True, American Idol has rigid standards, but in a way they have to be searching for a very narrow range of vocalist types, otherwise anyone could argue that they're eligible. True, Dylan wouldn't have made it past the first round (he may have even been one of the people who they make fun of for even attempting to audition), but that's because it's not a show about poetry, it's a show about pop singing.
I don't think vocal quality is a defining factor of what becomes popular right now, otherwise we'd all be listening to Josh Groban and Michael Buble all the time. What about Beck? He mumbles instead of singing most of the time, yet he's immensely popular. Top 40 popular. Or Conor Oberst? His voice is surely nothing to brag about.
Also, I don't know who created the standards for the most popular music of today, but I'm pretty sure it isn't Simon Cowell, otherwise the top five songs on iTunes right now probably wouldn't consist of T.I., Akon, and Kanye West. They, like Dylan, would not have made it past the first round of American Idol.
I think Piekarski brought up a good point yesterday in comparing folk with rap. They're just telling stories about a lifestyle. And people can relate to that.
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