It is nothing more, nothing less than a monument to the out of control self-esteem movement gone completely mad in this country. There is no doubt that there are some clearly mentally ill folks who are in this contest and the producers may not recognize that -- but the vast majority of the folks who are just awful singers have never ever been told that in their lives.
Some even had "vocal coaches" who clearly pocketed wads of cash and kept their mouths shut when they should have told their clients that their talents lay elsewhere.
It is so clear that most of these kids have never in their lives been told "NO" and it is a shock to their system to have real life, the cold cruel world, wake them up to reality. Some delusional kids even lashed out at the judges, continuing to externalize their reality....completely unaware that they had been sold a bill of goods by a whole host of folks for a lot of years prior to the intrustion of reality.
Sure, I'd like to be an astronaut or a supermodel or play for a pro sports team -- but you know what? It ain't gonna happen. So rather than cry over that, I would think that spending one's time finding what one's God given talents are would be a far more worthwhile pursuit.
I could not agree more.
The post-rejection, on-camera crying, cursing and pouting by many of the worst audition rejects demonstrates their inability to deal with reality. Just because you may like pop music doesn't mean you can actually sing pop music. That your family and friends may praise your 'singing' means absolutely nothing.
In the real world of show biz, even mega-talented folks like the Beatles had to work in small clubs for years to qualify for a relatively limited recording contract....and they had been rejected by other record companies before that, despite their local popularity. On the stage, you often get about 30 seconds to audition and either hear: Next!, meaning you have been summarily rejected, or you are asked to step to the side and/or come back for a second - and often a third - audition. No one cares much about your self-esteem.
Big-bucks show business is just that - a business. No one of any consequence in that business - from club owners to big-time record producers are going to waste their time humoring a no-talent 'performer'. They don't have to. New York, Nashville and especially Hollywood are figuratively chock-full of multi-talented singers who write their own songs, can play an instrument and are very ambitious. Not much room left for wannabe, no-talent folks, no matter how much 'sincerity' they have.
Simon Cowell is a successful (and very wealthy) record company principle and producer. He is very savvy about pop music; about what sells - and what doesn't. In the early rounds of AI, where the 'judges' (Randy, Paula, Simon) accept or reject contestants (later, as I understand it, the 'home audience' selects that week's winners - via telephone 'voting') he is not only sarcastically rejecting wanna-be 'performers' that would, normally, never get past a security guard or receptionist at his record company but also doing them a bit of a favor by telling the really hopeless people how bad they truly are: "singing is not going to be your future" and advising the 'almost-made-it' contestants on what they need to do; "be more animated", "tone it down", "work on your delivery", etc. This is generally honest criticism, albeit delivered in a cynical manner. After all, it's entertainment, not a documentary.
I suspect, despite all the posturing by so many about how Cowell was not PC enough with a few painfully untalented contestants that were rejected, a lot of folks thought it was about time someone told these delusional self-esteem surfeited people that they had no singing talent. We can quibble over whether Cowell was too 'mean' and mocked a few of the more pathetic folks a bit too much, especially behind their back, after they had left the 'stage'. However, on balance, he was simply doing his 'job' (being the acerbic Brit) and doing a few misguided folks a favor by giving them a dose of reality and saying what many people were likely yelling at their TV set as they were (voluntarily) listening to these untalented people 'singing' off-key and/or screeching in some weird imitation of their favorite pop star: You Stink!".