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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2007 > September > 20
Thursday, September 20, 2007
9/21: Reba, Idol camp
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I spent Thursday in New York City, mostly visiting friends but I did get to attend “Good Morning America” with Reba McEntire singing Kelly’s “Because of You” to promote her Duets CD. (She later went to ‘The View’ and Sirius Satellite Radio.). Here she is on my cruddy camera, minus Kelly.
I also walked by Fantasia’s “The Color Purple” theater where she is prominently displayed. (I didn’t quite get as much “Idol” stuff out of this NYC trip compared to June, when I got to see Daughtry and have coffee with Tamyra Gray.)
And here’s a fun story about the summer ‘Idol” camp, courtesy of Blender magazine.
Here’s an excerpt:
For FremantleMedia, which coproduces the TV show, Idol Camp was a no-brainer. “We’re constantly inundated with requests from younger kids to interact with the brand,” says Keith Hindle, Fremantle’s executive vice president for licensing and the man who first proposed the camp. “You have to be 16 to try out for the show, but this is a place where kids can learn what it’s really like to be a performer.”
No matter which side of the Idol debate you’re on — landscape-shifting beacon of populism vs. festering cancer on the soul of civilization — there’s no denying the show’s track record. America’s Next Top Model has yet to launch an A-list catwalk career, and no Fortune 500 company has an Apprentice grad as its CEO. But American Idol mints genuine stars. For a generation of would-be chart-toppers, it’s become the quickest, surest route to pop success, open to every Tom, Dick and Sanjaya with a microphone and a dream.
*But how realistic are those dreams? Has Idol empowered fans to follow their hearts — or created a nation of hopelessly deluded young fame-hounds? “Of all the kids here, maybe two could make it past the first round,” says Jon Peter Lewis, a finalist on Idol’s season three and an instructor at the camp. “Plenty of them could be great backup singers. But these kids don’t want to be backup singers. They want to be stars.” *
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