The American Idol phenomenon is one that has taken television viewers by storm. Despite its saccharine premise, the desire of the public to see a star being born continues to fuel the show's incredible ratings. I am convinced that there are lessons to be learned by the Catholic music industry but not by imitation of the ideals of this reality show.

Prior to one of the Idol tribute evenings to Lionel Ritchie, where all the contestants focus on songs from the one artist, there was an interview with Lionel Ritchie on a local talk show, where he was asked his opinion on these shows. This artist raised some very interesting concerns. Being a true superstar, claimed Ritchie, requires struggle to build character. It requires hearing the word "No" on a regular basis and, despite this, having the desire to improve one's craft in the hopes of eventually hearing "Yes". Prior to the show, Ritchie apparently told the contestants that they should be happy if they failed to win the big prize. Then they would not have to face the spectre of having only one highly publicized shot to make it big. If they were to fail with their opportunity, they would likely never be given another chance.

I meet many young Catholic artists who similarly have dreams of making it big. If you are one of these artists and feel as if you are continually running into a brick wall despite your best efforts, it may be simply God's way of helping you hone your skills in preparation for better things to come.

On a different note, there was a TV show a few years ago that was, despite its mean-spirited premise, fascinating to watch. The show was called WB Superstar. In the show, the search was for America's worst singer. However, the contestants were not made aware of this. Like a deer caught in headlights, the finalists continued to progress from round to round, not realizing the startling secret until the very end. Of course, we all felt sorry for these innocent but talentless artists. That is, until they were interviewed and they spoke of their own "greatness" and "incredible talent". It simply boggles the mind that no one, not even a close relative, would have told these individuals that they were tone deaf and simply awful. It may have been the case that they were told, but their egos would not allow them to accept the truth.

There is another lesson to be learned from this. As Catholic artists, we must learn to be more critical of our own talents, both individually and as a whole. Otherwise, we run the risk of thinking ourselves to be superstars when the reality is that our audience sees us as inadequate. We must approach our art with the utmost in humility and be willing to go to third parties for brutally honest assessment of our works. For Catholic musicians, there is the additional complication that many of us view our calling as being from God. As a reviewer, I have occasionally received CDs where the artist claims to have had divine inspiration. In some cases, the music truly is inspired. In others, the divine, in my opinion, was having an off-day. Regardless, one has to be very careful when making this claim as it is very difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to give you an honest assessment of your work. If they feel there needs to be improvement, then there is the implicit suggestion that they are questioning a work of God.

Catholic musicians have an opportunity to create an industry that truly glorifies God by learning from the mistakes and wisdom of others. The Christian music scene, according to many industry insiders, has adopted too much of an American Idol mentality. Artists are created, promoted and rushed off to market in the hopes of creating the next big cross-over artist. The result, in my opinion, is that the Christian music scene is no longer creating artists who seem to be able to have any significant longevity or lasting impact. I still believe that there is a growing number of Catholic artists who have the capability of impacting contemporary culture. If you are one of these artists, the future could be very bright as long as we ignore the Idols and pursue artistic and spiritual excellence.