Thursday, March 29, 2012

Colton Dixon: America, Meet Your Next "Idol"!

I've got to admit it: American Idol hasn't really interested me in years. The last time I can remember watching it semi-religiously week after week, or, frankly, my dears, even giving a sliver of a damn, was probably the year Kris Allen shocked everyone by beating Adam Lambert. And that season, I didn't even give it my complete devotion.

This round, I haven't caught a single minute of the show, and I didn't have any plans to start tuning in. But now, suddenly, I'm getting interested again. Kind of, but probably still not enough to start watching every week.

It started with a photo of Colton Dixon that I happened to come across today while browsing through the latest entertainment news. The 20-year-old singer from Murfreesboro, Tennessee (what's with the Deep South and its Idol contenders?), looks like an American Idol frontrunner if I've ever seen one. Then I listened to his moving rendition of Billy Joel's "Piano Man" (which I actually like better than the original, which I've never liked). Dixon sounds like an American Idol frontrunner if I've ever heard one. Oh, and what a great name!

But the thing I believe will ultimately clinch the contest for him is exactly what the producers are supposedly telling him to tone down out of supposed concern for his own chances: his devout Christianity. To those who say his religious tweets and Facebook posts might undermine his Idol potential, I say, don't underestimate the power of G.O.D. in the U.S.A. And its not like the teens and grannies who can give a promising Idol contestant a competitive edge are going to penalize a good-looking kid for loving Jesus and praying every day.

Personally, I'm not interested in reading religious sermons of any kind (even at 140 characters or less), and I'm not really looking forward to hearing them on the Idol stage either. But with Him and His followers on his side, dialing in votes week after week, how could Dixon possibly lose? It also helps that he's one hell of a singer.

Oops, sorry -- one heck of a singer!

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