TV Schedule

Can America handle a gay pop star!?


  3. woodywoodbeck
  4. related topics
This is a very interesting segment done by CNN that explores the fact that America may not be able to handle a gay American Idol. With a track history as such this season, that being one contestant, Danny Noreiga, getting voted off before the final 12 the same week a video of him turned up online and hit the media where he was joking and rapping about being gay and then another contestant this season, David Hernandez, who was an employee at a gay mens club and also voted off the following week after the media took that story by storm.

This poses a very interesting question; are Americans as open minded as we think? Should someones sexuality have anything to do with performing and singing on a show like American Idol?
woodywoodbeck

8 responses // Can America handle a gay pop star!?

  • Thoughts...Lets hear them!
    woodywoodbeck
  • No, Americans aren't open minded in general. We're not even tolerant (one of the most offensive words in dealing with minorities).

    Being a gay man, can you imagine the grief I'd get if I went around saying, "I tolerate the blacks" or "I tolerate you being Mexican." I'd be labelled a racist and rightfully so. That's definitely a digression, but it must be stated.

    As for American Idol and gay pop stars, America likes their gays obvious but in the closet. For example Ricky Martin or Clay Aiken. It's good Christian morals: you can BE gay, you just can't act on it.

    HOWEVER, having said all that, Danny Noriega wouldn't and couldn't make it to the end (he wasn't that good) and David had a good voice at times, but he was definitely cheesy as well. The talent this season is pretty up there and watching it tonight, you can see there are a handful of talents that will definitely make a career for themselves. Unfortunately, Danny and David just aren't as good as the rest. I guess it could be argued that they may have left early, but they were going to go eventually. I didn't feel a correlation between sexualities, stripping and being voted off.

    But it is about time we have some openly gay mainstream pop artists.
    VSiskos
  • http://www.afterelton.com/archive/elton/music/2006/1/wi...
    Seriously...this is old news in the UK, and most of the rest of the western world. Does anybody remember Elton John? George Michael? Melissa Etheridge?
    dobrien
  • People still bought Elton John records. . . . But how long was he in the closet for?
    CarlosIsDown
  • Surely there's quite a few examples of openly gay musicians doing well in America? Freddie Mercury, Michael Stipe, Rufus Wainwright etc?

    The majority of American Idol or Pop Idol (UK equivalent) contestants fail to make a mark because they're utterly terrible and it's an over-saturated, hugely-competitive market. I don't watch the show but I wouldn't buy any of their records, simply because they all sound like talentless randoms doing New Kids On The Block at karaoke, not because one of them is gay or blonde or some other bracket.
    richjm
  • Very interesting point Rich, but of all those artists you named; none of them are what American's consider "mainstream"...I'm talking Top 40, 18-34 demo, the demo of who watches American Idol.

    Also, about the contestants who were voted off, can we really say it's just an anomaly that they were voted off the same week the media had a field day with the these "gay stories". Are we being naive in saying Americans are not influenced by what the media says when we say they are influenced by what the judges say?

    The question I pose is can America handle someone like Justin Timberlake, Kayne West, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, John Mayer, etc. coming out and being openly gay and still doing their thing!

    I just can't imagine it...I think they would totally be effected by it...

    Does anyone agree?
    woodywoodbeck
  • To compare to the UK, we had a guy win Pop Idol over here in one of the first series (Will Young, not sure if you've all heard of him?). He came out just after he won the show and he's still the most successful out of all of them, when other winners and runners-up have fallen out of favour over time.

    So similar demo in ages and tastes but obviously it's different in the US than in the UK and being British I can't really comment on how America would react.

    I'd hope they'd be fine, but you never know...
    richjm
  • There's one thing called hypocrisy and that's what rules America.
    biancaearp

Add your response

Login/Registration is required to add a response.