I see South Africa is in the grip of another so called reality program searching for new talent. Having said this, the world has been bombarded by shows like The X factor, Idols, You've got talent and so on and on...yawn.
The public seem to eat this up, so for the people who have their bank accounts credited at the end, are smiling so widely that only their ears keep their mouths from engulfing their heads.
Now I must admit I am rather cynical when it comes to these types of things. Where the shows are clever, is that they rope in the public, by way of allowing us to vote for who we think is the winner. From day one, many have their favourites and celebrate their progression and mourn their demise. And who can forget the judges- many of whom really only judge talent on what their tastes are and would not know real talent if it hit them on the head. But hey, who can miss an opportunity to tear some young person up and crush their dreams even before they materialize.
My take on this is simple- what they are essentially doing is an opinion poll. They are testing the waters to find the most popular contestant and based on the votes, who will sell the most albums. Very clever actually. I don't really think the suites behind these shows care who the winner is- as long as that winner brings in the money. Lots of hype helps and this just agitates the little human atoms to become involved and glued to the TV sets for every show. But the suites from the industry do not stop there of course. If other contestants are popular, they will sign them up as well....I mean, who can so no to exploiting so called artists for money.
How many winners really go on to greater things? The Young chap had his success, but his comeback seems to have flopped like a dead fish. Our little Winkler dude seems to be having success, but then so are many less talented people than him as well. The point I am trying to make here, executives behind these programs are looking for a quick buck. And they are winning. While the winner, and whatever other contestants they choose, is still hot property and in the news, they will release songs and a CD. They know the way the industry works and realize there is not that much scope for a second CD before their next season, so the new shinning star becomes a brown dwarf star in no time at all.
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