Tonight on American Idol, the five remaining performers sing the music of Neil Diamond. It seems to me that for a show whose network is so concerned about dropping ratings, American Idol’s producers could come up with a better guest mentor than a has been hack like Neil Diamond. I’ll bet you that most of the under 20 crowd that watches American Idol don’t have any idea who this guy is. It is not that hard, Mariah Carey = Good, Neil Diamond and Dolly Parton = Not Good. Growing up as a very young child in the 70’s I remember despising Neil Diamond’s music. I can’t say that it has grown on me at all over the intervening decades. Is it that hard to get someone on this show with at least a little bit of relevance to today’s music? All I can say to the idols this week is, best of luck. I’m already looking forward to next week.

Matt’s counter-point: Perhaps I’m in the minority, but I really enjoy Neil Diamond and am looking forward to his arrival on the show this week. While Diamond may not appeal to teeny-boppers, I don’t believe they are the only audience for this show (I don’t know many young teens buying Ford vehicles as the weekly commercials encourage). I would assume the point of bringing in mentors is to have someone with years and years of experience try to help teach and grow these younger performers. Neil Diamond, who has sold more than 120 million albums worldwide, seems like an ideal candidate for this role.

So let’s hear your perspective. Vote in the poll below and tell us what you think of Neil Diamond being this week’s mentor on American Idol.

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