X Factor Canceled

You won't have Simon Cowell to kick around anymore.

Oh, don't believe that. Stars come and go, starmakers are forever.

Simon will return to the English version of the show and will create another star, which is what Simon Cowell does, just like Clive Davis delivers divas and resuscitates the careers of old farts.

And we never want to hear those Santana all star albums ever again, nor do we want to hear most of the dreck Simon Cowell has pushed upon us, but it's all commerce, you just think it's art.

Let's go back to the beginning, "American Idol."

It launched when the music industry was supposedly dying, when it was deemed a second class citizen not worthy of attention.

But suddenly, music was the main story, at least on television. And those who'd inhabited the sphere previously deludedly believed we were in the middle of a paradigm shift.

We were not.

That shift happened a decade before. With the advent of Mariah Carey. When it became more about the pipes than the song. Come on, you may like that Carey Christmas record, but the rest of her material is substandard, despite all the trumpeting of its chart success.

Yes, old fogies have wondered where their music business has gone, the one wherein Mo Ostin gave you oodles of cash to do it your way. That was after everyone had seen the Beatles and wanted to spill their personal story on stage. But a decade ago, they scraped the country and found out there were a ton of Carey wannabes, not only Christina Aguilera!

Yes, it's been an endless parade of great singers. Or great lookers. And everybody's been scratching their head, wondering...IS THIS WHAT WE'VE COME TO?

Absolutely not.

We've come to a point where music does not drive the culture, where it's a second-class citizen, and the only people who can resuscitate it are the musicians themselves.

"American Idol" was a diversion. It minted almost no stars. But it got everybody bitching that you just couldn't do it the old way anymore, be a traditional artist with something to say, who can play and sing.

But that is incorrect.

Not only has "X Factor" been canceled, the ratings for "American Idol" are foundering. As for "The Voice"... Remember that juggernaut known as "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" Reality singing shows are fads. They're not the main event.

So what have we learned here...

Credit the two Simons, Fuller and Cowell, for seeing an opening, realizing that nothing reaches the public like television, and until you've seen the trick performed a few times, you're vulnerable. Neither was wet behind the ears, they both had long histories in the music business, they just uncovered a successful formula. That's what all business people are looking for, the next hit genre, the next hit music. Give credit to Fuller and Cowell, they made the music come to them.

Furthermore, Cowell knew it was about television. That music was secondary. That he could mold the winner after the fact, and get rich all the while. "American Idol" success may have been scarce, but across the pond there were continued triumphs. Because like every Brit, Cowell is fascinated with America, but doesn't really understand it. That we like our heroes humble. That's what killed "X Factor," it turned out no one was on Simon's side.

But before that mistake, Simon Cowell knew that it was all about the drama, and the best dramas have villains, and he was one.

Furthermore, in a country that's notoriously full of crap, where no one speaks the truth and CEOs constantly apologize, Simon Cowell did neither. In other words, he was all about the truth and he never apologized. He became a star. But very few stars leave their hit band and triumph. David Lee Roth said how great he was, but after a couple of singles he was forgotten. TV, like music, is a team sport. And Cowell had no team at "X Factor."

The villain can't run the show. He's got to be the outside agitator. But on "X Factor," Cowell was the driving personality. And failed. He had neither the heart of Tony Soprano nor the gravitas of Vito Corleone. He was a thin man with an expensive haircut in a white t-shirt. Next!

So Simon Cowell exits the stage with his tail between his legs. Goes back to the U.K to resuscitate his hit show, which is flagging not so much in the ratings as in its ability to mint a diva or boy band the mother country can embrace and discard, that's their way.

But it's not our way in America. In America we've always thrived on a two tier system. The mainstream and the alternative, those who are playing by the rules and those who are inventing a new game.

But MTV unified those two. Everyone drank at the altar of television exposure, the hip no longer wanted to be obscure.

And when MTV stopped playing music and "Idol" and Cowell got all the attention the alternative thought its lunch had been stolen, that it was left out of the game.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Alternative is a state of mind, not a sound. Alternative is for those who think, who want more than nougat at the center.

But some things never change.

You've got to have material.

With hooks.

You've got to be able to sing.

And you've got to have something to say. Not necessarily in words, but emotion.

And if you create this, the usual suspects will come running to your door. Simon Cowell only peddled dreck because he'd run out of quality.

Yes, the problem is not Simon Cowell, or "American Idol," or "The Voice," the enemy is us.

We believe we deserve instant success without doing the hard work.

We believe we need to make as much money as the financial and tech elite, and fly private.

We believe we're entitled to the trappings.

When everything starts with the core.

Art is a journey. You never know where you're going, never mind where you'll end up. You take your chops and woodshed ideas and test them on the public. Sometimes you're a few years ahead, sometimes you're on the wrong track, but if enough artists pursue their dreams...

We end up with quality art.

Nothing is as powerful as music, except maybe sex, and music is much more prevalent and cheaper to afford.

So it's your ball. We're up for anything.

The public led with file-trading. The public led with YouTube. The public is in control, the execs just like to give the appearance that they're steering, but they're not. They don't buy the tickets, you do.

So fifty years after the Beatles the building blocks remain the same.

And we are truly ready for something new.

Something credible, that respects itself, that isn't eager to sell out to rich corporations from the get-go. Come on, if corporations were bastions of creativity, they wouldn't be wiped out by Silicon Valley.

So, so long Simon Cowell. You're a footnote in music history. A Bob Marcucci decades hence.

So long music on television. None of these artists can write a hit, otherwise they wouldn't need to appear on these shows. These productions were always about entertainment, never about music.

And so long the sour grapes that reality singing competitions were ruining the music business. With the slate wiped clean, we're ready for those who realize radio comes second, not first. That if you employ multiple writers you lose the heart, the sincerity, the humanity that delivers a lasting hit. That first and foremost it must sound good.

Nothing's really changed. It's just that the scrim of obfuscation has been removed.

It's time for us to get down to work.


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