‘Idol’ Song Choice Courts Controversy and Finds
It; Singer Is Voted Off
By EDWARD WYATT
Published: April 25, 2008
LOS ANGELES — Carly Smithson might be the first “American
Idol” contestant to be voted off the show for blasphemy.
Online chat boards devoted to “American Idol” have
been abuzz since Ms. Smithson performed the title song from “Jesus
Christ Superstar” — the 1970 rock opera, which
many Christians consider offensive — on Tuesday’s
episode. Ms. Smithson received the fewest votes of the six
remaining contestants following her Tuesday performance.
Her elimination was announced on Wednesday night’s
episode. The week’s performances were drawn from the
works of Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote “Jesus Christ
Superstar” with Tim Rice.
Since its debut, and particularly following the release
of the 1973 film version, “Jesus Christ Superstar” has
been railed against by some Christians for its portrayal
of Jesus as confused and at times unwilling to accept his
role, and because it hints that he had a sexual relationship
with Mary Magdalene.
In the title song, Judas Iscariot rebukes Jesus for poor
planning in his choice of when and where to present himself
on earth and asks Jesus to contrast himself with Buddha and
Muhammad.
Within hours of Ms. Smithson’s performance, which
was hailed by one “American Idol” judge as one
of the best of the night, questions were being raised online
about the song. On one thread on the show’s official
Web site, AmericanIdol.com, a viewer warned shortly after
the performance that Ms. Smithson’s choice of the song
would put her in danger of elimination.
Diane Winston, who holds the Knight chair in media and religion
at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg
School for Communication, said that while “Jesus Christ
Superstar” had largely faded from public discussion
over the years, the film “always had this tinge of
disrepute about it because its picture of Jesus was so unsettling
to many people.”
Some contestants on “American Idol” have used
the religious overtones of songs to their benefit. Several
weeks ago Kristy Lee Cook, a country singer who had been
on the verge of elimination, improved her standing with a
performance of the song “God Bless the U.S.A.” Simon
Cowell, one of the show’s judges, called the effort “the
most clever song choice I have heard in years.”
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