Why I Watch American Idol (And a WINNER!)

Wow, I can't believe we're on the tail-end of Labor Day weekend. Before I can blink, it will be Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. Crazy how fast time flies! I hope all of the TNG readers had a most excellent holiday weekend filled with whatever you wanted it filled with.

Before I write on Maureen's topic for the week, I want to announce the winner (chosen via random.org) from week one of our Blogoversary Bash!

The winner of two books of her choosing from Dorchester Publishing is LEXIE! Yay! Huge congrats, Lexie! Please e-mail me at Tracy@TracyMadison.com with your full name, mailing address, and the two books (titles and authors, please) you'd like from Dorchester Publishing. I'll get them ordered and sent out to you this week!

And...you're still eligible for the Grand Prize of a $100 Amazon Gift Certificate that we'll be giving away at the end of the month.

This week we're also giving away a prize, but I don't know what that is. Maureen will tell everyone tomorrow. It will be cool. Really, really cool. I'm sure of it, so stay tuned!

Okay, and I'm going to use THIS blog to reach another one of our readers, because I saw she commented. Tonya Kappes! You won a prize over on my blog last week, but I can't find your email address anywhere....so, shoot me an email, please!

On to this week's topic, brought to us by Maureen: Reality Shows!

I'm totally addicted to reality shows, but not all of them. In fact, there are far more reality shows on the air at any given time that I've never watched than there are those that I watch faithfully. My favorite, by far, is American Idol.

I started watching Idol in its second season, and have watched every episode that has aired since. Yes, even the auditions, which are the episodes I tend to like the least each and every season. Mostly because I want to hear who can sing well, those who actually have a shot, and as anyone who has ever watched AI knows, the audtions are mostly about the funny. Which, by the way, I don't normally find funny, but that's neither here nor there.

So I find myself this year, for the first year since I began watching AI, oddly apprehensive. I'll admit it...the shakeup in the judging has me not too happy. For one, I liked the THREE judge format, before they added judge number 4 last year. And two, this year, Paula is said to not be involved in American Idol any longer.

I like Paula. Yes, I do. I like her attitude, I like how she pumps the contestants up, and yes, I even like how she often says very silly things. Besides which, in my mind, Paula and Simon are a pair. I'm not sure I'll enjoy his "wit" nearly as much without Paula's wit added in.

But I'll give the show a chance. Because when push comes to shove, I don't watch because of the judges...not at all. I watch because of the contestants. It has to be so nerve-wracking to step up on that stage and sing for all America to watch, but they do it week after week, in hopes of reaching their dreams.

And to me, that's exactly what most (if not all) reality shows are about, and it is what makes them so darn appealing to the public. Well, that and the human drama that is bound to come through whenever there's a camera on a bunch of virtual strangers. It's cool. It's fun. And I love seeing dreams come true.

What about you? Do you watch reality shows? If so, which are your favorite? If not, why not?

And remember...our Blogoversary Celebration continues all month, so leave your comments and check out the rules on the sidebar to learn about how you can earn more chances to win!