The Reality of Reality Singing Shows
When it first premiered in 2002, American Idol became an unexpected breakout hit, launching unknown singers to international stardom and inspiring millions of aspiring performers to sing their hearts out at auditions across the country. Twenty years after that first season, there are more than half a dozen variations on the reality tv singing competition currently on the air and vocalists continue to line up around the block for their chance at a big break. From the comfort of the couch, these shows look like a way for undiscovered talents to bypass industry gatekeepers and jumpstart their careers based solely on their merits. Unfortunately, like most TV competitions, the reality of reality singing shows doesn’t match what you see on the screen
We spoke to our friends Joelle, Tyler, and TJ to hear about their experiences with TV singing competitions. Below we’ll look at the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of reality shows.
The audition process isn’t as linear as it looks on TV
The first few episodes of American Idol almost always feature shots of excited lines of singers waiting to audition. We then see some of these hopefuls singing for the judges - usually either extremely well or extremely badly - before getting accepted to the next round of the competition or rejected. While the shows are edited to make it seem like everyone in that line will stand in front of the judges at some point, most of them will never get that chance - and some people who make it in front of the judges skip the cattle call lines all together.
Almost every reality show starts off with an open casting call or cattle call audition - a.k.a. those lines in the first episode of cheering, waving singers waiting for their opportunity to perform. Auditions often start as early as 5AM, with hopefully singers grabbing their spot in line hours before that; our friend Tyler arrived at 3AM for his 5AM open call. The magic of editing makes it look like the lines end at the judges table, but they actually have to get through several rounds of auditions for various selectors and production staff as well as personality testing before they ever see the judges. This can mean 12 hour-plus days for successful candidates.
At the same time, some vocalists skip the line all together. Producers usually have several pre-selected acts who go straight to the judges table without having to camp out for a 5AM call. They’ll search for acts with good social followings to guarantee there’ll be proven talent on the show.
Shows wants terrible singers and melt downs nearly as much as they want great singers
Considering how many rounds of auditions singers have to pass before reaching the judges, you might be wondering how any spectacularly terrible performances manage to slip through the filter and make it to air. Well, they’re not slipping through, they’re being intentionally chosen.
The first few episodes of a new season of American Idol are often the most viewed, and the show runners are aware that the audience is tuning in for the bad auditions as much as they are for the great ones. Producers on many of these reality shows intentionally choose poor performances to serve as foils to the great ones.
Similarly, they want shots of contestants crying or exploding in anger after their failed auditions to demonstrate the emotional stakes of the competition - and they’re willing to manufacture these if necessary. Our friend TJ described a particularly harrowing singing competition audition experience:
“I was led to a room with a lady producer seated behind a desk and two camera operators. I started singing a Martina McBride song 'Do it Anyway;’ I sang just three notes of when the producer lady suddenly cut me off. So I asked her if there was something else I can sing - another song maybe? She said, ‘No!’ and told me “there were a lot of people who had sung better than me.” I was devastated and confused. The lady producer then asked one of the camera operators to film me walking out of the room - which he did. He got right in my face asking me things like ‘Why do you think they didn't like your voice, why did you sing so badly?’ Stuff like that. I felt harassed like he was trying to get me to react. They wanted to make me cry and I did cry. It wasn't fun. It was awful. I would have liked to know why they thought I wasn't good enough. I think maybe they cut me off just to get me to react sad and shocked and act out as you see on the show with contestants who get really angry; I don't know why, maybe for ratings.”
TJ makes a full-time living as a singer; she’s an objectively great vocalist, but she wasn’t what they were looking for that day. Maybe they had a producer-pick already sailing through the audition or maybe there was a once-in-a-generation singer who performed just before her. Whatever the reason, they decided it was better to use her for a reaction shot than for an actual audition.
Luckily, TJ is savvy and managed to keep her cool: “I did not get angry; I held it together. Then that whole season I was hoping I wasn't going to be put on screen for crying and failing my audition. Thankfully, my audition never made it to broadcast and I was so relieved.”
It’s more staged than you might think
Not only is editing used to make the audition process look simpler than it is, and turn minor dramas into emotional moments, but the ultimate outcome is sometimes being guided by producers. Contestants’ life stories will be edited down to what makes them most interesting, and sometimes to exclude their previous professional music experience to add to the “diamond in the rough” mythology the shows thrive on.
