There
is no doubt that these music talent shows have provided us with some
successful and well-known artists. Leona Lewis is now an
international superstar after winning the X Factor; Kelly Clarkson's
career kickstarted when she won American Idol in 2002; Olly Murs has
become a national heartthrob and successful singer since being the
runner up on X Factor; and celebrities such as Cheryl Cole started
their careers through entering music talent shows such as Popstars in
2002.
Bad
Some
people believe that artists should have to start at the bottom and
work their way up. Singer-songwriter Elton John believes that shows
such as the X Factor have the wrong view on what talent is, and they
thrust acts into the limelight before they are ready. Let's face it,
some performers such as Chico Slimani (X Factor, 2005), and Kitty
from this years X Factor are confident and not fazed at all by being
in the limelight constantly. But what about those who aren't ready or
prepared for it, but have more talent than those who are?
Sophie
Habibis auditioned for X Factor this year and made it to week four of
the live shows before being voted off by the public. In her audition,
and all the way through the show, she presented herself as a calm,
shy girl but with buckets of talent as her voice touched listeners
and fans. However, due to her personality, she got a lot of negative
press for being “boring” and as a result, she was voted off the
show before people who arguably had less potential talent when it
came to singing.
Some
contestants can't handle the pressure of being put in the public eye
during the competition and after it has finished. The shows and
rehearsals take up almost all of their time, and if they're not
practising or performing, everything they do is under watch by the
show's producers or the press. Nothing is private anymore and one
thing they say could change thousands of people's opinions of them. A
recent contestant of a music talent show said, “No
matter what age you are, it's going to get you stressed because of
the amount of pressure you are under. Everyone is stressed in a
competition like that, you can't just avoid it."
It
has been no secret that there has been a lot of debate about the X
Factor in recent weeks, since Simon Cowell has left. Many people have
the opinion that the show has become more about money and popularity,
instead of about the talent of the singers. Furthermore, the welfare
and treatment of the acts has come in to light, with stories being
released in the papers about how Janet was not given the same amount
of attention as the other acts, as she gave her view that, "I'm
not X Factor material, and I've said this from the audition, I'm just
who I am. But I don't think it's what The X Factor wanted.”
Are
people getting bored of these shows now?
Good
Music
talent shows can sometimes be a platform that performers need when
everything else seems to have failed. A lot of acts come on to shows
such as Britain's Got Talent and the X Factor and tell the judges
that this is their last chance or their last shot at becoming
successful. These talent shows can help a performer to step in to the
industry and begin a career doing something they love.
The
winners of talent shows are not the only ones who get recording
contracts. Singer, Susan Boyle finished second in Britain's Got
Talent, after narrowly missing out being crowned the winner to dance
troupe Diversity. Although she didn't win, she was immediately signed
by Sony Music and has now released three albums. Music talent shows
have benefits for all contestants, as it allows them to get in to the
industry and try and follow their dream.
Some
singers who rose to fame through talent shows have even furthered
their careers beyond singing. Cheryl Cole started off on Popstars:
The Rivals in 2002 and gained her place in the roup, Girl's Aloud.
She has now gone on to have a successful solo career, being the face
of many advrtising campaigns, been a judge on the X Factor, and has
just released her own show collection. This shows that talent shows
can kickstart a persons career in the music industry and allow them
to develop as a person and a performer.
Furthermore,
they can give a performer a chance to experience a real situation
where they will be on stage in front of hundreds or thousands, as
well as with the technical side of being a performer such as
sound-checks, rehearsals and being backstage during shows.
Every
year, thousands of people audition for their one chance of fame and
for their talent to be spotted. Every year, we sit at home, turn on
our TVs and watch as these hopefuls fail or succeed. No matter what
your opinion is, it looks like TV talent shows are here to stay.
No comments:
Post a Comment