This headline is a little misleading tbh because it’s more about American Idol’s influence on reality shows than anything. it’s nothing groundbreaking but it’s still an interesting read

At its core, American Idol and the bouquet of spin-off televised competitions (The Voice, So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Got Talent, to name a few) paired the false promises of a democracy with the meritocratic incentivization of championing talent for talent’s sake. The former offered an incentive for viewers to latch onto the schmaltzy showtunes and Whitney Houston covers — the power to determine a winner was in their hands. The latter reframed the American Dream into a weeknight activity: Contestants were plucked from their pedestrian existences to excel as the best of the best, vying for the approval of the democrat-ish audience. It should have been fine — in fact, it should have been great.

However, Clarkson’s post-Idol success provided an ample guise under which reality TV smuggled two far darker bad-faith concessions into its process and appeal: The commodification of trauma and the weaponization of a crown.