5 ms·

How many enduring stars have those talent shows actually produced though? The first season of American Idol got us Kelly Clarkson, who is still well known enoug

How many enduring stars have those talent shows actually produced though? The first season of American Idol got us Kelly Clarkson, who is still well known enough. That was 20 years ago though. Can most people name any other winner of these talent shows? Meanwhile several massive stars who have become household names (Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Kesha, Justin Bieber etc.) have arisen more-or-less the old fashioned way; via good marketing and viral music. And then there's Disney (Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Olivia Rodrigo, and Britney ofc, though she's another story...). None of these stars became big by virtue of having particularly stellar vocals. But their voices were unique and suited to their music (and the likes of Kesha and Bieber made auto-tune part of their signature....what's T-Pain been up to recently?). Honestly if one is looking to make it big in pop music, they'd be wasting their time participating in any of these talent shows, even if they do win. These days you just start a TikTok account... I'm not sure raw technical talent in singing or playing was ever particularly emphasized in popular music, rather just a nice perk and fodder for stan wars.

Apocryphon 5y ago
You're not wrong that many of the winners end up becoming obscure anyway, though Carrie Underwood is another prominent counterexample [0] similar to Kelly Clarkson. But my point is that the previous poster's assertion that modern music doesn't care about great singers is plainly false. Pop culture is certainly still enamored with finding new voices, both through singing competition shows and online platform viral breakout hits. Natural talent is still prized, even if the actual music industry process and song production would seem to diminish that. [0] More musicians that received early publicity from singing shows: https://www.openmicuk.co.uk/advice/famous-singers-from-talent-shows/ https://www.openmicuk.co.uk/advice/famous-singers-from-talen... https://www.eonline.com/photos/19891/stars-who-got-their-start-in-singing-competitions https://www.eonline.com/photos/19891/stars-who-got-their-sta...
- WalterBright 5y ago
  > modern music doesn't care about great singers is plainly false So far, the counter-examples given of great singers turned out to be electronically manipulated to sound better. C'mon. Post a link to a popular modern one with better tone than Whitney Houston, Karen Carpenter, Grace Slick, Madonna, David Cassidy, (I can name many more), and didn't electronically "enhance" their singing.
  - Apocryphon 5y ago
    How could they have been electronically manipulated if these singing competitions are done live without mixing or autotune? We're talking about talent tested under the most raw conditions. You haven't even bothered to provide any evidence to the contrary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC21yoI8Di8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC21yoI8Di8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWGyVNriJ78 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWGyVNriJ78 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGN1ST87x-U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGN1ST87x-U It is absolutely insane to claim that there are no prominent modern artists with singing abilities comparable to those in the past. Just trivially disprovable. If we were to go beyond the domain of winner of song competitions, there are plenty of acoustic or live performances from other pop superstars that demonstrate singing capability.
    - WalterBright 5y ago
      Thank you for being the first to provide links to unprocessed songs to make your point. I appreciate it. BTW, autotune can and certainly is used in live concerts. Musicians have personally told me they use it! They also pump their vocals through effects pedals. What else are they using? I don't know about competitions. > You haven't even bothered to provide any evidence to the contrary. I can't prove a negative. But I've provided many links to popular songs of old, and compared them to popular songs of today. > absolutely insane Cool your jets, dude! This is a friendly discussion. I actually want to be wrong here. I listen to popular music all the time, on the radio, Pandora, various streaming stations, and of course I hear it in the movie soundtracks. I want to hear a singer that sounds like an angel, not a Cylon.
    - WalterBright 5y ago
      Kelly Clarkson - she sounds ok. Not wild about it. Yes, I'm picky. Am I wrong? Compare her to Julie Andrews, decades past her prime https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te85B8BjlSY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te85B8BjlSY and she still blows Clarkson away. And in her prime? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvQ4t-Nk128 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvQ4t-Nk128 still gives me chills to hear her. And that's what a song sounds like without autotune. Amazing! Carry Underwood - she should never have tried to upstage Julie Andrews! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo6o1bhWlD8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo6o1bhWlD8 It's good, but she is just not in the ballpark of JA. No chills there. Jordin Sparks - nothing but good things to say about her singing. Is she great? Not sure. I think she needs a better song to showcase her abilities. But thanks! P.S. the link is from 14 years ago. A long time in the music biz.

Apocryphon 5y ago

You're not wrong that many of the winners end up becoming obscure anyway, though Carrie Underwood is another prominent counterexample [0] similar to Kelly Clarkson. But my point is that the previous poster's assertion that modern music doesn't care about great singers is plainly false. Pop culture is certainly still enamored with finding new voices, both through singing competition shows and online platform viral breakout hits. Natural talent is still prized, even if the actual music industry process and song production would seem to diminish that. [0] More musicians that received early publicity from singing shows: https://www.openmicuk.co.uk/advice/famous-singers-from-talent-shows/ https://www.openmicuk.co.uk/advice/famous-singers-from-talen... https://www.eonline.com/photos/19891/stars-who-got-their-start-in-singing-competitions https://www.eonline.com/photos/19891/stars-who-got-their-sta...

WalterBright 5y ago
> modern music doesn't care about great singers is plainly false So far, the counter-examples given of great singers turned out to be electronically manipulated to sound better. C'mon. Post a link to a popular modern one with better tone than Whitney Houston, Karen Carpenter, Grace Slick, Madonna, David Cassidy, (I can name many more), and didn't electronically "enhance" their singing.
- Apocryphon 5y ago
  How could they have been electronically manipulated if these singing competitions are done live without mixing or autotune? We're talking about talent tested under the most raw conditions. You haven't even bothered to provide any evidence to the contrary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC21yoI8Di8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC21yoI8Di8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWGyVNriJ78 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWGyVNriJ78 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGN1ST87x-U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGN1ST87x-U It is absolutely insane to claim that there are no prominent modern artists with singing abilities comparable to those in the past. Just trivially disprovable. If we were to go beyond the domain of winner of song competitions, there are plenty of acoustic or live performances from other pop superstars that demonstrate singing capability.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    Thank you for being the first to provide links to unprocessed songs to make your point. I appreciate it. BTW, autotune can and certainly is used in live concerts. Musicians have personally told me they use it! They also pump their vocals through effects pedals. What else are they using? I don't know about competitions. > You haven't even bothered to provide any evidence to the contrary. I can't prove a negative. But I've provided many links to popular songs of old, and compared them to popular songs of today. > absolutely insane Cool your jets, dude! This is a friendly discussion. I actually want to be wrong here. I listen to popular music all the time, on the radio, Pandora, various streaming stations, and of course I hear it in the movie soundtracks. I want to hear a singer that sounds like an angel, not a Cylon.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    Kelly Clarkson - she sounds ok. Not wild about it. Yes, I'm picky. Am I wrong? Compare her to Julie Andrews, decades past her prime https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te85B8BjlSY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te85B8BjlSY and she still blows Clarkson away. And in her prime? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvQ4t-Nk128 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvQ4t-Nk128 still gives me chills to hear her. And that's what a song sounds like without autotune. Amazing! Carry Underwood - she should never have tried to upstage Julie Andrews! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo6o1bhWlD8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo6o1bhWlD8 It's good, but she is just not in the ballpark of JA. No chills there. Jordin Sparks - nothing but good things to say about her singing. Is she great? Not sure. I think she needs a better song to showcase her abilities. But thanks! P.S. the link is from 14 years ago. A long time in the music biz.