“American Idol” Contestant Carly Smithson Voted Off For Being A Brazen Blasphemer

Carly Smithson, a recently-booted contestant on “American Idol,” might have been voted off not for lack of vocal talent, but specifically for her song choice. No, it wasn’t “Smell Yo Dick.” The offending song? “Jesus Christ Superstar:”

Within hours of Ms. Smithson’s performance, which was hailed by one “American Idol” judge as one of the best of the night, questions were being raised online about the song. On one thread on the show’s official Web site, AmericanIdol.com, a viewer warned shortly after the performance that Ms. Smithson’s choice of the song would put her in danger of elimination.

Diane Winston, who holds the Knight chair in media and religion at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication, said that while “Jesus Christ Superstar” had largely faded from public discussion over the years, the film “always had this tinge of disrepute about it because its picture of Jesus was so unsettling to many people.”

Some contestants on “American Idol” have used the religious overtones of songs to their benefit. Several weeks ago Kristy Lee Cook, a country singer who had been on the verge of elimination, improved her standing with a performance of the song “God Bless the U.S.A.” Simon Cowell, one of the show’s judges, called the effort “the most clever song choice I have heard in years.”

Well, let’s take a look at some of the lyrics from the song. Here’s the first stanza, sung by Judas:

Every time I look at you
I don’t understand
Why you let the things you did
Get so out of hand
You’d have managed better
If you’d had it planned
Now why’d you choose such a backward time
And such a strange land?
If you’d come today
You could have reached the whole nation
Israel in 4 BC had no mass communication

And:

Tell me what you think
About your friends at the top
Now who d’you think besides yourself
Was the pick of the crop?
Buddah was he where it’s at?
Is he where you are?
Could Muhammmed move a mountain
Or was that just PR?
Did you mean to die like that?
Was that a mistake or
Did you know your messy death
Would be a record breaker?

This expresses the bulk of the plot driving “Jesus Christ Superstar.” It’s about Judas and his struggles with Jesus’ message. Many charges of blasphemy aimed at the production were as a result of humanizing both Jesus and Judas, while making them look kind of hot and sing catchy pop songs. We’re not understanding how playing up Jesus’ humanity would make Him any less God, though. To Christians, he’s entirely, fully both. And as for Judas, well. He’s a historical figure, too. He breathed and walked and pooped and, probably, felt conflicted once in a while. As do many Christians, as do most followers of any sort of belief system. We’re not sure how depicting Judas as a confused dude struggling with his faith is an act of blasphemy.

What do you think, though? Is the song offensive? Is it blasphemy? And are you now going to have “Jesus Christ Superstar” stuck in your head for the rest of the weekend?

‘Idol’ Song Choice Courts Controversy and Finds It; Singer Is Voted Off [NY Times]