The Over-Saturation Of TV Talent Shows
Last week, The X-Factor’s new season debuted with abnormally low ratings compared to it’s previous seasons. Simon Cowell even felt a little disgruntled when NBC decided to add an additional episode of The Voice to compete with The X-Factor’s time slot. Talent show drama ensues. The X-Factor lost the ratings race for the week.
No matter what channel you turn to nowadays, there seems to be some sort of talent show airing. Since the premiere of American Idol, the talent show phenomenon has been endless. From dancing to singing, scores of contestants come out looking for their big break. The talent that some of the contestants have is truly subjective. Although there have been ‘stars’ made from these shows, there are even more that have been ridiculed and embarrassed because of the delusion that they can sing or even dance.
Just this week on The X-Factor, a montage was made around a stalkerish Britney Spears fan. He declared his ‘love’ for Spears, and while talking to other contestants you could see them give him the “boy are you crazy?” look. When he stepped on stage with a vase full of roses for Spears, you could immediately see the horror in her face. I’m not sure who has more interesting faces so far, Spears or Stevie J. Then he commenced to butchering her song, Circus. Needless to say, the judges dismissed him, but not before he begged to give the vase to Spears.
I truly don’t think these shows garner high ratings because people want to see new talent. Some people have a voyeuristic nature, and like to see contestants crash and burn because of their lack of talent. Some of these talentless people have made a name for themselves and garnered their 15 minutes of fame. Remember William Hung and his rendition of “She Bangs”? He ended up everywhere for a minute and for someone who technically wasn’t talented, he made the most out of his lack of singing abilities. With millions of viewers tuning in every night to shows like American Idol and The X-Factor, the talent show fever doesn’t seem like it’s going to die off any time soon. Thankfully there’s always the option of changing the channel.
Do you think there’s too many talent shows on television? Which ones do you watch?
I float back and forth between X Factor and The Voice. You are right, a good part of the entertainment are the talentless. I think of it as anthropological research into the nature of fame. These people want to be famous so badly, they’ll do anything. Okay, so it’s weak justification but I need some excuse as for why keep watching this ish.
All of the talent shows, American Idol is still my favorite…although I still feel it takes way too long for the judges to crown the winner. We can all predict who should go straight to the top 3 or 5, after the first week. However, I thoroughly enjoy the first 3 or 4 weeks of auditions where they highlight the people who obviously have no real/believable singing talent ~ pure comic relief! As much as I love the show and have loved it since its inception, I’ve never attempted to vote. I will admit my bffs and I shed a tear when Big Reuben took the crown. I’ve never been a fan of X-Factor or America’s Got Talent. I will admit I found The Voice very interesting…but that’s purely because I’m a fan of Adam Levine, Cee-Lo and Christina Aguilera equally!
Tragic is Nicki Minaj as a judge of TALENT!
At the end of the day, all of these shows need to bow to the originator: ‘Showtime at the Apollo.’
The reason why I prefer The Voice to X Factor or any other Simon Cowell-produced show is that The Voice isn’t focused on making a mockery of people. They are not judges, they’re coaches. AI, X Factor, and AGT are just boring and ridiculous now.
Agreed! Thee Voice is the only one I watch the others aren’t on my radar.