Did you watch the December 8 elimination episode of the X Factor on Fox? I didn’t. I haven’t seen the show since it debuted thinking that it just isn’t for me. After watching the clip below, I’m sure of it.
Like the rest of America, I too am hooked on “reality TV,” but I’m sometimes I wonder why. So many shows are like seeing a terrible car accident where you’re hoping that nobody got hurt but are fascinated by the wreckage at the same time.
Reality competition shows, whether it be American Idol, The Bachelor or The Apprentice, all promise to provide the lucky winner a lifetime of bliss. You hear story after story of contestants who “gave up everything” to be on the show. Some quit their jobs and others spend their last penny on airfare to get to the auditions “knowing” that they will be one that receives the rose, the contract, the fame. Over and over again, countless poor souls delude themselves with misconceptions of their own talents and are shocked to find that they’ve been voted off the island. But what happened the other night on the X Factor is just plain puzzling.
At the end of the show, there were two contestants with the threat of going home. In one corner, there was Rachel Crow, a powerhouse of a singer and just 13 years old. In the other corner was the 20-year-old Marcus Canty. Unlike American Idol where “America” decides who wins, the four judges vote on who should be eliminated and “America” decides only if there is a tie. LA Reid chose Canty. Simon Cowell chose Crow. Paula Abdul chose Crow. Then all eyes were on Nicole.
While Nicole was totally distraught, Crow said from the stage, “Please don’t cry. It’s okay. I’m good with anything.” Nicole couldn’t make a choice, so left the vote to the public and Crow nodded in approval. In fact, just before the host gave the final decision, Crow looked totally smug knowing that her adoring fans would not let her down. Then the verdict was read, Canty would not be going home. The competition was now over for Crow who looked wild eyed and then fell to the stage in a tantrum. One writer for the Huffington Post described her actions as a “death cry.” Apparently she wasn’t “good with anything.”
Crow’s mother rushed to the stage to comfort the girl, taking a hold of her face saying, “Look at me. It’s going to be all right” to which Crow asked, “You promise?” It looks like Mrs. Crow has had to do this before.
While then the show showed footage of Crow’s “journey” on the show, the cameras panned back and forth from the crying girl to the crying Nicole being comforted by Paula.
Then the host asked Crow, “What’s been your highlight on the X Factor so far Rachel? You know we love you. Have you enjoyed yourself?” What kind of questions are those? The poor girl was bawling her head off and you ask her if she enjoyed herself?
What surprised me the most were Crow’s final comments: “I just…I love you so much everybody…for voting for me even though you didn’t. And thank you for giving me this because without you I am nothing. And I hope that this is not my ending. You know what? I know it’s not. And I will go so far. I promise you. And I love you.”
This is where I think there needs to be more of a reality check in reality programming. First of all, at least at that moment, Crow truly believed that she loved everybody in that room and everyone watching the show, which is impossible. Second, someone needs to pull her aside and tell that poor girl that she is something with or without adoring fans. The fans, the fame, the fortune do not make you into “something.” There can only be one winner, but if that isn’t you, then it doesn’t mean you are a loser.
Nicole never did recover nor was she able to give any words of encouragement to Crow, at least, not on the air. She probably felt that she “ruined” Crow’s life, which is also a lie. Yes, it would have been fantastic for Rachel to win the competition, but in the end, it is just a TV show. She is very talented. As long as she doesn’t wallow in her “defeat,” she will survive. Still, I wonder if the damage has already been done.
Originally posted at Examiner.com.
