On the show, each contestant gets to sing and then “America votes!” Thirty-five million people do so each week. Frankly, I would eliminate Ryan Seacrest, the host, but that’s just me. The judges add their critiques, which run from “Dawg, you’re dope,” by Randy Jackson to “Cruise ship-karoke level,” by Simon Cowell. I agree mostly with Simon, but then I understand what he is saying.

It appears to me that song selection is key, the young singers need to pick a song somewhere between “Titanic” and any song by The Fray. “Making it your own,” seems to be the pathway to Idol Heaven. Whatever.

Net, net,….it is all about presentation, song selection and vocal ability. As Susan Boyle just demonstrated, a “surprise,” just like those in every good presentation, works in a gigantic way, even Seth says so. Her surprise was the voice that came out of the stereotypical, English frump. Her presentation was awesome (I’m shocked, said one judge), and the song “I Have a Dream,” fit perfectly because the song matched up her dream with the dream of Britain’s Got Talent; lastly, her vocal ability caused more people to cry in the last two days than who cried at “Sophie’s Choice.”

So, Adam needs a surprise. He should select the best song from Les Miserables’ “Do You Hear the People Sing.” It is a very moving song, seems to fit our own times right now, and NO ONE in the mostly Gen X and Y audience would expect him to sing it, IF they have even heard about it. I can only imagine his take on it, his costume and the outcome. Done right, Susan would become a mere footnote to Adam’s Performance.

Judge for yourself, here’s a random guy singing it in a stage production. Adam, who would be much, much better should go for it.

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I hope I get invited to the show.

My friend J.T. O’Donnell is a recognized career coach, nationally syndicated career columnist and genuine thought leader in the career coaching space. The kicker text or slogan to her blog Careerealism is genius. Hers: Because every job is temporary. JobDig’s: Because Everyone Should Dig Their Job. Both are lots better than Monster’s slogan: We Will Overwhelm You With Un-Qualified Resumes. That is another story.

She had an interesting post the other day about escapism at work. Her point is that escapism is alive and well as evidenced by our fascination with all things reality on TV and the rise our unique ability to mind-escape our often tedious and thankless jobs. An excerpt:

The definition even goes on to attribute escapism with the creation of a whole host of industries including, fiction literature, music, sports, films, television, role-playing games, pornography, religion, recreational drugs, the internet and computer games. Yep, escapism is alive and well in America, just look at this article by the satirical genius over at The Onion, or the fact that Dancing With the Stars got the highest ratings last week with a whopping 21M+ viewers. (FYI – I was one of them.) It’s a fact: escapism is on the rise.

I guess the good news (and potentially a strategic bit career advice) is that jobs in escapism industries will be in good shape. So, if you are looking for a career with growth potential, I suggest targeting one of the fields above.

I have never thought of my own mindless wanderings as being something close to escapism, but now I have a better name than A-D-D for it. Instead of not being able to focus, I am using this “skill” to figure out new creative solutions to as-yet ill-defined problems.

Since we all do this…tell me YOU don’t daydream at work!!…JT is asking us for our best escapism career choice. In other words, if you could, what would you do? She is holding a contest here and is soliciting ideas. (I smell another book, JT) The winner gets $1,000 worth of JT’s coaching.