Shout to the Lord – American Idol style

Posted on April 10, 2008 by Matt Todd

Christy and I watched American Keraoke last night – the one where they were raising money for some pretty great causes. OK – we really didn’t watch it that much. Christy was working on stuff for school today and I was working on some stuff for church. But the show was on and we’d pay attention every once in a while.

Before I go to far, I want to say that I usually can’t stand the group segments where the Idol contestants sing some big number together. They remind me of the musical shows at amusement parks like Six Flags, Kings Island, and Holiday World. It’s not that those are bad, but that’s not why I’m watching the show. If I wanted to watch groups sing, I would have watched Next Great American Band – and I didn’t. There’s just something about these show choir segments in AI just feels…I don’t know…hokey.

So, I was about to turn the channel when the AI contestants took the stage for the grand finale. I recognized the first few notes and wondered which song it was. There are three or four songs that I think start the same way, and I always get them confused. So I stayed on the channel for a little bit longer to see which song it was. I was moderately surprised when I heard them sing what sounded like the beginning to a song I’ve sung in churches for ten years.

Are they really singing a worship song in the finale? I thought to myself.

I wasn’t so sure what I thought about that. I’m still not. It’s quite apparent that there is some Christian influence on the show. Carrie Underwood is getting radio play on Christian music stations with songs like Jesus Take the Wheel. Mandisa sang with Beth Moore before she took the AI stage. Now she’s in the Christian music scene. There was Chris Sligh last year: worship minister-turned Idol contestant, who sang a dc Talk song. Scott Krippayene co-wrote last year’s ‘coronation’ song (This is My Now). So, in some ways it shouldn’t have really been a shock. But it was still surprising to hear it as the grand finale of such a heavily promoted episode.

Something felt strangely uncomfortable as I listened to them sing Shout to the Lord, though. Christy and I sat there with our mouths agape as they sang. Maybe it was because they took out the explicit reference to ‘Jesus’ in the opening line. Does the song actually make any sense without saying the name Jesus? I don’t know. I’d assume it does. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not jumping on the ‘censorship’ bandwagon. I’m just curious if the song makes any sense with the changed lyric.

Maybe it was because I still don’t like it when they have them sing as a group.

Maybe it was because it just felt…strange. I can’t put my finger on it.

Idol Gives Back version
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Did anyone else feel strange listening to it last night?

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Matt Todd

Howdy. I'm Matt. My wife, Christy, and I have four kids and two dogs, I'm passionate about orphan care. I'm a die-hard fan of the Evansville Aces, the Indiana Hoosiers, and Star Wars. I'm trying to live life by the Todd family motto: "It behooves us to live!"