Change Your Image
TylerJones165
Reviews
The Voice (2011)
Great for TV; not Great for the Industry
The Voice, while admirable in its' ambition, is a show that is designed to favor the celebrity coaches and not the actual contestants. Since 2011, this show was the direct rival to FOX's (now ABC's) American Idol in nearly every aspect, not just the network. Instead of "judges" that critique, they're called "coaches" that mentor. Instead of a regular audition where they go by the entire package, their thing is to only judge by your voice. This show tries to be the purer one, but the following is why this show does nothing but set singers up for failure:
1. Age Requirement: Unlike American Idol, where the age range is 15-28 years old, The Voice only has a minimum age of 13 years old but no maximum age. Not only is the music industry a very sexist industry, it is also a very ageist industry. The older you are, the less inclined they are to sign you. The major older artists on the market today started when they were teenagers or in their early to mid 20s. Almost none of them started in their 30s and 40s.
2. The Stages: We have to remember that The Voice is a television show, and it's stages are that of a television show. What The Voice does is take the ideals and realities of the music industry and exaggerate them to make it more eye candy for television. For example, an ideal is that singers should be judged purely by their talent, so they have a "Blind Audition", where their chairs are turned away from the singer and only turn when you press the big red button when the celebrity coaches like what they hear. A reality is that singers are often compared to each other, so they have the "Battle Round" and "Knockout Round" where the stage is set up to look like a boxing ring. In the offices of every major record label, I'm sure these things simply do not occur.
3. The Coaches: As mentioned earlier, instead of having judges that critique almost everything, they have coaches that mentor you and constantly encourage you. Again, this sounds absolutely fantastic on the surface, except it isn't. The coaches are WAY too forgiving when someone has an off performance and just write it off as nerves or just a unique different spin on the song. In American Idol, or at least in the Simon Cowell era, that didn't fly at all with the judges. They knew that an off night was an off night. They didn't waste any time trying to defend them or make them feel better about it. They called it out for what it was: a bad performance. The record labels are not going to gently guide you through everything. They are going to throw you to the wolves and you have to figure everything out on your own. You get no help in the real industry. The format of The Voice coddles the contestants for the sake of being nicer. Nicer isn't always realistic, especially in the music industry. Being nice and forgiving will not help them at all if they're serious artists seeking a serious music career.
4. Its' focus: The focus on The Voice is that of the celebrity coaches; not the contestants. You vote for the contestants in relation to their coach and you only think of the contestants for their coach; not for their talents. In YouTube featurettes, they almost always feature the contestants under their team, not the individual. Even when you see the contestants, you ONLY think about their coaches.
5. Republic Records: The biggest flaw of The Voice is Republic Records. The Voice has a deal with Republic Records to provide the recording contract for the winner. Republic Records have done nothing but screw over talented contestants. Adam Levine has said so and even former winners have left Republic Records after only a year since their winning moment for disagreements. Even their most successful contestants to date have yet to achieve the same level of success that Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood achieved through American Idol. Brynn Cartelli, Kelly Clarkson's first winner, signed with Atlantic Records and she seems to be doing really well. I think The Voice should follow suit and team up with Atlantic Records.
If you're a singer and want to be a contestant on a show, try out for American Idol. Even with its' own flaws, they at least have the proper format to better prepare singers for the harsh realities of the music industry. To me, The Voice treats it more like summer camp; it's fun and cutesy and nobody's feelings get hurt.
American Idol: The Search for a Superstar (2002)
Despite Its Flaws, It's Better Than The Voice
I grew up watching American Idol. I watched it with my family and even though I LOVE the show and I still watch it on ABC, there's a few things that ABC can do to make the show greater.
1. Cut the back stories: Everybody has a story. It's just life. The earlier seasons of Idol never really cared to focus too much on the contestants' back stories. All they cared about was the package and presence of the person auditioning in the room. You only knew the person's back story if it was an extreme case. The later seasons of Idol (2013-now), all they focus on is back story and it's not uncommon to see the judges put through somebody that still needs more work just because of sympathy. This loses the show's respect and credibility a bit because story and talent are two separate entities and the judges try to make it a part of their package.
2. Bring back the bad auditions: What made American Idol a staple was the people that thought they could sing and thought they were a star and just made absolute fools out of themselves. It was genuine. It was relatable. It was enjoyable to watch. Again, with the later seasons of American Idol (2013-now), they took that out to only focus on the good singers. While, the good singers are entertaining, there's no balance to fully appreciate the good singers. When it's over-saturated like it is now, every good singer just seems average.
3. Bring back the theme song: Beginning in Season 16, ABC decided to not play the iconic theme song that also provided American Idol with its identity. It's just a logo with just some popular song playing. It's boring and it's not distinctive. It's not American Idol without it. Even if it's an updated version, play the theme song before each episode! (Although they did play the shortened version of the original song before the results.)
4. Live Show Debacle: ABC heavily rushed the live shows this past season. It went from Top 14 to Top 10 to Top 7 to Top 5 and then the finale (which had THREE contestants in it). It should be gradual like the FOX seasons. The finale should only have two contestants in it. The more live shows they have, the more interested we are in the contestants and the show as a whole. Plus, this past finale wasn't held at the Dolby Theater or some special theater. It was held in the regular studio they had the regular live shows in. Again, it's not American Idol without a BIG finale.
5. The judging panel should ALWAYS include one record executive. They will give the show an A&R perspective on what an artist should be. Plus, they know the music industry inside and out. They know what sells and doesn't sell. An artist can only give out so much before they're out of their zone. Plus, the ABC judges are WAY too easy on the contestants. They need to understand, just like the original panel, that average isn't good enough. If they can't handle harsh criticism now, they will only be let down after the show. The real world is a harsh and unforgiving place and they need to be adequately prepared for that now. It's not nitpicking, it's just called life.
6. Follow the Succeeding Season Order: When American Idol switched over to ABC, they started numerically back to Season 1, even though it should've been Season 16. For their next season, they should really be calling it Season 18, not Season 3.
Other than that, I love American Idol and will continue to support this amazing show. Despite its' flaws, this show better reflects the music industry than The Voice.