Southsea Tunes: X Factor Shmex Factor
The UK version of The X Factor is well and truly under way now this year, with the live shows being several weeks in and numerous acts having already been voted off. It is also coming up to the ten year anniversary of the beginning of the first ever Pop Idol – the show which launched nationwide musical talent searches to a whole new generation of record buyers and TV viewers. And so, this week, I have decided to review the success of these shows and their contestants.
Of course, the original series was won by Will Young in 2002 after a media-fuelled finale battle between himself and Gareth Gates. At the time, it was a huge surprise that he won as the baby-faced Gates had won over millions of girls’ hearts. However, it is interesting since Will Young is still a massively successful artist and actor with his most recent record, Echoes, released this year, being received positively on most fronts. By contrast, Gates has had limited success and his music, arguably, lacks the artistic integrity which Young has demonstrated. Conversely, Gates is quite busy with musical theatre these days and is appearing in Hair next year. And so, it raises the point that, in the beginning, the British public were capable of recognising a legitimate artist (who was relatively boring, in comparison to the acts on X Factor today) as opposed to a headline-generating media sensation (namely Gareth Gates sleeping with Katie ‘Jordan’ price, for example).
So, what has happened to this voter credibility since we repeatedly vote for the acts who do not deserve the support or who are capable of having globally, long-term successful careers? In the UK show this week, we saw ‘rock’ artist, Frankie Cocozza, voted in ‘til the next week again, despite putting in an appalling performance on Saturday evening. He is, for want of a better phrase, ‘good television’ because he is creating headlines. However, his continued appearance on the show means that more talented acts are being voted off and missing out on their well-deserved chance. The papers are full of his sexual and social antics as he regularly goes out drinking instead of preparing for his performances. In short, he is the polar opposite of the likes of Will Young and the ever-successful, Leona Lewis who both consistently put in strong performances on the show without generating nonsense headlines and dampening their reputations. They are successful because they are talented, not because of their exploits.
In short, it is clear that when reviewing the past ten years of music talent shows, we have become less interested in actual talent and far more interested in who entertains our love of gossip. When we review the success of the ‘winners’ of these shows, they are decreasingly noteworthy and it is the odd act such as those mentioned here and the likes of JLS who truly win. That and Simon Cowell, of course.
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