One of my guilty pleasures is shows where people sing. American Idol, Don’t Forget the Lyrics and to a lesser extent Singing Bee. I was even one of the 4 people who watched “Clash of the Choirs”. I know, they hold very little musical merit. American Idol has made some stars, but it’s less about talent and more about personality. I am fully aware of this.

Last night (and the night before) the American Idol contestants, in what I like to refer to as their “Up With People” number, performed Shout to the Lord. I’m a bit burnt out on that song, but you have to recognize it’s place in modern praise and worship music.

*The stereo mix of this wasn’t as good as the 5.1 mix. The 5.1 mix was much smoother and the featured vocalists didn’t stick up above the others as much as in the stereo version.

I have to admit, they took it very seriously and no one seemed particularly turned off by it. This is a huge change over previous seasons where any contestant who dared to sing about their faith was met with heavy criticism.