iDOL is a Big Flop

I just arrived home today when I saw the commercial at ABS-CBN essentially saying that Sarah Geronimo's iDOL is getting axed due to its deeper-than-Earth ratings (Look for the commercial "iDOL: Mga huling araw na!). Okay, straight to the point. iDOL is a big flop, was a big flop by the time the show is axed. The first time I saw it on the commercials, I immediately thought it would never sell. It never will. Well, it never did. Poor Sarah. And to think that the ABS-CBN promoted the show that bad, they really thought it would sell. Too bad.

I'll point out the obvious here, at least this is what I think:

1. iDOL was supposed to be ABS-CBN's white knight against Glee's Charice Pempengco, or at least the show hoped that Glee watchers would get captivated by it and watch Sarah Geronimo and Coco Martin instead. Put simply, iDOL was a ripoff of Glee (just like most ABS-CBN soap operas mind you e.g. Imortal [Twilight?]).

2. Programs that involve the periodic singing of dialogues never sell, at least here in the Philippines. Most people think that it's too corny or mushy or whatever. And let's face it: Most of the songs they've used in iDOL weren't even iDOL originals. They just made their own rendition of existing songs, sometimes even uglier than the original, which people can play in the internet over and over and over again without the need of watching the program.

3. iDOL is too soft. By that I mean there's no gore, no blood, no bullets, no vampire. No vampire? No wait. Wrong program. Anyway, Filipinos love underdogs that's always brutalized and shortchanged in all aspects of life. Sarah Geronimo, although an underdog, didn't effectively play the part. She was a sweetheart. She's an angel. She's pure. That image of hers will never change in the eyes of the Filipino audience. And that's another reason why iDOL flopped. Maybe Sarah didn't sell as much as she used to. Maybe she lost her magic. Maybe she just didn't fit the underdog criteria well.

4. iDOL shipped out at the wrong time. We could effectively say that iDOL was too early or too late a show for this Filipino generation. The time frame is obviously not that great though. I mean, iDOL could've sold if it was aired a few months earlier than the first Glee. We can never say for sure. The concept of iDOL is great. It's just that the company publishing it is too greedy.

 
In the end, I pity Sarah Geronimo. This was her bounceback program. This would've proved her resiliency. Unfortunately, it failed. Sam Milby and Coco Martin will always be there though. They would always be needed as fillers or leads, but not Sarah. Maybe she'll remain an ASAP regular after all.

Again, it could've sold man. It could've sold.


'Till my next installment.

P.S. If you want to check out my earlier post about iDOL, go HERE.