but that's over now

I find that I have two big things to say about last night's Idol finale, and they don't belong in the same post.

A small thing, first: It's unfortunate that the producers of the show don't know how to say no. Remember back in seasons 5 & 6 when the celebrity guests were each tied to a finalist, as a kind of inspiration? Remember Blake and Doug E Fresh and how amazing that was? Ever since Prince showed up, played a song, and fucked off it's just become a series of completely unrelated appearances by old timers promoting their summer nostalgia tours. Yick. Other than Janet probably the best performance was from the pants on the ground guy, who was fucking awesome.

( Okay, about the winner. )

the second thing

(this post was originally a comment on ignaz's post)

There's an angry post over at f_p about how Rymon fans were … cheated.

And I just have to say, did you see the show I saw? Because I saw Ryan's refusal to leave the general vicinity of the judges' table for longer than a few minutes at a time; I saw the strange and wonderful sharing of breath mints in that way where they both decide that whatever they are doing together is more important that moving the show forward, as if they aren't being broadcast live to millions of people around the world but instead are just in Simon's car or something; I saw Ryan actually choke up as he handed the microphone to Simon and tilt his head as if to say, "C'mon, man, don't make me talk right now"; I saw the cameras cut away from what happened next not, I think, because of fear of the ho-yay (I mean, what show are we talking about here?) but because it was an intensely personal moment; and I saw Simon, after saying many things, go back to hugging Ryan as soon as he could.

I love them. We'll still have the radio; we'll still have pap shots after dinner and vacations in Barbados and probably no wedding to Mezghan and the continuation of this epic thing that they're doing, so epic that sometimes watching it feels like eavesdropping even though I'm actually just watching a television show and they are two of the most self-conscious people ever. It didn't fade, it didn't die, and honestly didn't go entirely unacknowledged in the various video tributes.

And to put on my tin hat here, I think the fact that they didn't pump it up in the packages while they went on at length about Paula is partially about the tribute that Paula herself never received and clearly should have, and also about how whether they are fucking or not, Ryan and Simon have a real, personal relationship that isn't just about clowning around for the cameras. As entertained as I am by their antics, and as much as their interplay has kept me watching this show even when the singers didn't particularly interest me or actively pissed me off, their relationship isn't there in order to keep me entertained. It's real. And for me, not having Simon Fuller do some bullshit package, which would have been couched in all the usual "it's just a bromance" crap, was actually a sign of respect.

Godspeed, Simon Cowell. See you next fall.

hey look a love meme

love meme




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