Vote For The Worst
Citation :'Worst' webmaster laments Idol's lackluster season
By Jake Griffin | Daily Herald Staff
Something's wrong with American Idol this season, but that's all right with Dave Della Terza.
The DuPage County resident and webmaster of votefortheworst.com -- a site that encourages people to vote for the TV talent show's least talented contestant -- is somewhat pleased by the program's lack of hoopla this year.
"I actually get to watch the show," he said. "But sometimes, I kind of fall asleep."
The show's ratings are down significantly this year, though it remains atop the weekly Nielsen TV ratings chart. The majority of theme nights have featured artists' whose heyday was several years, if not decades, ago. Even the show's caustic judge Simon Cowell has complained finalists lack the personality of previous years' contestants.
It's too late this year, but Della Terza has some advice for the producers to salvage future seasons: Bring back the bad.
"People like the train wrecks," he said. "They like awful performers, the scandal and other assorted drama. They went out of their way this year to try and legitimize the show, and in the end they kind of shot themselves in the foot with these boring people."
He believes the fall-off in viewers proves his point. His own interest is waning.
"In past years I would say I don't hate the show, but this year it's where I'm almost sick of the show," Della Terza said.
The part-time College of DuPage instructor and computer programming professional is responsible for this season's only glint of controversy when he began reporting that one of the 12 male finalists had formerly worked as a stripper at gay nightclub in Phoenix. Such a revelation might have cost a contestant his spot in previous seasons, but not this year.
"An Associated Press reporter contacted me about the stripper rumors and I put the reporter in touch with the club owner, and the next thing you know it's front page news," Della Terza said. "Gotta love it, right?"
But outside of that, it's been dullsville, he complained. Now, with the only four weeks of the show left, Della Terza doesn't see it getting better. He admits the show's foundering this season has trickled down to his site.
"Traffic is definitely down this year," he said. "We're still running on three servers, but last year it was endless."
Bad TV aficionado Jon Hein, creator of the Web site jumptheshark.com that tracks viewers' opinions of when TV shows go south, said American Idol is a unique show that makes it hard to pin down the moment a death knell sounds.
"It's such a tough call with American Idol because it changes every season," he said. "Ratings don't necessarily indicate a jump-the-shark moment, but if I had to pick one moment, I'd say Sanjaya."
A name that will live in reality television infamy, Sanjaya Malakar is Della Terza's Frankenstein's monster.
After some early worst picks were knocked off the show last season, Della Terza latched onto the warbly voiced teenager and championed his progress, exhorting voters to make Sanjaya the show's winner.
Della Terza said he picked Sanjaya because the performer was everything he and his site's devotees wanted in a contestant.
Sanjaya was a true amateur. Not only was he a bad singer, he sassed the judges and he took risks both with song choices and fashion, Della Terza said.
His cause got a major boost when radio icon Howard Stern picked up the mantle. Stern invited Della Terza to the show to talk about American Idol and encouraged his millions of listeners on Sirius Satellite Radio to vote for Sanjaya. He eventually finished in seventh place.
"Howard was the biggest thing to happen to the Web site," Della Terza said. "Last year was definitely the most popular year and most of that was because of Howard. The site's more mainstream."
But that was then and this is now.
"There is no Sanjaya," Della Terza said. "Traffic is down. Which I am actually fine with because last year was just crazy I couldn't keep up with everything, so I'm actually enjoying this season more, even though the show sucks."
The site is on its fourth worst pick this season. A half-hearted choice of Brooke White last week when longtime "worster" Kristy Lee Cook finally got the boot proved golden Tuesday when White's nerves got the better of her and she stopped the band and had them start over during the live performance. A moment described on Della Terza's web site as "one of the most remarkable meltdowns … ever."
Throughout this season White has had several brushes with the stage door because of low vote totals, but Wednesday she wasn't even in the bottom two, despite the performance faux pas.
Della Terza claims victory.
