American Idol reminds me of MySpace. MySpace was once the leading social network, paving the way into uncharted territories. But slowly it lost its lustre and became mundane, mainly because of its refusal to reinvent itself. And along came Facebook, and the rest - as they say - is history.
What will the next “facebook” of singing reality shows be? There are two clear aspiring candidates: “The X-Factor” and “The Voice”. I followed the first two seasons of “The Voice” and I must say I was hooked. This didn’t mean that I stopped watching “Idol”. After watching Idol for ten seasons, I had become a junkie, and one needs to go through the pains of withdrawal slowly. And this year, having missed the first season of X-Factor, I was talked into watching the second season by two fellow “Idol junkies”.
What speaks to me most about “The Voice” is its unique approach to a singing reality show. In the first audition stage, contestants are judged by “voice only”. From the very beginning, the judges are intricately involved in the process and don’t simply pay lip service in later stages of the show. And even though the judges represent four very big egos, their egos appear to complement each other, rather than cripple the program.
I did try to watch X-Factor in its virgin season. But it seemed so much “over the top”. First of all the huge stadium audience. Everything about X-Factor screamed “more is better”. It left me cold, whereas with The Voice, I felt pulled in and a part of the intimacy involved.
But my two best friends, with whom I have shared reflections over many Idol seasons, even setting up an “Idol poll” where we would compete against each other in predicting the outcomes - for some reason bonded with “X-Factor” and not with “The Voice”. So, I continue to watch “The Voice” in my desert solitude, while the three of us watch “X-Factor” together. I use the term “together” loosely, for they watch the shows in real time over a Toronto t.v. station - which is broadcast in the middle of my night - and I watch a playback of the show down here in the Israeli desert through the Internet at least a day later.
I must say that I was entertained by the audition stages of the “X-Factor”, although not as completely drawn in as I was with “The Voice”. The Voice was quickly becoming the “guilty pleasure” of my “guilty pleasures”. And then came the first live shows of X-Factor this week. And that was when we could hear the sound of it all coming crashing down.
What went wrong, in my humble opinion? It started with the judges and ended with the judges,with many things in-between. I know that a reality singing competition isn’t simply about the best voice. It is also, perhaps foremost, an entertainment show. But there must be a balance here. In “The Voice” during the battle rounds, the judges serve as mentors to their group of contestants, giving them valuable tips as to how to improve their vocal performance and presentation. When it comes to the actual performance, the competitors must excite both the audience and judge with their impersonation of the song: their vocal prowess and stage personality shining through. In many cases, the competitor even surprises their own judging mentor with their unique presentation. But with “X-Factor” this week, the opposite occurred. The singer’s vocal prowess and stage personality were lost in a stage full of flashing lights, inane female and male dancers writhing and leaping back and forth - and drowned out at times by an audience full of screaming teeny boppers. At least half of the song choices by the judges were disastrous picks - not at all taking into consideration how to best highlight the singer’s strengths. Instead of enabling their group members to grow and mature as performers - the judges appeared to have a clear idea as to how exactly their competitors should perform and appear onstgage - leaving very little room, if any, for the competitors to provide their own interpretation of the song. And, as a result, even the most promising singers faltered.
The most ludicrous part of all this was that when a singer wasn’t surrounded by writhing dancers, both Britney and Demi said they were bored. I wonder if either of them has ever been tested for ADHD. And then, if this weren't enough to question their presence as judges, we came to the following night's elimination show where the two bottom placed performers in each group had a sing off. Gone were the flashing lights and writhing dancers. The presentations were mature, the performers' voices highlighted. And what did Britney and Demi say? That they were surprised the contestants sounded so much better this second night.
As for the co-hosts of the live show? Again, it appeared that "more" was supposed to be better. Their plastic personalities only made a bad show even worse - to the power of two.
This week the train came crashing into the station and left the tracks. Will they be able to get it back on track by next week? Or is this all that can be expected out of “X-Factor”? Maybe my expectations are just too high. In the end, it's just a reality show, isn't it?
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