I didn’t watch American Idol this season. I don’t really remember if I watched it last season either. I am, however, stuck with William “She Bangs” Hung in my head. Except via the Numa Numa guy, and I don’t think that is a positive.

But some guy from TV Guide did a really lame analyis on what makes an Idol a commercial recording success. (I always like it when my analysis is better than the pundit/experts. My next career will be to be the color football announcer. But I digress again.)

TV Guide-guy said that Idols who kept “mainstream” were more successful. Going “urban” was a mistake. So black Idols need to continue to sing Bonnie Raitt, Bee Gees, and Miami Sound Machine circa 1980-something. And the white Idols are okay, since they sing “mainstream?”

I have another idea, since more than 1/2 of the Billboard Top 50 Pop, Hot, and Airplay are hip hop or rap, maybe the issue isn’t the “urban-ness.” People listen to and buy rap. Maybe the problem is that the failed Idol product was bad.

The top song last year was Yeah! with Usher, Ludacris and Lil’ Jon. This is not your daddy’s pop-mobile. Let’s stop beating up on “urban” music. It’s like saying that music in the 60’s would have been okay except for that Motown stuff.