knackered downunder reporting from behind the tv remote

In a commentary on the latest American Idol contest, MSNBC contributor Andy Dehnart offers some very insightful remarks about how expectations surrounding a performer, rather than his/her actual abilities, can prove decisive in a competition where public voting is involved.  The advantage lies, if anywhere, with the underdog, while the more talented need to keep performing perfectly and avoid the risk of boring the audience.

In his article, Dehnart compares the prospects of Sanjaya Malakar, known for his weak performances and outlandish hairstyles, for winning the sixth Idol competition against those of Melinda Doolittle, who is, as he puts it, “by far the most talented and favored performer this season.”

In the latest round, Doolittle only received a mixed response from Idol’s three judges. Judge Simon Cowell, known for his caustic remarks, told her, “I didn’t like it.” After six other finalists had finished, Sanjaya, who is in Dehnart’s words “perhaps the least talented and definitely the most controversial performer this season”, gave his rendition. Cowell, who has been particularly critical of the 17-year-old, said that it “wasn’t terrible.”

“His comments about Sanjaya and Melinda, arguably the best and worst performers, illustrate how Sanjaya might win ‘American Idol,’ or at least how he might stick around a lot longer than any smart gambler would have predicted,” according to Dehnart.

“To win praise this past week, Sanjaya merely had to improve a little bit from his previously weak performances. To earn criticism, Melinda only had to stumble slightly from her previously strong performances. Sanjaya didn’t become a singer of Melinda’s caliber overnight, nor did Melinda become a performer on Sanjaya’s level,” Dehnart says.

“The audience’s diminished expectations for Sanjaya have, therefore, made his potential for growth unlimited, while viewers’ exceptionally high expectations for Melinda have made her potential for failure much more possible,” says Dehnart.

“By underwhelming viewers and then impressing them with his growth, never mind his well-coiffed personality, Sanjaya may have found the key to winning ‘American Idol.’ An F student has a lot of room to show improvement and growth, while any extraordinary work an A student completed will only keep them at the A level.”

In other words, because the audience has only low expectations, the performance of the weaker performance will inevitably draw more attention. Dehnart also has his own site, reality blurred, which is a daily summary of reality TV news.

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