CPR Promotional Check-Up

American Idol

Nothing says "too lazy to do show prep" then a morning show that does 40 minutes on AI. It's huge. You need to talk about it. But it shouldn't BE your show.

The only time I've seen a station successfully replicate it and do a genuine regional talent search that wasn't a really really bad karaoke night from Hell, was at WIOG with Mid-Michigan Idol. The rest of the time, it's just painful. You need to acknowledge the show because it IS so big. But, again, you can't do an hour on it and you can't do a straight rip-off.

The best way is to parody it. Wild in Tampa did Crack Whore Idol. Alice in Denver did Homeless Idol. Kiss in Pittsburgh did Airport Shuttle Van Driver Idol with these men and women singing on those bad van PA's. Drive Thru Idol: fastfood employees singing over those horrible drive-up soundsystems. I'm still waiting on Bi-Curious Cheerleader Idol.

What else?

• American Midol was an idea from the morning show at KOB-FM in Albuquerque. Get five seriously PMSing women in the studio, tease and berate them until one-by-one they start crying. Last one to cry, wins.
• Homeroom Idol: cellphone singing by a different teacher every morning.
• Idle Idol. One of the stations did this to win furniture. You move, you lose.
• Vietnamese Idol. Get a karaoke system that has pop lyrics in Vietnamese. Winner gets the Dong. (Vietnamese currency.)
• Proxy Idol. As soon as the contestants are established, you assign a listener to each performer. Whoever goes all the way and wins, wins something for their listener.

Yo Dawg

People who live on farms in Minnesota really can't pull that off. Back in the late 80's it was the Cosby Sweater Contest. This newest call-and-guess-the-number contest would have people calling and guessing how many times Randy Jackson will use the term "dawg" during that evening's airing of "American Idol". Or maybe this is the next big drinking game?