOLD and HEE HAW, only these tone-deaf crooners couldn't carry a tune without a forklift. They do ham-fisted versions of other people's songs (a boon for royalty-minded studios and musicians, as I suspect this is the main reason for it being on), but what happens when it's time for their OWN album release? Crank up the pop shlock and go to town! Your average sixth-grader with a MIDI interface can come up with something more compelling. Similar to THE GONG SHOW, only without the saving grace of the gong.

I never had an intentions of watching this show, but I started taping it for a friend of mine and decided to give it a look. Got hooked, dammit. My only problem with the show is some of the way the voting is done. It turns more into who has the best speed dial rather than who is the best singer.

Totally overrated. They just see who is the best singer in a selected group of people when in fact they're mostly all bad. What do people see in this show?

Ok when Kelly Clarkson was on there, It was sort of new and fresh, good with Ruben on there, but I sort of knew what to expect. Fantasia, I didn't watch it due to the fact I was tired of it already, but I tuned in to the last show just to see who won, but I am not watching it anymore because it is just the same ole crap.

just plain boring and incredibly overrated. sometimes the mainstream (which is 14 year old girls in this case) IS wrong.

Overrated.

too bad we can't trade hosts of tv shows like we can baseball players; we could send ryan seacrest to the bbc for an idiot to be named later.

An overhyped show about karaoke singing.

Absolutely the worst. What kept much of America (and dare I say parts of Europe?) riveted was just boring and insipid. I guess I don't have an appreciation for such sappy songs and canned performances.

buncha whiny @$$es that get thier music overplayed enought to drive one mad and loose thier sanity... and simon.. please get more strict!!! theiere needs to be more vocal diversity or this show'll never make it... really.... I wanna hear soem people with real voices not cats dying!!!

Lady Shark - if contestants cry because Simon Cowell is (rightly in most cases) mean to them then how would they survive in showbizworld where they'll be slagged off left right and centre in the music press? Let's face it, a good % of people who watch the show do so to laugh at self-deluded airheads making fools of themselves with their appalling efforts at singing and dancing. Bottom line is, no one's made them go on the show. Be fair to the judges. They always give credit to talented performers where it's due. If they were nice to everyone, what a boring show that would be. As it is, it's quite entertaining in small doses.

Absolutly not! American Idol is one of the cleanest shows out there. Reality show wise. It brings American talent, funny judges, and hundreds of thousands of American ratings in every week. It's one of the most popular shows on that channel, and rightly so.

I thought this show was horrible and made fun of the addicts until I was forced to sit down and watch an episode. Now I'm hooked...it's really entertaining and funny, and there's some real talent.

THIS SHOW IS COMPLETELY GAY!

Yes, I know this show is cheesy but I love it and I was totally addicted to it last year. American Idol has everything-action, suspense, drama, and comedy. Simon made me mad sometimes too-particularly when he chided the female contestants for being overweight while never saying a word about the humongous Ruben's girth. But the show would not be as interesting without his unpredictable comments.

Alright, I'll admit it...I'm a closet American Idol enthusiast. I love this show- Simon's honesty is refreshing in a world where people sugarcoat the truth. And as horrible as it might sound, I find the not so talented people quite funny. Plus it's always great to see some real talent be showcased on there.

I like American Idol. The early stuff with the no talent hacks is fun. The later stuff with the people who can sing is great. I liked watching Simon Cowell tell people like it was. Those people went on their thinking they had some talent and hoping to be the next big star, I'm glad one of the judges is honest to tell them that they have no talent and should stick to working at the fast food restraunt. I find Simon's blunt honesty refreshing.

What, there aren't enough famous people in the world, we need to manufacture more?

Watching Simon insult and purposely hurt people is not funny or interesting. It's actually very sad. Not to mention how they threw Frenchie Davis off the show. That really made me angry. And Simon! He makes me so angry! He needs to take people's feelings into consideration! I think he's a sadist if he enjoys making young girls cry!