Have you noticed the new trend of variety shows—using appearances to determine singing ability

Last Updated on 2016-05-19 , 3:33 pm

Most audiences like to watch variety shows for their entertainment values. These shows are usually highly entertaining with lots of jokes and funny tactics. It can also be full of fun as you see the participants fighting it out with one another in those competitive sorts.

Recently, there is a new trend of variety shows that focus more on appearance than real talent. This is apparent in some of the singing competitions that we see nowadays.

Take for example, the South Korean variety show “I Can See Your Voice”. This is a music show by Mnet which offers talented singers the chance to make their dreams come true. How the show works is like this: They will have a number of contestants joining where some of them are talented singers and while the rest, tone-deaf.

They are required to dress up and show off their “singing talents” with lip-syncing and “prove” they have what it takes to sing. The show will invite one guest singer in each episode and ask them to guess who the real singers are among the contestants. The last person eliminated will either get one of 2 prizes. If the last person standing is a singing talent, he/she will get to release a song with the guest artist. If the last person standing is a tone-deaf, he/she will win 5 million won.

This kind of variety show undermines the real purpose of a singing contest. A traditional singing competition will pit contestants against one another with tests of their singing skills and stage performance. Looks and style is just one of the judging criteria and judges will usually guide the contestants during the competition.

One example of the traditional singing competition is the Taiwanese “One Million Star (超級星光大道). This variety show pits contestants against one another in many rounds of singing contests. At the start, there will be auditions held and millions of hopefuls will join the queue to sing in front of a panel of judges to get themselves selected for the show. Once selected, these contestants will face different task each week that involves singing and stage performance.

The weakest will be eliminated but not without words of encouragement from the judges and guidance on their singing. The final 6 will be graded on their performance each week and the final one will win a grand prize of 1 million NT dollars and a singing contract.

Comparing the 2 different variety shows, you can easily see how singing contests have evolved. In the past, (and not long ago), singing contests such as “One Million Star” will focus on the singing skills and talents of the individual. The show attempt to showcase the talents of the contestants and help them to achieve their dreams.

Even if the contestants could not win the prize, they walked away with valuable knowledge on how to improve their skills. Now, shows such as “I Can See Your Voice” focus only on their looks. Looks have become more important as a factor to stardom. It is no longer how good you are in your skills; it is how good you look in your dress up and make up. How is that possible for us to find really talented singers to the music industry?

This is a sobering thought–what would happen to music lovers if one day, all our singers are actually tone-deaf individuals who are lip-syncing to another person singing for them? That is a scary idea and one which I hope will never happen.