I agree that pro-am works well on “Idol” and even better on “Dancing With The Stars” because the judges voting and the audience voting is combined. On “Dancing” it’s great to get comments that explain the art (and sport) of ballroom dancing, and although everybdy hates Simon, he’s usually right.

First of all, I must note that Britney Spears is no longer a teen-aged star, so I’m going to assume you’re comparing Jordin today to Britney of yesteryear (scary to think of 1999 in those terms, but there it is!) And I have to also point out that Britney’s image and her off-screen behavior have long overshadowed her talent — she actually can sing and pre-Kevin she had charisma.

I don’t like it when teenagers are groomed to look older (and sexier) on stage or on the red carpet (Miley Cyrus at the Grammys? Her stylist should be fired and then, I don’t know, jailed or something.) But once they’re 18, image is a matter of artistic (or commercial) choice. There’s room for the sexy and the wholesome in the music world.

As for “American Idol,” I’ve never seen an overtly sexual contestant in the voting rounds (the wacky auditions don’t count here). I don’t think the producers would allow it in the first place.

In other words, it’s hard to say if the audience is deliberately choosing wholesome contestants because ALL of the contestants once they’re down to the original 24 are pretty much wholesome (even Constantine Maroulis’ attempts at smoldering were strictly PG.)

Although it’s true big radio and major labels offer a limited choice of artists that “we didn’t vote on” we definitely do vote when we choose to buy or not buy their records. Therefore I’d argue that entertainment has always been participatory.

What increases that participation now more than ever are things like digital downloads giving an unlimited variety of choices, indie artists promoting themselves from scratch, bloggers writing about music outside of the standard promotional machine, podcasting, etc. We’re in very exciting times, I think.

What “American Idol” does do is let talented artists like overweight Ruben Studdard or grey-haired Taylor Hicks have a shot at jump-started fame even though they would never get past the lobby of the Sony building because of their looks.

The sad part, though, is that neither of them have been able to turn their “Idol” status into record sales. Where are all those millions of fans who voted for them on the show? Watching the new season?

The most successful Idol so far (based on record sales and awards) is Carrie Underwood. She’s extremely talented — I don’t want to take away from that — but I do want to point out that she’s also the blondest and prettiest of the bunch (in Western ideal terms, of course).

I don’t think we need to “clean up” entertainment. Sexual imagery and pop music have always gone together: think Prince, Madonna, or heck, Elvis. If I go see Usher perform, I want to watch him dance, hear him sing and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see him rip off his shirt and show off that six pack. Sexy’s fine with me (and I’d bet most people) as long as there’s talent to back it up — or at least a good hook and a danceable beat.