Since this is a tax message board, I will ask a tax question. Would you put the prize money won on American Idol on line 21 as a prize from a TV game show, or would you put it on Schedule C, subject to SE tax as income from a trade or profession?
Now the real reason I wanted to talk about American Idol. I have watched the TV show since its first season. I have always felt Kelly Clarkson to be the greatest singer of all contestants, as she is the only one who ever went through the entire season without a single negative comment from Simon Cowell.
This year, most people favor either Chris, Taylor, Kelly Pickler, (who got voted off last night), or Elliot to win. Personally, I like Katherine, as she seems to be the closest to Kelly Clarkson. As a musician, I also appreciate her versatility.
I was the piano player in a rhythm and blues band that became quite popular in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s in the Minneapolis / St. Paul metro area. I have performed with some great talent over the years. Musicians of this caliber have often thought amongst themselves that the only difference between moderate local success and national fame is marketing and a good break. There are countless unknown musicians nation wide who are every bit as good as the super stars you see on TV. I think American Idol has proven that point.
Well, this week, Katherine sang a song that was made popular by Whitney Houston when she was at her career peek. The judges trashed her for singing a song that was too big for her. Basically telling her that if she can’t be as good as Whitney Houston, she shouldn’t sing the song.
Personally, I thought she did the song justice, and probably was as close to being as good as Whitney as possible. I also know that it is virtually impossible for anyone to sing a song live as good as a studio recording, where they have the ability to edit out all the mistakes.
I have noticed this trend on American Idol that when the contestants try to sing a well known Super Star’s song, they get trashed for daring to think they could possibly be as good. I know literally dozens of local unknown singers who can sing as good or better than many of those who have made it big in the profession. I think there is a subtle prejudice with the judges in this regard. At least for Randy and Simon who are music producers that work with big names in the industry. Yeah, they are looking for new talent to produce, but don’t make it tooooo obvious that good super star quality musicians are a dime a dozen, and that the only reason they are super stars is because of big music industry marketing efforts.
Any other opinions out there?
Now the real reason I wanted to talk about American Idol. I have watched the TV show since its first season. I have always felt Kelly Clarkson to be the greatest singer of all contestants, as she is the only one who ever went through the entire season without a single negative comment from Simon Cowell.
This year, most people favor either Chris, Taylor, Kelly Pickler, (who got voted off last night), or Elliot to win. Personally, I like Katherine, as she seems to be the closest to Kelly Clarkson. As a musician, I also appreciate her versatility.
I was the piano player in a rhythm and blues band that became quite popular in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s in the Minneapolis / St. Paul metro area. I have performed with some great talent over the years. Musicians of this caliber have often thought amongst themselves that the only difference between moderate local success and national fame is marketing and a good break. There are countless unknown musicians nation wide who are every bit as good as the super stars you see on TV. I think American Idol has proven that point.
Well, this week, Katherine sang a song that was made popular by Whitney Houston when she was at her career peek. The judges trashed her for singing a song that was too big for her. Basically telling her that if she can’t be as good as Whitney Houston, she shouldn’t sing the song.
Personally, I thought she did the song justice, and probably was as close to being as good as Whitney as possible. I also know that it is virtually impossible for anyone to sing a song live as good as a studio recording, where they have the ability to edit out all the mistakes.
I have noticed this trend on American Idol that when the contestants try to sing a well known Super Star’s song, they get trashed for daring to think they could possibly be as good. I know literally dozens of local unknown singers who can sing as good or better than many of those who have made it big in the profession. I think there is a subtle prejudice with the judges in this regard. At least for Randy and Simon who are music producers that work with big names in the industry. Yeah, they are looking for new talent to produce, but don’t make it tooooo obvious that good super star quality musicians are a dime a dozen, and that the only reason they are super stars is because of big music industry marketing efforts.
Any other opinions out there?
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