The reality tv talent show as a format isn't exactly a new genre on TV - a quick glance of some of the talent shows that have been on TV will reveal that there has been quite a few of them actually. Here is 10 examples of ones that are well known:
- Carroll Levis Discoveries;
- Opportunity Knocks;
- New Faces;
- Search for a Star;
- Stars in Their Eyes;
- The Big Big Talent Show;
- Popstars/Pop Idol/The X Factor;
- Fame Academy;
- How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?;
- Britain’s Got Talent.
Some of them have a focus on singing, whilst others emcompass a variety of different acts and talents but they usually all follow the same conventions as one another. The format hasn't really changed much but I do think that the genre has evolved in some interesting ways (of which I will discuss in future posts). The basic premise remains unchanged - contestants appear on the show infront of judges who will judge their act and determine a winner. Sometimes the audience has a role in deciding the outcome and can actively participate/vote to decide the outcome, something which is ever more important with modern iterations of the genre in the form of phone voting. One of the first tv talent shows to feature both a judges panel and an audience panel goes as far back as
New Faces (1973) and since then the format has remained largely unchanged.
I suppose you could say that talent shows have been around since...well...perhaps the dawn of man when caveman tried to impress each other with how far they could throw rocks. I suppose what I am trying to say is that it is an old-fashioned format that translates well to a TV audience.
And now of course we have a ton of different talent shows whether it be
Britians Got Talent, The
X Factor , or
Strictly Come Dancing. They may differ in terms of the type of talent on display or what judges they have and what role the audience has but they are largely similar in format. The overall prize of being a winner may have gone from a nice pat on the back to a million pound recording contract, though. And certainly the scale, scope and popularity of these talent shows have blossomed. With
X Factor getting easily over 11 million viewers a night during it's prime.
