TV talent shows - love them or hate
them, they're a mainstay on television screens across the world, and a format
that seems intent on spawning ever more series, churning out ever more pop
acts, in every country on the face of the planet. The popularity of the shows
is absolutely enormous. Activision makes video games based on them. You can even bet on
the outcomes of the competitions and make cash from the winning acts at sites
such as http://www.flashbitch.com/,
even when the cameras are still rolling. The industry is huge, but our
perceptions of it are largely characterised by a noting of the homogeneity that
is endemic.
Now, of
course, most of the competitors in these shows are die-hard pop lovers,
crooning their way through the competitions and securing a fair amount of
acclaim at the end. There are, however, even in this most poppy of
institutions, glimmers of the alternative.
The most
well-known of these is probably the stunt Channel 4 pulled back in late 2014. Protesting the
'homogenised pop' and 'manufactured' nature of the stars, the TV channel spent
a rather substantial £200,000 in order to showcase a clip from 'bionic' pop
star Viktoria Modesta, a star with only one leg, during the advertising break
of ITV's X Factor final. 10 million viewers saw the utterly contemporary video,
that featured Modesta's trademark pin-like prosthetic.
Cross-station
squabbling aside, there have been a number of home-grown artists also featuring
on the talent shows on a comparatively alternative ticket. The winner of the
2012 X Factor competition, James Arthur, performed a number of alt classics
during his talent show tenure, despite his gradual leaning towards the R&B
and soul end of the spectrum as the series went on. The contestant had, prior
to appearing, played in a number of rock, prog and alt bands; Moonlight Drive,
Cue the Drama, Save Arcade and Emerald Sky - ah, the heady days of
mid-noughties indie-ism!
Jump across
the Irish Sea and there's another great alt contestant to marvel over. John
Bonham passed through the arduous initial stages of the Irish edition of The Voice with his rendition of Led Zepplin's Immigrant Song. All of the judges
decided to let the singer move forward to the further stages of the
competition. He didn't win of course, but a positive step in the right
direction perhaps?
What do you
think of TV talent shows though? Do you think an alternative-music-based
iteration would be an anachronism? Let us know your thoughts below.
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