Tv Show Bad or Good ?

TV Talent Shows - Good or Bad?

In recent years, TV talent shows have burst onto our screens with a vengeance. With most showing ordinary members of the public competing for a large monetary prize, they are only increasing in popularity. Simon Cowell's hugely popular UK X Factor show is set to launch in the US this summer, and with shows like Britain's Got Talent and America's Got Talent gracing our screens on an annual basis, TV talent shows have certainly played their part in changing the face of popular television. But is this step to use 'talented' members of the public to produce hugely profitable programmes such as X Factor a good thing or a bad thing? Here, I will attempt to discuss the pros and cons of TV talent shows.

Susan Boyle singing 'I Dreamed a Dream' - she achieved phemonenal global success following her first audition on Britain's Got Talent

The Limelight, Too Soon?

There is no doubt about it, talent shows like X Factor offer successful competitors an open door into the music industry, and a chance to become recognised. Many opposers of TV talent shows (with the legendary Elton John reportedly being one of them) will argue that a show like X Factor is the wrong way to kickstart a career in music. Traditionally, artists started at the bottom and worked their way up, working long and hard hours with little reward, driven by passion and huge determination. Of course, there would always be artists who would sail to the top by means of a lucky fluke, but for the most part, success was finally 'making it' after a long, dedicated struggle.

Not so with the winners of modern day TV talent shows. Winners are thrust into the public eye with very little warning or preparation. Even for the most balanced, grounded individual on earth, this would be an exciting but surreal life change. For some, the change might be too much. After all, it is almost as though the destination has been reached before the journey has even begun. Not only that, but a contender...