First of all major props to the American version of Ex-factor for having two rappers make it to the second round. Even more props to the Ex-Factor for having Pharrell and Rihanna as co-judges. I’m actually impressed in how this is the first singing competition that isn’t only vying for the “adult pop contemporary country western” vote, but is actually trying to get urban-esque audiences involved.

We would have never seen a rapper on American Idol because yes rappers can’t sing in the traditional sense, but I guess Ex-Factor looked at Billboard for I don’t know the last twenty years and said “wow there’s a couple huge rap hits on here every month” maybe we should cater to what’s actually happening in music instead of making these squeaky clean pop acts that go nowhere. Case in point: How many American Idols are massacring the charts like Lil Wayne? But I digress, so what am I mad about?

I think the judging up until now has been fair but I feel next week things are going to get super ugly (yes even uglier than that diss Hov threw at Nas years back). And it’s mainly because of the bias we all have of what we think a superstar musician should look like vs what a superstar musician should sound like. And it’s always (well most of the time) wrong. For instance, I bet the better looking acts who can sing okay will be put through whearas the not so good looking ones (but can sing their ass off) will not be put through and if they are put through to the next round a big deal will be made about them not being “good looking” or fitting the traditional pop mold. But the funny thing is in reality the top musicians are the people that defy the mold, they are just actually talented.

If being young and good looking was the main criteria for making it in the music business, Tyson Beckford and Shemar Moore would be platinum rappers. But the crazy thing is when we see a good looking person on stage performing and they are “okay” or even “good” we kind of think why are you singing for? What’s your story? What makes you special? It’s kind of like when Drake first burst on to the scene and people we’re like why are you rapping? You come from a rich family and we’re an actor. You’re hustling backwards! But the thing is Drake had to really push the envelope musically and at least pretend he was “diggin deep” in order to succeed because when he originally came out on that rich pretty boy tip, and it didn’t work (See Drake’s “Replacement Girl” video. In other words, he too had to break the mold (except from the other way around).

I think we will see the same thing with Brennan from the Ex-Factor, if he gets through, (I love how Rihanna called him “90’s boyband-ish” and “corny” by the way) but I bet we will see him develop his backstory as the “struggling musician”. I think it will be a damn shame if Melanie Amaro and Stacy Francis (pictured above), don’t get put through “because they don’t have the right look or age”, because they can both actually sing and I guarantee will be sorely missed in the live competition.

We’ll see next Tuesday which way the judges vote.