Kelly Pickler: How Does She Do It?

My friend Scott and I were complaining about last night’s American Idol. Eventhough neither of us are big Ace fans, we couldn’t believe that America didn’t vote Kelly Pickler off the show after she completely messed up the song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" by Rodgers and Hart.

I was ranting that America must still have some kind of unconditional love for dumb blonds. I’m sorry, but Kelly’s wide-eyed naivete is wearing very, very thin.

But once I calmed down, I realized there may be another reason why Kelly didn’t get voted off.

She didn’t make any excuses. She said out loud, "I butchered it.!" She didn’t try to cover anything up. Unlike a lot of public figureheads these days.

Perhaps America stayed in love with Kelly for two reasons.

  1. Because we can relate to her. We all mess up every now and then, despite our best intentions.
  2. We respect people who make a mistake and just admit it.

Or maybe American really does love dumb blondes. (Now, before you send me evil emails, I’m not saying ALL blonds are dumb. Only some of them).

There is something irresistible about people who just are who they are, even when they aren’t at their best. We trust them. We feel at home with them. And we relate to them.

In my article The Myth of Mistakes I talked about my friend Bridget who is so engaging and fun when she forgets her lyrics and just vamps her way through the song until she remembers what comes next. The audience loves her when this happens, not because they want to hear her mess up, but because all of a sudden Bridget is just a person and not a professional singer. She is someone we can relate to, someone who messes up yet finds her way again.

I have many clients who won’t speak up or even raise their hand in a workshop situation because they are afraid making a mistake or asking the wrong question. They are afraid of what people will think of them if they are less then perfect.

Well, Kelly, why don’t you tell them?

Hey, you guys! You can mess up BIG TIME and still be America’s Sweetheart! Kelly Pickler is living proof.

 

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5 replies
  1. Bailey
    Bailey says:

    I think the final two should have been Kelly and Taylor. But thats only me. And, yes I agree she is a dumb blond(and so am I). But hay, The world shouldn’t be boring.

    Reply
  2. Dan
    Dan says:

    Get over it Kelly was one of the best singers, but now when it came out of her element (Country)
    All of the contestents made mistakes and quite a few were out of key more times than not.
    Kelly should have won.

    Reply

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