Early reviews were mixed in their assessment . Ken Tucker of '' Entertainment Weekly '' considered that " As TV , '' American Idol '' is crazily entertaining ; as music , it 's dust-mote inconsequential " . Others , however , thought that " the most striking aspect of the series was the genuine talent it revealed " . It was also described as a " sadistic musical bake-off " , and " a romp in humiliation " . Other aspects of the show have attracted criticisms . The product placement in the show in particular was noted , and some critics were harsh about what they perceived as its blatant commercial calculations – Karla Peterson of '' The San Diego Union-Tribune '' charged that '' American Idol '' is " a conniving multimedia monster " that has " absorbed the sin of our debauched culture and spit them out in a lump of reconstituted evil " . The decision to send the first season winner to sing the national anthem at the Lincoln Memorial on the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks in 2002 was also poorly received by many . Lisa de Moraes of '' The Washington Post '' noted sarcastically that " The terrorists have won " and , with a sideswipe at the show 's commercialism and voting process , that the decision as to who " gets to turn this important site into just another cog in the ' Great '' American Idol '' Marketing Mandala ' is in the hands of the millions of girls who have made '' American Idol '' a hit . Them and a handful of phone-redialer geeks who have been clocking up to 10,000 calls each week for their contestant of choice ( but who , according to Fox , are in absolutely no way skewing the outcome ) . " Some of the later writers about the show were more positive , Michael Slezak , again of '' Entertainment Weekly '' , thought that " for all its bloated , synthetic , product-shilling , money-making trappings , '' Idol '' provides a once-a-year chance for the average American to combat the evils of today 's music business . " Singer Sheryl Crow , who was later to act as a mentor on the show , however took the view that the show " undermines art in every way and promotes commercialism " . Pop music critic Ann Powers nevertheless suggested that Idol has " reshaped the American songbook " , " led us toward a new way of viewing ourselves in relationship to mainstream popular culture " , and connects " the classic Hollywood dream to the multicentered popular culture of the future . " Others focused on the personalities in the show ; Ramin Setoodeh of '' Newsweek '' accused judge Simon Cowell 's cruel critiques in the show of helping to establish in the wider world a culture of meanness , that " Simon Cowell has dragged the rest of us in the mud with him . " Some such as singer John Mayer disparaged the contestants , suggesting that those who appeared on '' Idol '' are not real artists with self-respect
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
American Idol