My OperaFamous For 15 Minutes
Sunday, December 11, 2011 11:45:55 AM
Mr Warhol's famous quote that everybody will be famous for 15 minutes came to mind when I was unfortunately watch the X factor last night,now its not my usual TV viewing but senior daughter had it on and before I could get to the MP3 player I suffered a few minutes of it.
Well to say that the talent on their is limited is putting it mildly but it did get me thinking and junior and I having a conversation about the whole genre be it X factor,Pop Idol,the short lived fame Academy or American Idol,many of the acts are no doubt after their 15 minutes as is blindingly obvious from the caterwauling that happens in the early stages of the show but what about those who make it all the way to the final,how many minutes do they get.
So I posed this question to my representatives of the younger generation what sort of shelf life do the winners of these shows have,well it appears that with the exception of Leona Lewis and Kelly Clarkson who apparently have so far had successful careers of over 5 years (Still not exactly Lulu,Tom Jones,Stones,David Crosby,Dave Gilmour etc etc) the rest of the winners and finalists do last little more that Andy's 15 minutes and disappear into musicals or the cabaret circuit never to be heard of again. Now that’s not a bad thing in that many do get a career doing what they love even if their time in the charts is fleeting but it does bring me on to the judges and their comments.
Now again I admit to not being a regular watcher of these shows but when I hear Louis Walsh,Kelly Rowland Sinmon Cowell etc etc telling these star struck performers that they are already stars and that they were brilliant and have a huge career ahead of them when history and their lack of real talent makes it blindingly obvious that this will not be the case I feel really sorry for them.
Lets face it these shows are out to make money for the Cowells of this world and the performers are just performers the majority of whom are discarded at the end of their 15 minutes so that some other poor deluded sap can add to the franchises millions.
So if you do watch and are going to vote tonight just think what it is you are voting for because a long and successful career as a major star it sure ain’t
Well to say that the talent on their is limited is putting it mildly but it did get me thinking and junior and I having a conversation about the whole genre be it X factor,Pop Idol,the short lived fame Academy or American Idol,many of the acts are no doubt after their 15 minutes as is blindingly obvious from the caterwauling that happens in the early stages of the show but what about those who make it all the way to the final,how many minutes do they get.
So I posed this question to my representatives of the younger generation what sort of shelf life do the winners of these shows have,well it appears that with the exception of Leona Lewis and Kelly Clarkson who apparently have so far had successful careers of over 5 years (Still not exactly Lulu,Tom Jones,Stones,David Crosby,Dave Gilmour etc etc) the rest of the winners and finalists do last little more that Andy's 15 minutes and disappear into musicals or the cabaret circuit never to be heard of again. Now that’s not a bad thing in that many do get a career doing what they love even if their time in the charts is fleeting but it does bring me on to the judges and their comments.
Now again I admit to not being a regular watcher of these shows but when I hear Louis Walsh,Kelly Rowland Sinmon Cowell etc etc telling these star struck performers that they are already stars and that they were brilliant and have a huge career ahead of them when history and their lack of real talent makes it blindingly obvious that this will not be the case I feel really sorry for them.
Lets face it these shows are out to make money for the Cowells of this world and the performers are just performers the majority of whom are discarded at the end of their 15 minutes so that some other poor deluded sap can add to the franchises millions.
So if you do watch and are going to vote tonight just think what it is you are voting for because a long and successful career as a major star it sure ain’t
