美国国家公共电台 NPR Why The Revival Of 'American Idol' Might Just Work

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

It's been nearly two years since we heard someone say...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN IDOL¹")

RYAN SEACREST: This is "American Idol."

SHAPIRO: ABC is bringing back the one-time hit musical competition on Sunday. The show was canceled by Fox, its first home. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says there are several reasons why this program should not have returned, but there's one powerful reason why it could work.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE²: After watching ABC's two-hour premiere of its "American Idol" reboot, I'm still not sure they answered the most important question. Why bring back this faded music competition now?

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN IDOL")

CARRIE UNDERWOOD: And so the adventure begins to uncover the finest talent this nation has to offer.

DEGGANS: That's Carrie Underwood, one of the most successful "Idol" alums. She kicks off Sunday's episode speaking over a montage of video images but doesn't actually appear in the episode outside of a clip from her 2005 win. Still, her cameo might remind viewers of "Idol's" two other big-name alums - Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson. They actually appear on rival NBC's blockbuster singing competition "The Voice," which reminds me of something judge Luke Bryan says that hints at another problem for "Idol" 2.0.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN IDOL")

LUKE BRYAN: When you look at what we're trying to do with "American Idol," it's not about what me and Lionel and Katy are doing. It's about watching the star be born right there in front of your eyes.

DEGGANS: Country star Bryan joins pop star Katy Perry and R&B legend Lionel Richie as judges. And yet, as he says, the focus remains³ squarely on the hopeful contestants⁴.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN IDOL")

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER #1: (Singing) But someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection...

DEGGANS: But focusing on unknowns keeps the new "Idol" from making a big splash. "The Voice" became one of NBC's most popular shows by focusing on its superstar judges instead of the contestants. And then there's Ryan Seacrest.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN IDOL")

SEACREST: Welcome back home to the place where superstars are born.

DEGGANS: Even though he's the host, Seacrest isn't featured much in the first episode. But he is the most visible link to "Idol's" past years ago as TV's most-watched show. His brand has been tarnished⁵ recently by allegations of sexual harassment⁶ that he denies. But there's one big thing the new "Idol" has in its favor. It has a huge heart. We see a geeky, super awkward girl deliver a wonderful original song.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN IDOL")

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER #2: (Singing) People on the airwaves always preach who I should be, how to dress, how to talk, maybe how to breathe.

DEGGANS: And we hear from another hopeful who survived a tough childhood.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN IDOL")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: And my dad was murdered when I was 5. Growing up without a dad, it was really tough.

DEGGANS: This is a show that often goes down like comfort food, full of sentimentality and positive emotion. We do see a few terrible auditions⁷.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "AMERICAN IDOL")

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER #3: (Singing) Nobody likes me. Everybody hates me just because I eat worms.

DEGGANS: But the show doesn't savor⁸ their awfulness or make fun of them like it did in the past back when tough Brit Simon Cowell was on the judges' table. In fact, Bryan, Perry and Richie seem to get along much better than some past judge lineups on "American Idol." Yeah, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, I'm talking about you. This new show doesn't come at you like the aggressive, pointedly⁹ grandiose¹⁰ hit that it used to be. But at a time when real-life events have left audiences hungry for familiar, soothing¹¹ television, ABC's version of "American Idol" just might fit that bill. I'm Eric Deggans.

(SOUNDBITE OF NATHAN EAST'S "LIFECYCLE")

1 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

6 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

7 auditions   

n.（对拟做演员、歌手、乐师等人的）试听，试音( audition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Find modeling auditions, casting calls& acting auditions, all in one place. 找一个立体感试听，铸造呼叫和表演试听一体的地方。 来自互联网
• We are now about to start auditions to find a touring guitarist. 我们现在准备找一个新的吉他手。 来自互联网

8 savor   

vt.品尝，欣赏；n.味道，风味；情趣，趣味

参考例句：

• The soup has a savor of onion.这汤有洋葱味。
• His humorous remarks added a savor to our conversation.他幽默的话语给谈话增添了风趣。

9 pointedly   

adv.尖地，明显地

参考例句：

• She yawned and looked pointedly at her watch. 她打了个哈欠，又刻意地看了看手表。
• The demand for an apology was pointedly refused. 让对方道歉的要求遭到了断然拒绝。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 grandiose   

adj.宏伟的，宏大的，堂皇的，铺张的

参考例句：

• His grandiose manner impressed those who met him for the first time.他那种夸大的举止给第一次遇见他的人留下了深刻的印象。
• As the fog vanished,a grandiose landscape unfolded before the tourists.雾气散去之后，一幅壮丽的景观展现在游客面前。

11 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。