Everybody wants to be famous. And to achieve said thing, many would work
hard, play hard and train even harder. And it is a common conception that it's
hard to be famous, but it's even harder to maintain that fame over the years.
Some would still be famous across generations, but there are also many that
only last in a few years time, and that apparently is inevitable. And what
happens to someone when he/she is not famous anymore? They revert back to a
normal citizen doing normal chores, normal jobs and normal life.
There are many ways for an individual to achieve fame. Nowadays, it's
either cause a massive controversy or drama (cough, Kim Kardashian, cough), be
a content creator on either YouTube or Twitch, or just participate in some form
of a talent seeking show. Talent Shows are probably the most watched show in
the planet. With many programs offering different concepts, these idol hopefuls
are looking to establish their marks on the entertainment industry. Even with different
concepts, these shows always feature a similar aspect amongst themselves: fan
votes. As the name suggests, these shows often broadcasted live and include the
viewers as the judge to vote for their favorite contestant, with the contestant
who collect the most votes advancing to the next round (or winning the show if
that particular episode is the final), and the others with the least amount of
votes are eliminated every week. This gives the masses the power over these
contestants' fate. If a contestant is doing well across the competition, it is guarantee
that the votes will increase, however, the least marks you leave with the
audience, the less votes you will get.
There are some big Talent Shows across the globe right now, with shows
like singing competitions American Idol,
The Voice, and The X Factor, or
dancing competitions like So You Think
You Can Dance. Some countries have their own versions of talent shows, like
the Produce Series or Superstar K from South Korea, Got Talent series like America's Got Talent, Britain's Got Talent,
even Asia's Got Talent. The
winners of these shows often got a decent amount of money with other prizes,
like a recording contract, or other prizes like cars or houses (yep, some shows
offer these things as prize). There are many celebrities that came out of these
shows. One of them is Scottish singer Susan Boyle. This inspirational singer
won Britain's Got Talent and went on
to have a successful career in music. Another instance of talent show
contestants turned famous artists are former X Factor UK competitors turned famous boyband One Direction. The
group, instigated by judge Simon Cowell was consist of contestants Liam Payne,
Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlison and Zayn Malik. They might not win
the show, but they soon skyrocketed to new heights with songs like Midnight Memories, Story of My Life, and
History. This now-on-hiatus group was
famous around the same time as Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, among others. This
shows that not only talent show winners can enjoy their fame, those who didn’t
can experience the same amount of fame as their winning counterparts. However,
some talent show winners can fade to obscurity in no time, instead choosing
jobs outside the entertainment business. Indonesian
Idol alumni Januarisma Runtuwene (known as Aris Idol) won the 2008 edition
of the show, but nowadays facing legal difficulties after his arrest for
narcotics in 2019. He only released a single full-album in the wake of his
victory. His job prior to his arrest was an online taxi driver.
Talent shows are not safe from controversies either. Recently, the Korean
Police Force are currently undergoing an investigation of an alleged vote
manipulation of both season 3 and 4 of the
Produce series, which are Produce 48 (a
collaboration show with the 48 Family and its conceptor Atsushi Akimoto of
Japan) and the latest show Produce X 101.
The police suspected that some of the people backstage, from the agencies to
MNet officials changed the final vote results in such a way to give specific
contestants the advantage during the course of the competition, even winning
the debut contract as part of a K-Pop group (often bribed to doing so). Now the
fates of both groups (X1 and I*ZONE, respectively) are in question pending the
full investigation, some even said they might be disbanded. Not only the shows
itself are full of shady deals, the contestants once they exit the show (either
as winners or losers) often caught doing questionable behaviors. Jung
Joon-young was a Superstar K
contestant, placed in the top 3 at the fourth season of the show, aired in
2012. After his stint at the show, he expanded his career as a radio DJ, singer
and host. His most infamous act caught by the masses was happened recently in
2019, when he admitted to record and spread sexual contents without the consent
of his partner. He was charged with rape with possible sentence of 7 years of
incarceration.
Sure, this type of reality programming will continue to exist, but
unfortunately, controversies of any sorts will also follow. There might be new
concepts and fresh faces, but the voters are still the same, the audiences
watching at home. Winning a talent show doesn't mean that you will be famous in
an instants, as with others, you will have to scratch and claw your way into
the entertainment business, as this industry is all about fresh talents and
trending topics. If you are lucky, you can last for decades, even generations.
But if you are unlucky, one slip-up can spell the end of the line for you.
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