Did you hear about Betty Buckley’s recent rant about Randy Jackson of American Idol? She states on twitter, “I just have to say this: I am sick & tired of Randy Jackson bashing what they think is Broadway singing!” You can read her full commentary here http://broadwayworld.com/article/Twitter-Watch-Betty-Buckley-Sick-Tired-of-Broadway-Critique-on-AMERICAN-IDOL-20120202_page1.

Way to go Betty! There is no doubt she is correct when she states that American Idol is continually sending signals to the young kids of America that a Broadway voice is inferior. I’ve noticed this for years. Simon Cowell has done this continuously.

IMHO, the show producers do need to nip this in the bud, and I truly hope Betty Buckley’s rant will change some of this type of dialog. The judges simply need to leave the word “Broadway” or “trained voice” out of the sentence. We all know, for a fact, that the reason the singer isn’t making it through, isn’t because they are trained or not-trained, Broadway or not Broadway. It’s because the singer doesn’t have the sound quality or “package” these judges are looking for….period. There have been many trained singers make it in the recording industry. Adam Lambert, himself, was accused of having a “Broadway” voice while on AI. Lucky for him, he was so fabulous it didn’t matter, and he went on to win anyway.

Indeed, there is a difference between a Broadway voice and an American Idol voice. Let’s face it, there are great singers in both. Is one better than the other? Well, that’s for you to decide. As for me, “absolutely not! They can both be down-right fabulous!”