American Idol Gone Bad

When I hear the word “idol” I think of someone who you can look up to. It should be a person who is unblemished by the going-ons of everyday life. It’s not to say that they are perfect, because no one is perfect. An idol should have a reputation as such that parents of children can feel comfortable letting their children watch and listen to these people.

With the recent events on American Idol, I am disappointed that American Idol has accepted contestants with arrest records. I commend the contestants for being forthright with the producers of American Idol but still disapprove of them remaining on the show. The people who compete on American Idol should be people whom children and teenagers can look up to.

It is like the Miss America Pageant. We don’t allow women who have appeared nude for the Playboy magazine to compete. Neither should we allow contestants on American Idol compete if they have arrest records that includes drug use.

It is hard for me to say this because I come from the state where the recent discoveries of past drug use by Bo Bice was revealed. Coming from the state of Alabama I want him to win, but I don’t want a person who has past history with drugs to represent my state or represent the name of American Idol. In both cases it should be embarrassment to the company they represent.

Corey Clark was kicked off the second season after Idol learned about his arrest for assault. Now tell me, is this the kind of role model that we want our children to have. We also have Jaered Andrews who was booted from the semifinals after Idol learned about his possible involvement in a murder.

He was later acquitted. But does that really matter. Even the thought of his possible involvement is enough, I believe, to be dismissed from the show. I believe Idol’s reaction was good. And we also have Frenchie Davis who was dropped from the show after photos appeared of her posing topless on a porn website.

The difference between Bice and the past contestants is that Bice was upfront about his past. In my opinion, that shouldn’t matter. An arrest record is a arrest record, regardless of when Idol learned about it.

Maybe I am being too nick-picky. If I am, I don’t want to come across as such. I just believe that our children should have good role models to look up to. That is pretty rare to find in today’s society.

After the reveal of Bices’ past drug use, it tarnished my image of this contestant. At this point, I would like Bice to win but then again I don’t. In seems, though, that Bice has cleaned up his act and leads a different life than before.

Should it matter that he had a past? I would think it would if you have children that watch this television show. This is just my humble opinion.