Producers have the final say in all song choices down to the key the artist sings in and might make choices that offer an advantage or disadvantage to one vocalist over another. Legally, the shows can’t fix the competition to guarantee a particular act wins, but they can make it exceedingly challenging for acts they want to be eliminated by doing things like changing songs last minute, changing keys, or rewriting arrangements to throw a singer off their footing.
Winning might not be the prize it appears to be
Singers who manage to make it past the producers and judges to actually win the competition can look forward to some - on the surface - fantastic prizes. Both American Idol and the voice offer $125,000 cash and a record deal. However, those record deals and cash prizes are much smaller than they were when the shows first launched and, at least in the case of the American Idol deal, the costs of that record deal are recoupable, meaning the artist is expected to pay back the cost of album production out of their portion of income.
This isn’t so much an issue with the competition’s prize, but rather a common feature of modern recording contracts that aspiring artists might not be aware of. Recoupable costs are a standard part of most record deals; the label is essentially loaning the artist money and resources to make their album and, just like a bank loan, they expect to be paid back. Unfortunately, it’s not as though all of the income from album sales goes directly to the artist; they only receive an average of 12% of album proceeds, and the producer’s percentage of royalties (usually around 3%) traditionally comes out of the artist’s share. So an artist is only making about $1.00 on the sale of a $10 album - and they won’t keep much or any of that $1.00 until the costs of creating that album (in the case of the American Idol deals circa 2018, $300,000) is paid back. In the age of streaming, it can take even longer to recoup all the album expenses as the payout for someone streaming a song is a only fraction of what it would be if the song had been purchased.
The nature of these record deals isn’t the problem (well, maybe it is, but that’s a whole other article), it’s that many talent show hopefuls aren’t familiar with the harsh realities of recording contracts. Generations of artists, from smaller acts to superstars, have found themselves in exploitative record deals. Some eventually have enough clout to negotiate a better deal, others never experience financial success despite releasing smash hits. It can be a challenge to negotiate or turn down something that feels as rare and life-changing as a record deal in any situation, but it’s even more difficult when you’re in the finals of a publicly broadcast competition.
Not only may the record deal not be the financial boon it appears to be, but it’s also no guarantee of career success. The Voice’s coaches have criticized Universal Music Group for failing to follow through on the promised recording contracts. Even with support from their record label, very few competition winners have managed to replicate the success of Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson.
You might make valuable connections or jump-start your fanbase
The prize at the end of the show may not be all it’s cracked up to be, but it isn’t all doom and gloom. In our opinion, the true value of these competitions is the exposure to both potential fans and industry insiders. Runners-up have managed to launch careers with as much success (and sometimes more success) than series winners: Jennifer Hudson placed 7th on season 3 of American Idol and has since gone on to win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a Daytime Emmy, and two Grammys; Kelly Pickler leveraged her 6th place finish into her own TV series and a successful country music career; and Adam Lambert is currently performing with the genre-defining rock band, Queen, after placing second in his season of American Idol.
TV competitions can introduce you to a massive national audience. Not only that, but all of that editing producers do to heighten the emotions on the show encourage viewers at home to feel emotionally connected to their favorite contestant. You do have to put in the work after the fact to maintain your new fanbase, but it can be a great career jumpstart that opens the door to working with professionals like booking agents and managers who usually seek out acts that have already started to develop a following.
Performing on a television show also allows you to rub elbows with TV and music industry professionals. You might gain crucial insight into how the music industry works or develop a connection that helps you build your career after the competition.
Our Advice
Don’t pin all of your dreams on a reality competition show; the playing field isn’t as even as it appears on TV and the prizes might not be as life-changing as you expect. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go for it. The exposure you receive and the connections you make might be more valuable than the cash and record deal in the long run. If you decide to go for it, give yourself the best chance by training with a good singing coach who can offer audition coaching strategies including a good song choice to help you shine.
Our friend Joelle had some great advice, “Just do it for the practice[…] Don’t expect any results and make sure any results benefit you.” She felt that some of the contracts offered to finalists were more damaging than beneficial to their careers and we can’t say we disagree with her.
Tyler offered some even more practical advice: “Pack some snacks.”
Book a Lesson Today and Learn How To Ace Your Next Audition
Whether you decided to try your luck at a cattle call or forgo the reality show all together, don’t forget to love your voice. If you need help prepping for an audition, check out our previous articles where we speak to Tyler and Joelle and set up a lesson with Zelda!