How "losers" can become winners

At school if you were to win a talent show contest you would probably be rewarded by a brief moment of applause and perhaps if you were lucky, a milky way bar and a pat on the back from your mum. Indeed, if you were to win any of the TV talent shows of the bygone era such as Opportunity Knocks or New Faces you would at the very most be classified as the winner of the show and that was it. Now of course being the winner of a show back then wasn't such a bad thing- you would be on TV and be seen by millions of viewers and therefore the exposure you would get is a big reward in itself. Many winners or just contestants that appeared on shows such as New Faces made their careers in the 70's/80's from these shows. Les Dawson, Lenny Henry , Paul Daniels , Michael Barrymore, and Jim Davidson to new a few that made their careers after being contestants. The biggest reward therefore is appearing on television and getting the exposure you would want from appearing on national television.

The reward of exposure nowadays is of course much greater considering the internet age where clips on YouTube can bring in views in the millions. Where people from all over the world that isn't just in the country the program is broadcast, can view the talent (or lack of) on display from contestants. We do live in an age where record company producers and talent scouts will find clips of people on websites if they are popular enough and have the exposure where a record deal is not completely out of the question. To use the admittedly  worrying example of Justin Bieber - here was a kid that had a YouTube channel and got some attention and as a result he was snapped up by a record company. When looking at contemporary TV talent shows like BGT- The prize for winning is not only massive exposure but also the prize of being able to perform at the Royal Variety. Oh, and £100,000. Not bad. Not bad at all. The thing is though is that unlike most competitions where you lose- losing isn't necessarily going to be the end of things. If you lose at sports day (which for the record I did quite consistently ) you kind of ...well...you lose. You didn't win so by that very definition you kinda lose. But the exposure on TV talent shows often mean that just appearing on it can have the potential to change your life, and sometimes being a runner-up means that you can go on to have more success than the actual winner. [The Talent Show Story, 2011]

Let's take an example from the hit talent show Pop Idol (2001) where in the 2nd series a woman called Michelle McManus was the competition. Who? you know! Michelle! Large lady...no. Well let's take a look at the winners of The X Factor during the early series. Steve Brookstein? Shayne Ward? I suppose the point I am getting to is that being a winner isn't necessarily a link to success. I think the majority of winners are prone to winning Christmas number 1 and then eventually being dropped by their record label when their first album doesn't sell by the bucket-load.

It could be argued and it will because I am about to- that this isn't much a reflection of TV talent shows as much as a reflection of the music industry. In quite simple terms if an artist does no sell many albums and the record company isn't making money from him/her they will drop the artist. It's really simple and naturally driven by money and success. Many artists of the past regardless of whether they appeared on a TV talent show are going to come across the unfortunate situation where at some point in their career they hit and all-time high and strike a number one song or album. but 3 years later they are working as a plumber or have given up music entirely. It's the very nature of the industry to welcome and invite a great musician with open arms when they get a number one single- and then pat them on their backs and show them the door out when their next album is great car boot sale material, and is strewn with cobwebs on a shelf in your local HMV. I think though that TV talent show stars potentially have a shorter stay in the limelight than most performers, because there is that shadow lingering over them which says that the whole thing is just a more extended "15 minutes of fame!" which is drawn out to be a slowly declining 15 weeks of fame. At most.

The best way I could describe it is that because the show is on TV and being watched by millions- people vote for the person they like the most and the whole thing is like some theatre production where people want the hero to triumph. A few weeks later they win and the audience goes wild and everyone sheds a tear as confetti falls on stage. Soon after that the theatre production ends, packs up and moves away. Nobody really cares any more.  Somebody has won because people liked what they did and was entertained on a Sunday night when there was nothing else worth watching on TV, but it doesn't mean they will rush out the following day and buy their albums and list them amongst their favourite musicians. In a lot of ways it's like glorified big budget karaoke competition night down your local , where the winner walks away with a goofy grin on their face and a packet of pork scratchings, and mildly drunk people are telling them they are BRILLIANT and should apply for the X-Factor. But the week after they couldn't care less.

