It's steep at the top

A few years age, my son was attending a summer festival in Maine. My husband and I spent a week there, attending the concerts in the evening and enjoying the area during the day. We stayed at the Brunswick Inn, which has wonderful, home cooked breakfasts. One of the guests was a well known accompanist, who was also at the festival. We shared the NY Times and chatted a little.
I thought of him today, when I watched American Idol. Today was the results show. One of the contestants was a young man from a suburb near here. He is a high school senior, has a nice voice, is good looking and talented. He was voted off tonight. The young man, whose name is David Radford, must have been on top of the world when he got his ticket to Hollywood, but that was only the beginning. He made it to nationwide TV. He was on for two weeks. Now he is going home. I think that he is relieved. The arts are brutal. Music is brutal. Everyone has talent. All the young men and women on Idol are good. I thought about what the pianist said --it's steep at the top of the pyramid. Only a few get that far, and only a few make it to the top.
There are still 3 young men 18 years old or younger on Idol. Would they be better served staying at home, or attending college, getting more training and trying again when they are more mature? Should they jump at the chance to make it to the top now? Perhaps David Radford is the real winner.