No Asians on Idol?
In a recent post, a visitor left me a comment that involved the racial politics of American Idol. It got me thinking about the first major accusation of racism against the show (not that I am implying that racism is present, I’m just asking an open-ended question).
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!
Tags: A.J.Tabaldo, AJ-Tabaldo, Alaina-Alexander, american-idol, American-Idol-6, Antonella, Antonella-Barba, asian, Fantasia, Fantasia Barrino, George-Huff, Latoya-London, Paul-Kim, racismRelated Stories
POSTED IN: American Idol 6, Fantasia Barrino, Jennifer Hudson, Other Season 3 Contestants, Photos, Ruben Studdard, Rumors, Sanjaya Malakar, Thinking Idol
8 opinions for No Asians on Idol?
tiff k
Apr 8, 2007 at 12:42 am
Man i don’t think that the judges or the producers are the racists ones because the system of booting is by voting and who else votes but Americans? Maybe the tastes and beliefs (so maybe some are racists) of some Americans affected the show. I mean every vote counts and if you don’t vote wisely then the competition is useless.
Bob
Apr 8, 2007 at 6:18 am
Firstly, Sanjaya is not SE Asian. He is South Asian. Also, there have been lots of Asians in the finals of AI over the years. How about Jasmine Trias? She was top 3 a few years ago, and she has a very successful career here in the Philippines where I live.
Jeanne
Apr 8, 2007 at 7:45 am
Tiff,
I also don’t think the judges are responsible. I was wondering more about the public at large and their voting preferences.
Jeanne
Jeanne
Apr 8, 2007 at 7:58 am
Bob,
First, thank you for ending a disagreement about SE vs. South Asia for India. Half of the books and sites I consulted say SE Asia while others say South Asia. Do a Yahoo search, you’ll be just as confused.
After you said that there were “lots” of Asians in the finals, I reviewed the contestants from all of the seasons and I was hoping you could help me out because I still could not find lots. Jasmine Trias slipped my mind, mostly because she focused so much on being Hawaiian. Yes, I know Hawaii has the highest concentration of Asians, but they also have Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders and Native Americans. With the highest number of mixed race individuals, it can be truly hard to know someone’s background, but that you for pointing her out.
I’ve added some things to clarify my question and position. Thank you so much for posting a comment!
Jeanne
Bob
Apr 8, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Hi Jeanne - Hmm… I just went back and reviewed the top 12 from each season, and you are right. There have been a few Asians, but when I said “a lot” I was mistaken. I only found one more and that is Camile Velasco (she is Filipino). So the only Asians that have ever been in the top 12 are Jasmine, Camile and Sanjaya.
Another Asian this year who was in the top 24 was AJ (Filipino also).
sue
Apr 13, 2007 at 12:09 pm
It’s really getting tiresome to try and inject a perceived racism in every single solitary aspect of - well, everything. Sometimes, it just happens that way, for no other reason whatsoever!! man!
Jeanne
Apr 13, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Sue,
I hope you got the intent behind my post. I don’t think that there have been any blatant signs of racism on the show. If you read my post more carefully, you will see that I thought Elton John’s comments and the racial debates around Jennifer Hudson were unwarranted because of the strong presence of African-Americans in virtually every season of Idol.
I wrote the article in response to a comment I received in another post. I was surprised by the amount of results I got when I searched for “Idol” and “racism.” I only included the Asian topic because if we are going to always bring up racism, it is important to note that members of other groups have not necessarily done well on the show but there is little coverage of that. It is always about Black and White which annoys me.
My post was meant to elicit posts like yours to educate and provide different perspectives on it. However, I think that my point was that there is a need for diversity - it doesn’t inject racism to say so.
Besides, I think there are plenty of ethnic minorities who would disagree about us having to inject racism - it is present, everywhere. Just ask the African-Americans and Latinos who earn at least 8% less than Whites working the same types of jobs (check the census information on the government site). I’m sure they feel the injection of racism with every less dollar that they have.
All the same, your point is valid and this is a loaded topic. I certainly did not mean to give the impression that I thought racism was at fault for the lack of Asians, but since it’s a popular topic, I wanted to hear what others had to say. I agree with you - I don’t think Melinda is the greatest only because she has become too predictable. If I say that in some circles, they will attribute it to my being racist.
Oy vey!
Jeanne
Lucy
Apr 20, 2008 at 8:07 am
lets face it folks, American people are still in this day and age probably the most racist people on earth, everyone knows it
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