The end on ‘Idol’

By: Caitlin Moynihan, Columnist

Just imagine, by this time next week we’ll be packing up our final belongings and heading out to wherever we call home. While some of you may be getting ready to have the best summer of your life back-packing across Europe, or having the internship of your dreams, some of us are doomed to the repetition of the retail life and watching Netflix on the weekends.

No matter how you plan on spending your summer, make these last few days count. Have fun with your roommate, get your friend group from freshman year back together, or finally give that person who lives down the hall from you a chance and go out to dinner with them. I mean it’s the last week of the school year, so you might as well end it with a bang!

My very first Currently Caitlin post was about Kanye West and Paul McCartney’s recent collaborations, so it’s only fitting for this to be about music as well.

Since 2002, millions of hopefuls have waited hours to have the chance to sing their heart out in order to obtain the legendary golden ticket on “American Idol” and after 14 years, the era is coming to an end.

For some, “American Idol” has been going on for far too long and for others, it’s the best part of their weeknights. No matter how you currently feel about the show, you have to admit that in the early seasons you spent your weekends on YouTube watching compilations of the worst auditions that gave you major secondhand embarrassment.

There’s no way we could forget William Hung or the genius who produced the song ‘Pants on the Ground,’ and we have “American Idol” to thank.

I don’t even want to talk about the extremely awkward sexual tension that was amplified between Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, because that was just plain weird. From total upsets (Clay Aiken totally deserved to win in Season 2) to the winner becoming America’s sweetheart (I’m looking at you, Carrie Underwood), “American Idol” has had some pop-culture defining moments that changed the lives of millions of people.

Yes, it was strange when there were brand new judges, but the goal of the show was consistent: to give talented individuals an opportunity of a lifetime. I may not have watched the past few seasons, but some of my favorite middle school memories were when my whole family gathered around the TV in the basement on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to see who got eliminated and vote for our favorite to continue on in the competition.

From house drama and divas to emotional performances and incredible surprise guests, “American Idol” paved the way for reality talent competition shows. I don’t think we would have things like “The X Factor” or “The Voice” if it weren’t for “American Idol.”

Fox announced that the final season will premiere in January 2016 and will be devoted to celebrating the show’s success. Who knows, maybe we’ll get some flashbacks to the good-old days and a surprise visit from those who made the show so memorable.

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