The Voice to Dancing How to Pick a Reality Talent Show
It seems that the Talent Show, The Voice is giving American Idol a run for its money. Meanwhile Dancing with the Stars will be screaming for attention but will hardly be able to generate enough buzz to keep with the competition unless one of the stars has a baby on the dance floor or some other crazy thing. Last year, I was all about American Idol. I liked the judges, I liked the performers, and I enjoyed the structure of it all.
I do believe there will come a time where we will reach our max in terms of talent show entertainment, and when we do, the producers will have to find the next big reality show sub-genre to freshen our TV lives.
Why now I have gone a 180 and started enjoying The Voice more and American Idol less:
Key Point: You need good talent and interesting judge interaction
I have watched American Idol quite a few times and the judges have been, for the most part, predictable. Here’s my point:
Steven: That was beautiful.
J-Lo: I think you are one of the best performers in this thing, I really do. I love watching you grow.
Randy: Yo yo yo, I gotta tell you, that was so dope.
The Voice Talent show VS American Idol
With the voice, the judges seem to have more varied responses and more substantial things to say. Sure they have to act like they have a tough time deciding which one to pick in the battle, and they hopefully really feel strongly about their performers, but regardless they do seem to put more into their roles in general. In Idol, the judges sit back and make some comments. In The Voice, they are mentors and they actively work hard to help their performers achieve the next level. As American Idol loses freshness, there seems to be more apathy. One way to get around this is have fantastic talent. Honestly, the Idol shows I have seen this year, the performers have been good, but seem like “another singer” if I imagine hearing them on the radio. The “it factor” hasn’t hit me and frankly I got bored. With The Voice, there are still some of those types, however I have seen some performers that do have a little something and I can see some real potential for Carrie Underwood-type success. Most of the performers on these shows unfortunately will never be heard of again because they apparently don’t have the marketing smarts (or the talent) to make it in the business. If I was singing on one of those shows, I would try to find the people who took Underwood and sold her in her post-Idol days. Sure she has great talent, but she was also packaged well and took some chances with her songs.
The Voice has been high in the ratings, and it will continue to be a top talent show for NBC, as long as the talent keeps to a certain level and the judges keep their parts compelling. American Idol certainly has a following and Ryan Seacrest likely gets paid way more than Carson Daly, but the heart of the show is the driving force. If you have producers and cast members that genuinely care about the talent then the show will shoot to the moon with success. If you don’t, then it will be, to an extent, flat. Sure they will go through the motions and the performers will sing their 80’s song or whatever the theme is and it might be fun, but with no heart, it just becomes another karaoke fest. If things keep going the way they are currently, The Voice will soar higher in the ratings and NBC executives will be smiling bigger and bigger.
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