Let's take the winner of series one of the X-Factor as an example. The previously mentioned Steve Brookstein who won the show in 2004 and won the Christmas number 1 race with his cover of "Against All Odds" that December.

                                             Remember this guy? Nope. Nobody does.


Roll on a few years and after a few failed albums and what's he up to now?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1254549/X-Factor-winner-Steve-Brookstein-plays-pubs-Simon-Cowell-fall-out.html

Well last year he played a gig at a Cornish pub. Which was a complete sell-out with tickets only costing £2.50 each which all of 50 people happily paid for. You even get a discount if you buy a pork pie from the pub, how could you refuse. When Brookstein isn't directly contributing to the Cornish pork pie market, he's busy writing his book lovingly titled "X-Factor Nightmares: The Manipulations. The Greed. The Deceptions" which details his outspoken thoughts on the X-Factor and his career and his falling out with Simon Cowell.
[The Daily Mail Online, March 2011]

Another person to fallout with Simon Cowell aganist his policies of churning out cover albums and being generally discarding of talent was Pop Idol winner Will Young, who is currently enjoying much greater success then Brookstein did very much not courtesy of Simon Cowell. Indeed, not everyone who has appeared on or won a TV Talent show has suffered the same fate. Will Young, Alexendra Burke, and Leona Lewis is certainly in a position where they can claim they may have sold a few million albums. 

So there we are. It doesn't matter if you're a winner or a loser. You have to face up to what the music industry is and it's clearly a tough joint. You have to face the fact that you may have to enter that spotlight and leave and pack your bags the moment the show ends. It's like your granddad showing up to your primary school nativity play and tell you that you played the part of the one of the three wise men really well, when you know that you wore your mums tea towel on your head and made a bit of an arse of yourself, and tomorrow morning you have to get up early for double maths in the morning. Nobody is going to take you as a serious actor in that maths lesson tomorrow. And your granddad is going to forget your performance by the time Coronation Street is on the next day. In summary then- TV Talent shows appear to be a great potential gateway to fame, but once you're past the gate there's no guarantee of what's going to happen.

My BGT pre-audition experience

The BGT pre-audition is the audition stage where contestants must audition in front of a single producer of the show and a camera man.The act is filmed for the purpose of producers too look through the footage to help determine who is getting through to the TV stage. There was over 75,000 that applied this year i was told on the day. I know that only 500 get through to the televised judges stage. I applied for the London audition which took place in the Excel convention centre.

So there I was on December the 8th travelling up to London (with the support of my dad) for my BGT audition. I would first like to point out how easy it is to sign up and apply for BGT. The auditions are open to anyone and you apply via their website that has a very simplistic 1-page application form that only asks your name, age and a short description of your act. It was that easy. Easier than signing up to amazon or any other site.

One of the most fundamental questions I asked myself prior to leaving the house and beginning the long journey up to London was "Should I wear my cowboy hat?" to which my answer was no. This might seem like a stupid question to ask but think about how producers of these shows portray things and how important image is as I previously discussed. Although these auditions are not televised it would sure have impact in terms of how I dressed. I decided no for the simple fact that despite the fact people told me the hat suits me and It's really stage attire that fits in with the country artist image- if they thought I looked a bit silly they would use that against me. I didn't want to give them that ammunition. No hat!

Another thing about applying that is interesting to note is when you sign the TV release form and essentially sign the contract for the show - you are given the full rights of your performance and well...you as a performer to the company Syco. Which if you couldn't tell from the company name is a joint little  entertainment company owned by Simon Cowell and Sony Music .What this means is (especially as an artist) you are signing an exclusivity contract in which Simon's record label essentially owns you as an artist and your material when you sign up for the show. This means that if you were lucky enough to get far in the process and have success in the competition then you would have signed something to say you will take part in the BGT live tour that happens after the show and if Simon Cowell wishes he could sign you up to his record label. Proof if ever there was that the show can indeed take you places if you get far, and that Simon Cowell may have an agenda beyond making good TV.

