exploremusic

This BBC interview with Sting has inspired me to share some thoughts on the good points of televised singing competitions. Sting talks about the X Factor, but I’m talking about the whole genre of shows here, btw.

First of all, Sting’s viewpoints regarding the contestants being told what to wear, and TV not being "the real shop floor for musical talent," imply that he’s forgetting the goal of the shows. They want to find, sign, and push a pop artist to be a pop star.

The way they go about achieving that goal makes sense. By the time the winner’s first album comes out, the general public has already seen not only their talent but their personality, their fashion sense, and everything else that is part of what sells a pop star. What better way for an artist to establish their image than on a popular TV show where they can also openly talk about why they’re doing all those things? It neutralizes how contrived the marketing is by openly discussing how what they do will appeal to different groups.

I used the word "artist." I guess some people might not think of televised vocal competition contestants as such, but my opinion is that there is not only the potential but the expectation, to a degree, for the contestants to be artists and not just karaoke singers.

Just think about this: a good or even great singer does not a successful performer necessarily make. Successful performers stand out and they are memorable. Part of doing so might have to do with their appearance and more of it has to do with the way they perform the music— emoting, dancing, connecting with the audience…selling yourself as an artist is an art form, whether it’s pop music or not and whether you’re singing originals or covers.

Click here for an example of one artist who was perfect for a televised singing competition.

Of course going on TV to try to win a competition based on votes isn’t the only way to make it. It’s not for everybody, but it can work for a certain type of aspiring artist. I don’t get why Sting would say that it "has put music back decades," since I don’t think it’s blocked more traditional avenues.

Someone with Eddie Vedder’s talents would get laughed out of an American Idol audition, but someone with his sort of artistic ambition would never audition. He’d form a band, write songs, and play in pubs and clubs to start.

As for the judges on these shows, yeah, a lot of why they’re there is because they provide some kind of entertainment value (although I’m not always sure what kind of entertainment value it is). Usually they’re just putting opinions out there to give the viewers a chance to disagree.

As for Sting’s comment about the judges having "no recognisable talent apart from self-promotion," I have to say that I think Simon Cowell has a good sense of what can sell.

In addition to the success stories that started on the shows that he judged on/produced/created, he’s been part of the success of Il Divo, Westlife, Five, and several others. I believe he even had a hand in this phenomenon, which sold a million copies as a CD single (warning: frightening video ahead):