Why The Famous Reality Shows Never Reveal The Number Of Votes. Got out the 5 Secrets
Auditioning thousands of everyday people all over the country and filtering them down to the ones who are actually ready for prime time. To the average viewer, singing competitions like our Nepal Idol show or American Idol are pretty straightforward: People show up, they sing, most are terrible but a few are good enough to be on TV, someone wins, and their album bombs just in time for the next season. But the reality is, well, a little more complicated.
It's not that having a nice voice doesn't matter; it's that thousands of applicants have nice voices, and first and foremost they're trying to cast a TV show. That means they need variety -- they can only have so many blonde divas or acceptably-edgy rockers, for the same reason Friendswouldn't have worked with five Joeys (that would be Entourage). Others don't make it in because we don't fit any of the roles we're looking for. For instance, if their team decided to cast, say, a male Taylor Swift, they'd ignore dozens of talented hopefuls in favor of the first person who even remotely resembled what we were looking for.
Otherwise, it helps to have a gimmick. Jessica Whitely auditioned for American Idol in 2012, right after Simon Cowell left for greener, less Steven-Tyler-filled pastures. According to her, she and any other contestant silly enough to think a strong singing voice was enough to make the cut were in for an extremely rude awakening:
"The first round of auditions, you enter a tent the size of one you'd see at a typical football tailgate, and you go in with a few other people. Each of you sings a couple lines of a song and ... out of about 9,000 people, maybe 200 were allowed to go to the second round. I was one of them. Their decisions are almost completely arbitrary. I have an identical twin sister who sounds almost exactly like me. I made it and she didn't."
That's how every singing show audition goes, whether you're William Hung or One Direction. You sing for 15 seconds in front of a bunch of strangers, and hope that was enough to impress them. But even if your audition blew everyone away, it might not matter if the person next to you in Round Two is more interesting. "They interviewed my family, really tried to play up the whole angle of me having a twin ... Even though I bombed my second round audition, I was still permitted to move on to Round Three because they were already plotting my story."
D.espite what many may think (especially after watching virtually any other reality show), X-Factor, Nepal idol , American Idol, and the others aren't faked, or even all that creatively edited. Nor do they rig the votes. The reason for that is simple: We don't want to get sued. When tallying the votes before a results show, a team of lawyers reviews the stats with a fine-tooth comb, making damn sure that each vote is recorded exactly the way it was cast. There's no quicker way to sink a vote-driven show than to game the votes, so they simply don't do it. But there are ways to make sure the viewers vote the "right" way. For instance, you may wonder how future megastars One Direction could place third on X-Factor, while Tate Stevens -- somebody so obscure that Google has to Google his name -- wins it all. You can thank some old, out-of-touch executives using the magic of emotional manipulation. For example, one week, they crafted a bullshit fluff piece about how decent and down-to-Earth good ol' Stevens was, because some higher-up decided that he was what the world wanted. Meanwhile, Fifth Harmony (who were way more talented and wound up becoming famous anyway) were portrayed as five ditzy girls who couldn't believe they were still in the competition.
Seeing dreamer after dreamer get a huge bucket of rejection dumped all over them on stage isn't the happiest part of judge's job by any stretch. But it's still part of the job, and they got used to it quickly. Even so, some auditions still manage to make you feel pity for the sad, broken humans up there pouring their hearts out.
Judges've dealt with countless auditions from people who don't want to be singers so much as they want to be famous. Or at least, they think they do, because everything the media shows us about being famous looks great. It's all private jets and cars and screaming fans. The reality is that if you're not ready for it -- like if, for instance, you are suddenly thrust into fame thanks to winning a reality show -- the industry can chew you to pieces.X-Factor's first season featured an incredible talent named Melanie Amaro. We really saw her as a new benchmark in singing show talent. As the competition wore on, though, the stress took a huge toll on her. It got to the point where she stopped caring about her health or appearance, showing sudden weight gain over the course of the competition. Before live performances, she'd burst with anxiety, tearfully demanding last-minute changes to her production and song choices. Then she received some terrible news:This victory netted her a $5 million recording contract, though we might as well have handed it to her in Toys "R" Us Geoffrey Bucks, for all she cared. Actually recording her own album, which a few months earlier was her dream come true, was suddenly very low on her priority list.
1...They're Not Looking For The Best Singers; They're Looking For "Characters"
So many people have sung for them, hoping to fulfill years of hard work and obsessive dedication, only to be shut down in 30 seconds flat. Once that happens, it's easy to blame others ("What do these clowns know about talent? My Mom says I sound amazing!") or yourself ("Mom's a liar! I knew I should've stayed at DeVry!"). But one thing many contestants might not realize is that it's entirely possible that they got rejected simply because they'd already found someone who looks or sounds exactly like them.
It's not that having a nice voice doesn't matter; it's that thousands of applicants have nice voices, and first and foremost they're trying to cast a TV show. That means they need variety -- they can only have so many blonde divas or acceptably-edgy rockers, for the same reason Friendswouldn't have worked with five Joeys (that would be Entourage). Others don't make it in because we don't fit any of the roles we're looking for. For instance, if their team decided to cast, say, a male Taylor Swift, they'd ignore dozens of talented hopefuls in favor of the first person who even remotely resembled what we were looking for.
