Confession Time: Have you been watching American Idol?

Quick, name the winner of every season of American Idol. Yeah, I couldn’t do it either without looking it up. And, if you thought Clay Aiken, you were wrong. But, once again, American Idol is back on the air. And just like every other year, I’m watching the bloated “Premiere Event.” I’ll admit it. Despite a slight dip in the shows ratings, it seems I’m not alone.

With the recent news that Katharine McPhee was dropped by RCA records, questions about the show’s relevance in the music industry have been swirling, yet again. The evidence for Idol’s irrelevance is abundant: season two winner Ruben Studdard, season three winner Fantasia Barrino, season five winner, Taylor Hicks. None of these names mean much to those of us not wholly devoted to the show, and these are the people who were supposed to be America’s next solo singing superstar. Lately Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Jennifer Hudson and Elliot Yamin have been making not winning AI look like the preferable outcome for contestants, just like Clay Aiken did five years ago.

Let’s face it. The iffy track record just reminds us of what we already know about watching AI. We really love to see these people squirm. I watch the first few weeks precisely for the huge jolt of schadenfreude it adds to my week. Even after they get down to the top ten, it’s still the main reason I tune in. So when it comes time for the inevitable debate over whether or not this season is as good as others, lets not feel bad if all we really care about is this season's Sanjaya.