When Jennifer Hudson was voted off, there was such a public uproar that the question of racism was immediately raised. Even Elton John got involved in the debate, despite the fact that, of the six remaining contestants, at the time, three were black (Fantasia Barrino, La Toya London and George Huff). Ruben Studdard, also African-American, had won the season before. Unfortunately, as is the case with most racial discussions, the two groups involved are usually Caucasians and African-Americans.

Do Other Groups Get Forgotten?

In the uproars and conspiracy theories that have been bestowed upon Idol in these past 6 seasons, one question remains – why have there been no Asian contestants in the top 12? While I definitely had not tapped him to win, I thought Paul Kim was good enough for the top 12. He certainly sang better than Alaina Alexander, Antonella Barba, Leslie Hunt, Nick Pedro and AJ Tabaldo. I guess America didn’t see it that way. Maybe that’s why Sanjaya sticks around. Aside from the fact that he is South Asian, his presence brings diversity to the predictable.

Since writing this post originally, one reader pointed out Jasmine Trias, who I remember being very proud of being Hawaiian (which can consist of any number of cultural backgrounds since Hawaii is known for it’s diverse population) but to the less discerning and vigilant viewer may not have recognized her as being Asian.  If there’s someone else, let me know!

Here are some sites I found this morning after searching the net for others who raised the same question (most were Asian themselves):

• Asian Guy’s American Idol (I’m not even kidding about the name!)
• Yahoo Discussion (wow, was that interesting reading…)
• 8 Asians
• Where Are All the Asians on American Idol (discussion thread)

If anyone finds anything interesting of the subject, send it over!

Source

Post from: Crushable

Voted off this week were: Nick Pedro, A.J. Tabaldo, Alaina Alexander, and Leslie Hunt.

On this week’s photo I’ve also highlighted (with a white box) the contestants that I think will make it to the final four:

• Melinda Doolittle
• LaKisha Jones
• Phil Stacey
• Blake Lewis

Post from: Crushable