Idol: ‘Raise the age limit’

Now that Idol is over the goss from the finale is hitting the papers. Who split with whom? Whose derierre was revealed on the red carpet, blah, blah, blah….

Matt Corby will probably get a chance soon enough to put the record straight about “that” song he was going to have to record. Meanwhile he sounds none too happy with Mark Holden who called him a ‘brat’ in the lead up to the finale. Did it cost him the Idol crown? Who knows. Maybe Hillsong did too. Or maybe people just liked Gauci more.

But his comments in today’s Daily Telegraph that Idol producers should consider reviewing the entry age of next year’s contestants, if they are to be subjected to media scrutiny and ‘attacks’ from the judges, are not without some basis.

“If the press are going to pound on them, yes. We were sent out into the deep end and smashed at every angle,” he said.

True, reality producers have a duty of care. But contracts that are signed by parents and guardians doubtless cover their backsides too. Idol has been running for 5 years now. Young contestants usually comprise the viewing audience. Even a fifteen year old can see these kids are pulled from every angle, but they may well think the attention is a drug.

Was Holden unfair in calling Corby a ‘brat?’ Of course. He could have made his point in a way that didn’t scream ‘soundbite.’ But he has a job to do in the frenzied food chain too.

Seriously, what did we ever do before reality?

Source: Daily Telegraph