"Life Is the Only Game in Which the Object of the Game Is to Learn the Rules"

I honestly don't know what I was expecting when I allowed myself to get caught up in American Idol. I know full well it is a product of the corporate music machine. Between the obscene product placement and the sketchy song choices foisted on contestants (hinting strongly at a conflict of interest for Jimmy Iovine), I don't know how I thought my sensibilities wouldn't be offended.

This past week was particularly abominable as Jimmy tried to convince Casey to change his song choice (to "In the Air Tonight" of all things), admonishing him for not listening to him and assuring us it would be a failure. Casey stood his ground and refused to play their game, and in so doing, completely blew us away with a performance that reflected his true artistry and introduced an entire generation to a genre of music that is sorely under-appreciated.

So, here's the relationship question of the day: Do we really have to play "the game" or can we make up our own rules without being benched?

In fact, why does it have to be a game at all. It's life. Isn't it supposed to be real? Aren't we supposed to be real? We are constantly told to put our best foot forward, to be charming, to carefully conceal all our flaws during the dating process, to give the performance of our lives. Are we really expected to build relationships under the caveat emptor mantra? If we never get an honest look at the person who interests us, aren't we bound to end up with buyer's remorse?

There's a line in a Jason Isbell song, "I'm too scared to ask the right questions, and I'm too tired to fill the right shoes." That kind of sums up where I am with this issue. It all feels too contrived and like too much effort to be something you're really not, and then an enormous hassle to maintain the expectation thereafter.

Tying this back to AI, it seems to me that, regardless of whether or not Casey goes any further in this competition, he made the right choice. He gave a stellar performance, maintained his artistic integrity, and earned major points in my book. He was real. He was true to himself. I think that's all we can ever ask of ourselves, and really all anyone else can ever ask of us.

Casey Abrams stuck to his guns and resurrected "Nature Boy" last night to a standing O. Don't you think you should be just as natural as well? Who knows how much your audience might appreciate your delivery?!