I always dug “The Gong Show,” but never had much use for the excitable Fox franchise “American Idol.”
Man, one Whitney Houston in this world is enough. And why are the hipster contestants always dorks when you get to know them?
So the news that the iTunes Store has opened an “American Idol” wing could find a better publicity outlet than this online video blog, it would seem.
But that was before I checked out the free video offering on the iTunes “Idol” page.
Squeezed in with the 24 semifinalists’ audio performances (99 cents a pop) is a free download of Renaldo Lapuz, the latest goofball to go nationwide.
The Filipino-American guy dressed like a coconut layer cake is all over the Internet by now, singing his “We’re Brothers Forever.” But here on iTunes you get a beautifully presented version of the white wonder’s from Wednesday’s “Idol.” Fab.
Moving forward to the post-Lapuz era: When fans want video downloads of the “Idol” finalist performances — from the usual hunks and babes — they’ll run $1.99 on iTunes. Those videos will be available come March 11.
Fans can check out the videos for free on the “American Idol” site and then get their pristine archive downloads for iPods and iPhones.
“We think ‘American Idol’ viewers are going to love the ability to purchase and download ‘Idol’ performances from iTunes,” said Apple’s Eddy Cue. Perhaps. They certainly have loved downloading the free videos all this time …
Meanwhile, the wonderfully awful Lapuz is being hailed as the best thing on “Idol” in years. The three judges actually got off their duffs and partied with the singer. Great TV, but let’s see: A horrid but earnest performance — the judges getting into the act before issuing the big rejection — hmmm.
What a concept. Didn’t Chuck Barris and Co. do that 10 times a day?
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