After a long 6 hour journey we entered the Excel centre and navigated our way through to the main lobby area. This is the main seating area where all the contestants and their families had to sit around and witness some people practising their talents. There was a mirror set up for dancers , in which one fell over. Hmm, embarrassing. There was one sight that I saw in the lobby area though that really got me thinking. There was a several young children that were I guess barely 6 years old that were in the lobby area. One of them I remember had a single hula hoop around his waist he was spinning around. And I couldn't help feel that his parents is putting him in a really weird position and the whole thing felt kinda wrong. They have applied for him to walk into a room with a scary producer, a feat for most adults, to swing a hoop round his waist. And I have to ask what's the point and why you would do that from a parents point of view. To clarifying here- I am all for encouraging talent amongst young children. Some of them are incredible singers and in the competition stand a good chance. Their parent's I am sure would want to push their kids into it and support their talents but lets be honest....a hula hoop swing around a waist isn't going to be anything that's going to stand a chance in the competition. And at such a young age I wonder how much that kid even realised what was going on and how much pressure that kind of environment would have. BGT is open to all age groups but I think there is a point where they are just too young for a competition like this. It's enough to rattle the nerves out of most adults....

From the lobby area we were told to follow somebody to an audition room and wait outside in groups of 10.We were then individually told the scary words "okay ready, go on through" to the audition room for our individual auditions.One of the first things to note is that the room is absolutely gigantic. When the application form amusingly mentioned giving them a heads-up if you were to bring live animals such as  "elephants" to the audition- I guess they weren't kidding. A bull African Elephant would happily fit in that room with ample space to manoeuvre . If you watch other talent shows or been to an audition you would of course know that this is the norm to have a gaping vacuum of space between the person conducting the audition and the contestant. It's like no-mans land in WW1 where I wish I could dig a trench and hide away. It certainly piles on the nerves to know I have to sing in such a large space with such a gap between us without a microphone and having to project my voice over a backing instrumental. Oddly enough I wasn't nervous because I pulled that confidence switch that enabled my performing/musical persona to come out. It's more nervous singing in front of your own family then in that audition because the producer/cameraman has never seen you before so they wouldn't know I'm quite an introvert usually.So I walked into the room with a bit of a swagger and tried to pull of the confidence which I think worked. Or I looked ridiculous.I went in expecting questions to try and gather the sort of personality I have but surprisingly there was no questions other than what my name is and what song I was singing. I suppose at the pre-audition stages they are literally more focused on looks and talent than anything else. No chance for a good sob story at this stage!

As I was singing I saw the young producer make notes behind the desk. I'm really curious to see what those notes were! It's really interesting to think that those 1-2 minutes I was in that room I had to make SOME impression to stand out from the thousands upon thousands that applied. How do you stand out from 75,000?  I assume at this stage the quick note-taking is enough to have a verdict as to who is definitely not even worth a look or not. To get down to 500 is a monumental task so they must have a really quick criteria in which to judge.

They aren't really true judges at this stage so half a song and the song was stopped and that was it. I'm not sure if they give feedback to everyone because they don't really have to. She did say my voice suited country music though and it was unusual for someone my age to be singing it. That's exactly  what I wanted to hear. This game isn't about how is the best singer or who has more talent....it's about them finding things that are a bit unique/interesting and would appeal to the audience. If they want a young country singer (an angle I chose to go in with specifically to try and stand out) then there could theoretically be a tiny slither of hope of me getting through. When you have 75,000 apply though- the word "chance" comes with a mandatory "no" on the front of it. I was really happy that I went in with confidence and got some good feedback and that's really all I could have wished for.

They gave me a piece of paper and sent me on my way. Through Jan/Feb they call people to tell them if they are through to the next round or not. Or they send you a letter by the end of March to say you haven't gotten through. My boss at work told me "Ohhh I bet you are just waiting by the phone everyday hoping it will ring" - No. The exact opposite! When you are in a competition that had 75,000 apply you don't wait by the phone hoping for anything. You go on with your life expecting a letter by the end of March. Anything else is a massive surprise.

