Bid.

 

American Idol vs. Dancing With the Stars: who wins in a head-to-head comparison?

By Siavash Emamzadeh

hat’s more fierce than a

toe-to-toe matchup of

a group of singers and
dancers? Well, I suppose there are
some things, but the battle between
the TV shows Dancing With the
Stars and American Idol for most
viewers has not been a dull one.

As of late April, Dancing
with the Stars came in second to
American Idol in a list of the most
viewed shows. Dancing trailed Idol
by approximately three million
viewers.

One could attribute the Idol
lead to the context of the show. Idol
revolves around ordinary Joes and
Janes exhibiting their voices and
competing for a shot at stardom,
whereas Dancing pins couples of
professional dancers and celebrities
against each other. The argument
that I’m trying to make is that Idol
may be more relevant and relatable
than Dancing for those watching at
home.

But clearly, this is a conclusion
I cannot make without a survey of
the general population. In light of
this reality, I’m going to submit my
own head-to-head assessment of the
shows.

Judges

Dancing’s Len Goodman vs. Idol’s
Simon Cowell

Len has a persona that is the closest
to Simon’s meanness. They’re

both frank—in the case of Simon,
brutally —and aren’t swayed by

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their fellow judges’ comments. Both
are frequently subjected to boos

and sometimes taunted by the other
judges or even the host.

While both are often accurate in
their remarks, Len clearly emerges
as the more pleasant judge with
regular outputs of wit and displays
of humility.

However, for the sake of pure
entertainment, Simon wins. His
behaviour is not quite acceptable
outside of show business, but his
belittlement of contestant is oddly
funny. And don’t you criticize me,
because most people would agree
with me.

Dancing’s Bruno Tonioli vs. Idol's
Paula Abdul

Bruno and Paula are almost always
pompom rocking, unconditionally
supportive judges.

While others are seated, Paula
has a tendency to stand for every
contestant’s performance “in a
display of respect.” She is often
mesmerized by their songs and
moved to tears.

Similarly, Bruno can’t
seem to remain seated after a
couples’ performance. He leaps
out of his seat after a dance and
excitedly flails his arms while
uttering nothing but praise for the
contestants. His antics sometimes
get so “passionate” that they prompt
his fellow judges to reassuringly
embrace each other.

Sorry Paula, but I have to go
with Bruno here. As hard as it
is to believe, Bruno’s ramblings

are somewhat more coherent
than Paula’s. Plus, he is more
inclined to draw a smile on my
face as opposed to Paula, whose
emotions sometimes strike me as
disingenuous.

Dancing’s Carrie Ann Inaba

vs. Idol’s Randy Jackson/Kara
DioGuardi

Randy and Kara are quite similar
in their demeanor, and Carrie is
similar to them both. They’ re not
as polarized as the other judges
and are often conservative in their
comments. Seeing as how they’re
all so alike, I declare this bout tied.

Hosts

Dancing’s Tom Bergeron/Samantha
Harris vs. Idol's Ryan Seacrest:
This one’s tough. Both Ryan and
Tom are experienced; Ryan hosted
the Emmy’s in 2007 and Tom’s
been hosting America’s Funniest
Home Videos for a while. Samantha
doesn’t really add much to the
hosting duties other than a forced
giggle every now and then.

Taking in the whole scope of
things, I’m going to give this one
to Ryan. Anyone that can withstand
the abuse and mockery of Simon
Cowell deserves to be applauded.
Plus, Ryan’s got to take the
awkwardness of jittery contestants
and somehow turn it into humour.
On the contrary, Tom and Samantha
only deal with professionals.

Contestants
American Idol has had its fair share

 

of whacky contestants, as witnessed
in the draining trials of the show’s
auditions. But then again, Dancing
With the Stars recently featured
celebrities like Jerry Springer and
Steve-O. That’s wackiness right
there.

But seriously, the participants
on Dancing have all, at one point
or another, been in the midst of
some kind of public scrutiny or
attention. I’m sure professional
athletes, models or actors have all
experienced life under the spotlight.

In contrast, the kids on
American Idol are rookies. The
transition they make from, say,
singing in front of a mirror to
belting songs out before large
crowds, and judges and national
TV is unimaginably huge. That’s
admirable stuff. Therefore, I have
no choice but to give them the
decisive edge.

The Result?

American Idol by a landslide.
Of course, this whole matter is
rather subjective. Some people like
to watch Dancing with the Stars
just because they like to watch
celebrities or are interested in
dancing, while others might aspire
to be singers in the future and so
choose to watch American Idol. But
a logical comparison of the two,
at least in my view, will give the
decision to American Idol and thus
justify the three million that prefer
it over the competition.

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