"I actually like Brooke better than Kristy Lee," he said. "But she's not a classic vote-for-the-worst choice."
source:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=178989
By Jake Griffin | Daily Herald Staff
Something's wrong with American Idol this season, but that's all right with Dave Della Terza.
The DuPage County resident and webmaster of votefortheworst.com -- a site that encourages people to vote for the TV talent show's least talented contestant -- is somewhat pleased by the program's lack of hoopla this year.
"I actually get to watch the show," he said. "But sometimes, I kind of fall asleep."
The show's ratings are down significantly this year, though it remains atop the weekly Nielsen TV ratings chart. The majority of theme nights have featured artists' whose heyday was several years, if not decades, ago. Even the show's caustic judge Simon Cowell has complained finalists lack the personality of previous years' contestants.
It's too late this year, but Della Terza has some advice for the producers to salvage future seasons: Bring back the bad.
"People like the train wrecks," he said. "They like awful performers, the scandal and other assorted drama. They went out of their way this year to try and legitimize the show, and in the end they kind of shot themselves in the foot with these boring people."
He believes the fall-off in viewers proves his point. His own interest is waning.
"In past years I would say I don't hate the show, but this year it's where I'm almost sick of the show," Della Terza said.
The part-time College of DuPage instructor and computer programming professional is responsible for this season's only glint of controversy when he began reporting that one of the 12 male finalists had formerly worked as a stripper at gay nightclub in Phoenix. Such a revelation might have cost a contestant his spot in previous seasons, but not this year.
"An Associated Press reporter contacted me about the stripper rumors and I put the reporter in touch with the club owner, and the next thing you know it's front page news," Della Terza said. "Gotta love it, right?"
But outside of that, it's been dullsville, he complained. Now, with the only four weeks of the show left, Della Terza doesn't see it getting better. He admits the show's foundering this season has trickled down to his site.
"Traffic is definitely down this year," he said. "We're still running on three servers, but last year it was endless."
Bad TV aficionado Jon Hein, creator of the Web site jumptheshark.com that tracks viewers' opinions of when TV shows go south, said American Idol is a unique show that makes it hard to pin down the moment a death knell sounds.
"It's such a tough call with American Idol because it changes every season," he said. "Ratings don't necessarily indicate a jump-the-shark moment, but if I had to pick one moment, I'd say Sanjaya."
A name that will live in reality television infamy, Sanjaya Malakar is Della Terza's Frankenstein's monster.
After some early worst picks were knocked off the show last season, Della Terza latched onto the warbly voiced teenager and championed his progress, exhorting voters to make Sanjaya the show's winner.
Della Terza said he picked Sanjaya because the performer was everything he and his site's devotees wanted in a contestant.
Sanjaya was a true amateur. Not only was he a bad singer, he sassed the judges and he took risks both with song choices and fashion, Della Terza said.
His cause got a major boost when radio icon Howard Stern picked up the mantle. Stern invited Della Terza to the show to talk about American Idol and encouraged his millions of listeners on Sirius Satellite Radio to vote for Sanjaya. He eventually finished in seventh place.
"Howard was the biggest thing to happen to the Web site," Della Terza said. "Last year was definitely the most popular year and most of that was because of Howard. The site's more mainstream."
But that was then and this is now.
"There is no Sanjaya," Della Terza said. "Traffic is down. Which I am actually fine with because last year was just crazy I couldn't keep up with everything, so I'm actually enjoying this season more, even though the show sucks."
The site is on its fourth worst pick this season. A half-hearted choice of Brooke White last week when longtime "worster" Kristy Lee Cook finally got the boot proved golden Tuesday when White's nerves got the better of her and she stopped the band and had them start over during the live performance. A moment described on Della Terza's web site as "one of the most remarkable meltdowns … ever."
Throughout this season White has had several brushes with the stage door because of low vote totals, but Wednesday she wasn't even in the bottom two, despite the performance faux pas.
Della Terza claims victory.
"I actually like Brooke better than Kristy Lee," he said. "But she's not a classic vote-for-the-worst choice."
source:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=178989
JOYEUX NOEL ET BONNE ANNÉE 2009!!!!