Image in TV talent shows/the music industry

Before I go into any details about BGT auditions, let me first discuss something that is personal to me and also key to these talent shows, as well as arguably the music industry in general. I've discussed this in previous projects so here's a really short version - I used to be fat in school. Really fat. Like 20 stone at the end of year 11 fat. I also used to be ridiculously shy and never spoke a word in class. When I got interested in music and found my passion I transformed myself completely. Slowly but surely I dropped 5-6 stone in weight, began changing my fashion style (i.e- actually obtaining one) began lifting weights, and dumped my glasses for some contact lenses. The reason other than it's not awesome being fat was because I took my music so seriously it gripped my life and led me down the path of a complete makeover which I knew would serve me in music.

As the above image demonstrates- my main influence was Bruce Springsteen. And I still laugh when people say I look like him because besides the fact I can't change my face it wasn't completely unintentional. I base most of my clothes on my influences from music. But this wasn't just a nice story to be incredibly vain because the sad truth of the matter is in both TV talent show terms and the music industry...

Image is everything

Bottom line. Sad. Shallow. Indicative of the state of the human race. Call it whatever but it's true.

""Everything became what the format dictated. MTV had a lot to do with it, because how telegenic you were mattered as much as how well you played and sang." [Paul Simmons, 2006]

There are of course some exceptions and before I go on I must state (and I will go more in depth when I do a case study) that the Susan Boyle phenomenon was almost entirely in direct confrontation with this notion, which is why it was so successful. The general populace across the world was irritated by this idea that you have to be attractive and a super model to get anywhere in the music industry. And for the record lets be honest here- Susan Boyle isn't ugly. She wore a poor choice of dress (apparently) and her hair could have used a comb but the tabloid press blew the whole thing out of proportion. The reason that I've kick-started 2012 with a diet and a workout regime other than to burn off a tin of quality streets and Christmas gluttony- is because I know that getting more into shape is going to help my chances of getting into the music industry. Especially if it's through a TV talent show. It's simple- producers of these types of shows like to play the sex appeal card like any Hollywood film does. If I was to walk on stage with a buff body and looking stylish then I'm sure the juvenile nature of the BGT audience would dictate that young females will inevitably whistle and some judge will say "well you got the looks" thank you. Now if I was to walk on stage with a beer belly hanging over my country belt and a big pair of glasses it would immediately be a strike against me.

Record labels like to sign up young artists that are marketable and looks good on the front of an album cover. For me that's interested this year in going down a country artist route- I have competition. I can't think of any male country singer topping the charts right now that don't pack a great physique. And that's because that image is desirable and almost expected as a male country artist which appeals to the young/middle-aged female demographic. So I have work to do.



Image on TV talent shows- Michael Collins

I will use a recent example where the image thing on TV talent shows can work in someone's favour when they don't come dressed to impress. On last year's BGT there was a guy from Plymouth called Michael Collins that came on the stage wearing this.

To which judge Michael Mcintyre said it looked like he was going on a long-haul flight on Easy Jet. That's a fair assumption but what does his hoody and trousers have to do with his singing ability? The clip prior to his audition had him say the following:

My name’s Michael, I’m 19 and I work in a computer shop in Plymouth. I live with my mum and dad on a caravan site. It’s not too bad actually, it’s quite posh really. You’ve got to have a little key card to open the gates, it’s pretty good. My fiancée is called Sarah. About a year and a half ago I proposed to her in a bit of a stupid place – an all you can eat Chinese restaurant, in front of her mum and sister! She was embarrassed and started crying. But Chinese and a pint, it’s gotta be done. [Britain's Got Talent, 2011]

                             "She's dropping crumbs everywhere. What a weirdo! 


Quite clearly in terms of the narrative of the show - that clip was used to set-up in no proper terms that Michael was a bit of an idiot. I'm not being rude because I don't judge people but it's quite clearly there for that. Why is there a random shot of his girlfriend eating a muffin? Because it's trying to make them look like the Adams family or something. What the show has established is that this guy lives on a caravan site which he thinks is posh. He has a girlfriend that likes eating muffins? and he chose to propose to her in Buffet City. "Whoa, what a pair of weirdos!" That's exactly what's happening here. Then as soon as he walks on stage looking like that already the judges and studio audience have judged him, because they are humans. But then this is where the "surprise Susan Boyle" factor comes in...*gasp* he can sing and play guitar really well! Oh man. Now we all feel stupid about judging him and his stupid orange hoody I suppose.

