Brief Thoughts on “American Idol” and “Touch”

1. There was an interesting emotional moment on “American Idol” last night during Stevie Nicks’ mentoring session of contestant Hollie Cavanagh who sang the Carrie Underwood hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” During Cavanagh’s first performance of the song, Nicks appeared to sense that the young singer was hitting the notes correctly, but wasn’t genuinely feeling the meaning of the lyrics. Nicks then revealed that her mother died two months ago, and all the problems she thought she had in her life disappeared. The only problem she had now was the deep pain of losing her Mom.

Nicks told Cavanagh to put that kind of raw emotion into her performance, which she subsequently did. While she was singing, the camera cut to Nicks with tears in her eyes, obviously feeling the pain of her mother’s loss. In addition to demonstrating the way music can reach someone’s heart in profound ways, I can’t help but think the lyrics were meaningful to Nicks too. The song’s chorus says:

Jesus, take the wheel.
Take it from my hands
‘Cause I can’t do this on my own.
I’m letting go
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I’m on.
Jesus, take the wheel.

Nicks’ religious background is vague. She claims not to follow any particular religion, and has had to fend off claims that she practices witchcraft. She’s said she believes that God helped her overcome addiction. Somewhere along the way, she must have been exposed to Christian beliefs, the idea that Jesus is the Son of God, and the concept of reuniting with our loved ones after death. I can’t read Nicks’ mind, but maybe her love for her late mother combined with the Jesus-infused lyrics of the song and the way it was performed struck some innate chord inside her that pointed her mind toward God and the afterlife. God tends to reach people wherever they are in life through a method that best suits them. Music would be an obvious choice for Stevie Nicks.

Again, I have no idea what Stevie Nicks’ religious or spiritual beliefs are. It just appeared to me this could be a way of God planting a seed of spiritual fruit that could be nourished in her life over time. Regardless, she has my condolences and prayers on the passing of her mother.

2. On last week’s episode of “Touch,” Kiefer Sutherland’s autistic-like son got on a New York City bus that then drove away. Sutherland catches up with the bus at the next stop, gets on and sits next to his son as the bus leaves for the next stop. At no point does the bus driver ask anyone to pay their fare. I’m willing to believe a child can see number patterns that predict the future. But I can’t accept a New York City bus driver not even giving a dirty look to two fare beaters. Details, Hollywood. Details.