TV Talent Shows

Until recently, I had never watched American Idol, being of the belief that few of those talent shows actually have real talent. But then my mother became hooked on American Idol, and I was pulled in as a witness to the horror. I mean, how many parents watch teenagers sing instead of the news? But eventually, I realized why my mom enjoyed the show so much: by watching it every week for about a month, I was able to better understand the process various singers were making, much like the process we're making in chorus without the piano. After watching American Idol several times, I started researching shows like the X-Factor and Britain's Got Talent on Youtube, and I liked these shows better than American Idol. There was just so much talent, and some people had truly amazing voices. When I stumbled across the clip of Susan Boyle performing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Mis, I literally had tears in my eyes after replaying the video at least 20 times. Her voice was so lovely, and she had such character and spunk, even when the judges and the audience were acting condescending towards her. I think that the TV talent shows are both a good thing and a bad thing. They're great because they give people with actual talent a chance at success that they may never have gotten. That said, I don't like how American Idol has turned into this show full of smoke and mirrors. It's supposed to help people succeed, not be a soap opera as well as a talent show. I also dislike how TV talent shows have given children (usually in elementary school) the idea that they could try out for the show and become famous like Carrie Underwood. I've nothing against dreaming big, bu this dream is just too unrealistic; thousands of people try out, and only a couple dozen make it to the first round (if that). It's like when my grandmother handed me a book of fairy tales when I was younger and I walked around until I was twelve telling people that when I grew up, I was going to be a princess. These things just don't happen unless you're something extraordinary, and while I love how the TV talent shows give people the chance to be extraordinary, I don't like how it shapes people's mindsets about what extraordinary, and true singing, really is.

I share the same feelings as Andrea: TV talent shows can give people great success that they would have never achieved if they hadn't tried out for the show, but these shows are also filled with unnecessary drama that takes away from the talent portion of the show. Look at Carrie Underwood: she was a small town girl, and probably not going very far in a singing career. After trying out for American Idol and winning the whole competition, she's now one of the biggest names in country music. If she didn't go to that American Idol audition, none of the great success she has achieved would have ever occurred. This is a great example of how these talent shows do wonders for some people. However, they have evolved into poorly produced reality shows wtih ridiculous drama that takes away from the talent. For instance, from what I've heard about the new judges panel on American Idol, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey have sparked drama and the season hasn't even premiered yet. In this day and age, that's all people seem to care about when it comes to shows like Idol and The Voice. I think that these shows need to steer away from the drama and towards the amazing talent that lingers all over America.

I am a huge fan of the reality TV talent search shows. I find that many of the people that are on these shows like American Idol or the X-Factor start out similar to us. Many of them are kids in high school who sing because they love to and say that they got started because their parents put them in a singing class, church choir or even chorus at school at a very young age. Yes, sometimes there are nut jobs that come on the shows and they are absolutely terrible, but often times there will be a diamond in the rough. Some of the people who go on to compete and get voted off even when they are better than someone else who stayed get a major career from the experience. On American Idol for example: Kellie Pickler, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry and Katherine McPhee all came from season five and every single one of them did better than the winner of that season. There is a rare occassion when these talent searches can find so much talent like that in the same season. There is talent all over America just waiting to be found.