And that's that in a nutshell. In this case his image was used as a device (by the show and not by him) as a way to set-up prior poor expectations only to seemingly knock them away by the fact that this guy has talent.

How many people have gone on this show that look attractive and can sing well? Probably thousands. So you either have to look like a tramp and sing with amazing technical prowess and defy expectations...or you have to be somewhat of a looker and have the "complete package" so you can appeal to a large portion of the audience. I think you are lucky if you happen to fall somewhere in-between that and get through. Guess I don't have much chance then!

My Britain's Got Talent audition- why?

"I've applied for Britain's Got Talent this year!"


"Wait..why did I do that?!"

A simple question that I asked myself immediately after applying. And a question I'm sure the thousands of other people who applied asked themselves. Over 75,000 people applied for BGT (Britain's Got Talent) this year. That's a lot of people. Some of them would have answered the question with sincerity and modesty. Some would have answered the question with grand delusions of fame and stardom. Others would have answered the question just because they like talking to themselves because they are actually somewhat mental. But it's really a question one has to think about and here's my answer.

It's because it gives you a shot at potential stardom and a music career, if a music career is what you want. I don't think I'm actually supremely talented or anything. I think I can sing pretty well. And others tell me I am good at singing. And the exposure you get on these types of shows are genuinely fantastic and potentially life-changing if anything comes of it. And that's pretty much it. It's a shot at fame and the glory that comes with it on a very basic level. But for me it was more of a curiosity and a "wonder how far I can get" with a "don't know until you try!" mentality that brought it on. I honestly did not expect to get very far in the process at all. It's very easy to see once watching episodes of this show that there are a lot of delusional people who want that shot of fame and are talentless hacks, to put it bluntly. I think I'm good, that's all. I prefer others to judge me which is another part of why I signed up since I would be interested to know what others think.

A question I was asked by family members is "Why not the X-Factor?" which I can also answer because it was very much a concious decision to say "no" to that show. The X Factor is very much a show based upon pop singers with contemporary pop music as the basis for the show. I don't sing pop music. I sing country music (as well as a bit of rock/folk) Another reason is for anyone who has watched the boot camp stage of that show would know- the singers are told what songs to sing by their mentors. They have themed weeks where you have to sing in a specific music style. The finalists are even given makeovers by the show and essentially crafted and moulded into the whole pop star image in a way that I think gives the show too much creative control over you as an artist and an individual. Take this years X Factor for example. The young Irish singer Janet Devlin looked perfectly pretty and natural as a singer and an individual.She came across as very down to earth and shy/vulnerable which was obviously a style and persona that reflected her as an individual.

[http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/multimedia/dynamic/00626/Janet_Devlin_626307g2.jpg ]


 When she got through to the finals however it was clear that all contestants were given a makeover by the show. I am not sure of course how much control the individuals themselves had over the makeover but it;s obvious that the show has some control over the contestants if they are being given songs to sing.

[ http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Je6ZEgaHLEIHKaWsUP3d0w--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-GB/blogs/110-pop/janet-delvin-3.jpg]

Why the makeover? is it supposed to be more edgy and confident? make her not look so vulnerable as an individual (she's only 16!) if you watch the show week to week it pretty much changed every week. Okay okay...I understand that the music industry and especially pop is based heavily on IMAGE (and I will get to that later!) but to me it seems like a forced process done by an army of hair stylists and make up artists that takes way some of the individuality and creative control of the artists themselves.

And that's why I didn't apply for the X-Factor. I would want to sing country songs from my personal music influences and they probably would have made me dance on stage to a Black Eyed Peas song whilst wearing tight-fitting leather whilst hip-hop backing dancers pranced around me.

On the offset at least BGT seems to have more control and allows for more individualism. I could go on BGT dressed as a George Foreman grill or I could go on there as a country artist and seemingly be allowed to do what I wish. Although song choices may be suggested I think the sheer variety between acts kind of caters for all sorts of things. I'm not suggesting BGT will not slap make-up on me either because well it's television and I don't mind if my face looks just about passable for HD broadcast. I do need that creative control over myself as an artist though.