Mu gihe American Idol yinjira mu mwaka wayo wa 23, abacamanza Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie na Luke Bryan barimo gufata ibyemezo bikomeye. Reka turebe ibyo bamwe mu bahatanye mu myaka yashize batangaje ku bijyanye no guhatana muri iri rushanwa.
Hari abahanzi, hari n’abamamaye…ariko hari n’ibibazo byinshi abantu bibaza ku kuba umuhanzi muri American Idol.
Mu myaka irenga makumyabiri, iri rushanwa rya televiziyo ryatambutswaga kuri ABC ryafashije abahanzi benshi kugera ku rwego rwo hejuru rw’ibyamamare, barimo Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Adam Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Fantasia Barrino, Katharine McPhee, Jordin Sparks, ndetse n’uwegukanye igikombe vuba aha, Abi Carter, n’abandi benshi.
Hari ikintu gituma iri rushanwa rikomeza gukundwa cyane n’abarireba.
“Ni ikirango abantu bizeye,” nk’uko umuhuzabikorwa mukuru Megan Michaels Wolflick yabibwiye GoldDerby muri Kamena. “Numva mu bitekerezo byanjye ko ari nka NFL mu marushanwa y’abaririmba – abantu baza hano kuko bizeye uburyo bikorwa. Ni gahunda ireba cyane abahatana, si iy’ibyamamare. Ni inkuru ya Cinderella ibaho mu buzima nyabwo.”
Iri rushanwa rimaze kugera ku mwaka waryo wa 23, abandi bantu benshi baracyaririmo bizeye ko inzozi zabo zizasohora. Bamaze kubona amatike y’umuringa cyangwa, ku bantu bake cyane, ay’ifeza bahawe n’abacamanza Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan na Carrie Underwood, abahatana bakomeje guhatana mu cyumweru kizwi nka Hollywood Week.
“Noneho tugeze mu kibuga cya #americanidol,” nk’uko umushyushyarugamba Ryan Seacrest yabitangaje ku mbuga nkoranyambaga ku wa 31 Werurwe, “aho ibintu bitangira gukomera.”
Ariko se wigeze wibaza uko biri mu by’ukuri kuba muri American Idol? Nko mu ipiganwa ry’ijonjora ryo gutoranya abahatana, ese bahembwa? Abatarengeje imyaka 18 bategerezwa kujya ku ishuri igihe barimo guhatana? Ese iyo umuntu asezerewe biba bite?
Nk’uko abahatanye babivuga, inzira yo kugera kuri American Idol irarambiranye. Ntibitangirira imbere y’abacamanza nka Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan cyangwa Carrie Underwood. Aho bitangirira ni mu buryo bwitwa open call auditions, aho abantu benshi bo hirya no hino batanze amajwi yabo binyuze kuri internet cyangwa mu biganiro byihariye.
Umuhanzi wigeze guhatana witwa David Archuleta, wabaye uwa kabiri mu mwaka wa 2008, yavuze ko “gutambuka mu cyiciro cya mbere bidasaba gusa kuba uririmba neza, ahubwo bisaba no kugira umwihariko ugutandukanya n’abandi.”
Abandi bahatanye bavuze ko mbere yo kubonana n’abacamanza bazwi, ubanza kunyura imbere y’itsinda ry’abatunganya gahunda (producers), ari bo bemeza niba ushobora gukomeza cyangwa udategerejwe.
Ese Abahatana Bahembwa?
Yego, abahatana bahembwa nyuma yo kugera muri Hollywood Week. Nk’uko byatangajwe na The Blast, abahatana bahembwa hagati ya $1,000 na $1,500 buri cyumweru igihe bagumye mu irushanwa. Iyo hari ibikorwa bya televiziyo byihariye cyangwa ibikorwa byo gusubira mu rugo (home visits), bishobora kongerwaho amafaranga.
Ariko na none, aya mafaranga ajya mu bikorwa byinshi byabo bya buri munsi: imyambaro, amafunguro, n’ibikoresho bifashisha mu irushanwa. Si amafaranga menshi cyane, ariko aba afasha.
Iyo bageze i Hollywood, abahatana baba mu nzu imwe, ahantu hagenwe na American Idol. Hari abayihamya nk’aho haba huzuyemo akanyamuneza n’ubucuti, ariko hari n’abavuga ko kumara igihe kirekire ufashe inzu n’abandi bantu benshi bishobora guteza umunaniro cyangwa kutumvikana.
Umwe mu bahatanye mu myaka yashize yavuze ati: “Hari igihe tubanaga nk’abavandimwe, ariko hari n’igihe wumva ushaka kwigira kure gato.”
Yego rwose. Abari munsi y’imyaka 18 bafite amasomo bagomba gukomeza. American Idol ibateganyiriza abarimu baje kubigisha igihe batari mu myitozo cyangwa ku rubyiniro. Biba bigoye kubihuza, ariko ni ngombwa kugira ngo inzozi zabo ntizibangamire uburezi.
Iyo umuhanzi asezerewe muri American Idol, ashobora gusubira iwabo cyangwa agahabwa amahirwe yo gukomeza gukora umuziki binyuze mu bufatanye n’abatunganya umuziki cyangwa abandi baterankunga. Hari benshi bananiwe kwegukana irushanwa ariko bagakomeza kubaka izina rikomeye mu muziki, nka Jennifer Hudson cyangwa Adam Lambert.
Benshi mu bahatanye bemeza ko n’ubwo American Idol ari irushanwa rikomeye, riba ari n’ishuri rikomeye ry’ubuzima.
“Biragoye, ariko ni ibintu ntashobora kwicuza,” umwe yagize ati. “Byaranyubatse, byanyigishije byinshi ku ndoto, ku kwihangana no ku kuba umuhanzi nyawe.”
