Constantine and American Idol

I went to an awesome show at The Mint last night, and guess who I met, Constantine Maroulis. I stopped to talk to talk to him, introducing myself as a media theorist (as I’m sure a lot of women are trying to get into his pants). I asked him a personal question:

“How long do you think you will last?”

He responded,

“I’ll go far. I think it will be me, Bo and Nadia in the top three and Anwar will be booted as number four.”

I was amazed. In all of the critical discussions that I’ve had, that was never my prediction. We then started talking about the demographics of American Idol and I told him that I was surprised that he made it this far because I was certain that he and Bo would be splitting votes. He then claimed that they were completely different,

“I am way more versatile than Bo, and I’m getting way more votes than he is.”

“Do they tell you who gets the most votes?”

“No, but I’m getting more hits on my website, my band is blowing up and everyone adores me: younger women, older women, young rockers, old rockers.”

I then told him that he has yet to impress me but like what he’s doing, actually turning the songs into his own, as evidenced by last week’s performance of “You’ve made me so very happy.” Although I was unimpressed, I thought he gave an excellent performance, really reached out to his base of swooning young women. But for me, I don’t think that his appeal is much different than Anthony Fedorov, a sweet teeny-bopper type with a solid base.

He then retorted on my comment about fighting for demographics,

“Would you consider Vonzell and Nadia to be in the same category just because they are both African-American women?”

He just didn’t get it. Vonzell and Nadia have two completely different styles. Bo and Constantine are rockers. That’s their gimmick, that’s their thing…

What gets me the most is that Constantine’s image seems contrived and practiced from the very beginning. I expect him to don some leather pants in a desperate attempt to channel Jim Morrison. On the other hand, Bo wore leather pants last week and he didn’t even seem to be trying.

They will destroy one another and I feel like anyone who has any respect for rock must recognize that Bo is a better singer. Even the swooning teeny-boppers.

Constantine, if you are reading this, I hope you’re not offended. You put yourself up for judgment by being on television, and I think that you need to recognize what everyone is saying, not just the people who are voting for you. You’ve got a gimmick, embrace it, love it, and take it for all its worth. But don’t delude yourself into thinking that you and Bo are different in the eyes of America. You claim that you are of a completely different ilk, that’s only because you have more stereotypical sex appeal and you’d make a better pop star. At no point does that make you a better singer.