We should perhaps begin by saying we may be the only two people in America who have never seen American Idol. Not once. It’s just not our way to spend 60 minutes of our life that we can never get back.
That’s not to say we don’t appreciate the skill level of American Idol contestants. Who doesn’t love Carrie Underwood (now Carrie Fisher, and there’s a double-entendre that last month’s celebrity wedding created!)? As you can see, this face of American idol is in our CD rack.
Now, American Idol is going cruising. Well, not really. American Idol contestants are going cruising…on Holland America…as entertainers. The cruise line launched “Showroom at Sea” on the new Nieuw Amsterdam last month, as a way to “focus on getting top-notch performers” and “bring more intimacy to evening shows”. Also to respond to what Royal Caribbean (read: Hairspray) and Norwegian (read: Blue Man Group) are doing.
Eventually, the shows will be on all 15 Holland America ships, once they’ve all been in dry-dock long enough for the physical change, as the Ryndam, Statendam, Rotterdam and Veendam have. The performers won’t all be American Idols, so to speak, but obviously this is a growing trend to bring more “known” entertainers to passengers.
Does anybody remember that in 2008 Royal Caribbean prematurely announced it was offering five American Idol theme cruises based, only to have the deal fall through?
So, these talented people you watch on FOX twice every week are not just performing to win your votes, but Holland America’s, too.
Just not ours.