With all of the publicity that American Idol has gotten in recent years, some of the most entertaining gossip from the show lately has been the overbearing stage parent that is Jeff Archuleta. Questions still surround his time with the show, and many parents worry that they could find themselves in Jeff’s shoes at some point with their own talented child. However, much as many parents are starting to worry, the show really had some good reasons to do what they did. Learning how to become a stage parent like Jeff Archuleta because is very important to actually allow your child to find true success on the show.
While it might at first glance just seem like a truly loving parent waiting in the wings, stage parents are a growing breed that seem to spawn from the depths of hell, rather than from the encouraging love that most parents come from. At times crossing over from a lovingly encouraging parent into the area of stage parent seems to be extremely easy; many parents slide over simply, while other parents find that the transition is extremely complicated.
It is a well known fact that American Idol will not allow contestants to actively participate that are under the age of 18 without the permission of their parents. This has been well known since season 1 kicked off many years ago. However, while parents’ permission is required, parents are not permitted to simply sign a form and disappear back to their hometown while the producers handle watching after their kids. I suppose this makes it easier for some parents to quickly turn into stage parents, but it is necessary for parents to watch after their own children.
Jeff Archuleta rose to fame as a stage parent due to his constant meddling with other contestants. He was not content to simply run his son’s time on the show. Rather he was extremely interested in trying to sabotage other contestants according to reports. Due to this, rumors quickly started flying claiming that tensions on the show were running high and stating that Jeff Archuleta was at the center of it all. How true the actual reports are is yet to be seen, but the fact is many parents find themselves crossing over into the area of tampering with other contestants. It is extremely important that as a stage parent, you limit your interaction with your own child, rather than messing with other contestants.
Another fatal mistake that Jeff Archuleta made which created the disaster that had him quickly banned from the set was working with his son to change the lyrics of his song. This created nightmares for the show due to the very real problems with copyright that were created. By working with his son to change the lyrics of his songs, he not only broke the rules of the show, he went against what the producers had told him when he asked about changing the lyrics, and he cost the show a lot of money in terms of fines and penalties for the artists who were wronged. This all created a very big drama in the show. Due to the problems that occurred because of the incident, Jeff Archuleta was banned from being back stage.
It is extremely important to realize that as a stage parent, you cannot interfere with other performers and you also cannot become so overbearing that you are putting the show in danger. Just as American Idol has turned out numerous winners, they are also turning out numerous “losers” who do still manage to go onto a truly successful career. If you are willing to let go of your child and allow them creative input, as well as ensure that you are having your child follow all of the rules of the show you will discover that it can be a truly fun experience without all of the drama that follows stage parents.