Otherwise, it helps to have a gimmick. Jessica Whitely auditioned for American Idol in 2012, right after Simon Cowell left for greener, less Steven-Tyler-filled pastures. According to her, she and any other contestant silly enough to think a strong singing voice was enough to make the cut were in for an extremely rude awakening:
"The first round of auditions, you enter a tent the size of one you'd see at a typical football tailgate, and you go in with a few other people. Each of you sings a couple lines of a song and ... out of about 9,000 people, maybe 200 were allowed to go to the second round. I was one of them. Their decisions are almost completely arbitrary. I have an identical twin sister who sounds almost exactly like me. I made it and she didn't."
That's how every singing show audition goes, whether you're William Hung or One Direction. You sing for 15 seconds in front of a bunch of strangers, and hope that was enough to impress them. But even if your audition blew everyone away, it might not matter if the person next to you in Round Two is more interesting. "They interviewed my family, really tried to play up the whole angle of me having a twin ... Even though I bombed my second round audition, I was still permitted to move on to Round Three because they were already plotting my story."
4...It's Not As Fake As You Think
D.espite what many may think (especially after watching virtually any other reality show), X-Factor, Nepal idol , American Idol, and the others aren't faked, or even all that creatively edited. Nor do they rig the votes. The reason for that is simple: We don't want to get sued. When tallying the votes before a results show, a team of lawyers reviews the stats with a fine-tooth comb, making damn sure that each vote is recorded exactly the way it was cast. There's no quicker way to sink a vote-driven show than to game the votes, so they simply don't do it. But there are ways to make sure the viewers vote the "right" way. For instance, you may wonder how future megastars One Direction could place third on X-Factor, while Tate Stevens -- somebody so obscure that Google has to Google his name -- wins it all. You can thank some old, out-of-touch executives using the magic of emotional manipulation. For example, one week, they crafted a bullshit fluff piece about how decent and down-to-Earth good ol' Stevens was, because some higher-up decided that he was what the world wanted. Meanwhile, Fifth Harmony (who were way more talented and wound up becoming famous anyway) were portrayed as five ditzy girls who couldn't believe they were still in the competition.
3...Some Contestants Are Incredibly Creepy
one time, they rejected an off-putting dude during Stage One auditions. After we turned him down, the man said, "you know ... when I told my friends I was coming out to audition, they told me to go out with a bang." At that moment, he reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a fucking World War II grenade, stuck it in his mouth, and pulled the pin. Luckily for them, the grenade was deactivated, but security still enthusiastically removed him from the premises. Despite the admittedly memorable stunt, he didn't get a callback. Though I'm sure TLC could find a spot for him.2...Some Auditions Do Break Their Heart
Seeing dreamer after dreamer get a huge bucket of rejection dumped all over them on stage isn't the happiest part of judge's job by any stretch. But it's still part of the job, and they got used to it quickly. Even so, some auditions still manage to make you feel pity for the sad, broken humans up there pouring their hearts out.
1...Many People Can't Handle The Lifestyle (Even If They Think They Can)
Judges've dealt with countless auditions from people who don't want to be singers so much as they want to be famous. Or at least, they think they do, because everything the media shows us about being famous looks great. It's all private jets and cars and screaming fans. The reality is that if you're not ready for it -- like if, for instance, you are suddenly thrust into fame thanks to winning a reality show -- the industry can chew you to pieces.X-Factor's first season featured an incredible talent named Melanie Amaro. We really saw her as a new benchmark in singing show talent. As the competition wore on, though, the stress took a huge toll on her. It got to the point where she stopped caring about her health or appearance, showing sudden weight gain over the course of the competition. Before live performances, she'd burst with anxiety, tearfully demanding last-minute changes to her production and song choices. Then she received some terrible news:This victory netted her a $5 million recording contract, though we might as well have handed it to her in Toys "R" Us Geoffrey Bucks, for all she cared. Actually recording her own album, which a few months earlier was her dream come true, was suddenly very low on her priority list.
In movies, the only hard part about fame is partying too hard. The downfall comes from snorting too much cocaine off a groupie's nipples, so it's easy for the mechanic sitting at home to say, "You know what? I'd be willing to risk it." What they don't tell you is that you're becoming a cog in a massive corporate machine, and that this is first and foremost a job.
Every successful artist has a group of people working to keep them established via radio promotion, collaborations with other artists, showcases, marketing events, etc. It takes a lot of hands to keep the stardom wheels turning ... and for the artist, an inhuman schedule. You know how pop stars keep cancelling shows due to "exhaustion"? That's not always code for "secret drug rehab." Lady Gaga was probably telling the truth when she said in an interview that she hadn't slept in three days. People are constantly making demands on your time, 24 hours a day.
This article was prepared from the point of judge's side. Hope you understand the secrets behind the uncover numbers of votes in reality shows.
Find us : http://fb.com/1istoomuch
For nepali article: http://oneistoomuch.com/
Every successful artist has a group of people working to keep them established via radio promotion, collaborations with other artists, showcases, marketing events, etc. It takes a lot of hands to keep the stardom wheels turning ... and for the artist, an inhuman schedule. You know how pop stars keep cancelling shows due to "exhaustion"? That's not always code for "secret drug rehab." Lady Gaga was probably telling the truth when she said in an interview that she hadn't slept in three days. People are constantly making demands on your time, 24 hours a day.
This article was prepared from the point of judge's side. Hope you understand the secrets behind the uncover numbers of votes in reality shows.
Find us : http://fb.com/1istoomuch
For nepali article: http://oneistoomuch.com/
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