On Brian's Soapbox tonight, he is lamenting another karaoke style entertainment show which apparently may be called Don't stop Me Now. He derides the show and the genre and his closing lines are:
"There's yet another one coming up, called 'The Voice' where the judges sit with their backs to the 'contestants', who are actually fellow artists … and only turn around if they condescend to like what they hear. What a load of horse-poo.
I wonder how long audiences are going to put up with this awful low-grade 'entertainment' …"
Uhh, Brian, you got your present singer from this type of show. How is it that Roger and Brian can take a singer from American Idol, and criticize these reality karaoke shows, and in effect the people who watch them? Shows like this give hope to the dishwasher in Topeka, Kansas, or the mail clerk in Sydney, Australia that if they dream big enough, and get the call in votes and media hype behind them that maybe one day they'll play in front of 100,000 people with the remaining members of The Beatles or Led Zeppelin. Nah, that couldn't happen, because this awful, low grade "entertainment" usually gets awful, low grade "artists." Except in the case of Adam Lambert. Good thing they have these type of shows I guess :)
Well, I used to back Brian and Roger in this argument, I guessed that they've changed their views on that sort of show since. Apparently not, still as hypocritical as ever...
I had to laugh at this when I read it on Brian's site. Can this really be the same Brian who, along with Roger, appeared on American Idol (or whatever the show was called) and X-Factor????? I mean seriously Brian engage your brain before you open your mouth...
the same guy who scraped up the new lead singer for his band, Queen, on such a show.
the same guy who recorded c-lebrity.
the same guy who has a musical which slams the concept of karaoke tv.
the same guy who some years ago thought INX did the wrong thing by finding their singer on a tv show
the same guy who on Rockline in 2006 when asked the question "would YOU appear on a show like that?" ,replied, "Oh no...why would we?"
I have read Brian's comments on these types of shows before and I think I have an understanding of why he doesn't like them. They are degrading to the people who are being judged.
I guess in a normal audition such as for a musical or orchestra, etc., a person is seen and judged but not told to their face (as Simon Cowell was doing) that they are ridiculous or any other creative insulting comments that he is making on these shows. In a normal audition people are not put on a stage in front of thousands of idiots who cheer or laugh or boo.
Waching the reaction of someone who is being disrespected is what makes these shows lowbrow: following a person down the hallway as they curse or cry (or recently on American Idol, filming a person as they faint and fall off the stage) and having clever editing to create an overall impression of someone so that people watching their television can feel superior, or judges not turning their chair around to face someone as they are performing on the stage (a technique to make the person performing feel terrible and then the cameras can catch that emotion for the TV audience).
So I think It isn't the fact that they are auditioning potentially really good singers. Everyone has to be discovered. It is the way they set these shows up to humiliate those who are not good enough. When Brian has appeared on the shows it is when they have already gotten down to a core group of talented kids so at that point in the show it is a celebration of young talent. He has never agreed to appear as a judge.
Most musical stars appear on American Idol after they get the talented young singers picked out and they are only there for encouragement and guidance and not to humiliate people.
Donna13 I agree with you one hundred percent.
Too many people are too quick to spot a fault and link it to something someone has said, instead of trying to understand the meaning or the context in which something is meant.
I think the inventor of this show, 1,8 billion euro media mogul John de Mol, couldn't care less wether Brian likes his show or not.
As a mather of fact it's very likely John de Mol doesn't like the shitty We Will Rock You musical either.
And indeed. What about American Idol and Adam Lambert, Brian?
I think the core of Brian's sentiment is that he doesn't like what these shows do to the contestants. It's pretty obvious what he's annoyed about. That he does business with them selectively is another issue though, and definitely one that baffles me. Obviously I'm underestimating the promotional value of the appearances he's done on the talent shows but really - we're the only people that remember these things. Surely it's a short-term benefit thing.
C-Lebrity is about those who chase fame for fame's sake. Fame comes to people with a talent, musician, Actors etc and a great many of those people put up with fame but don't court it.
There are those who have no talent and are famous for nothing more than a face that is seen.
"Well, if you ever see ME sitting on a panel, acting like I think I'm God Almighty, and making demeaning remarks about fellow musicians" - Brian May
I don't see him saying anything about the muscians being bad. He seems to be more against people saying what's good and what's not good.
Some people take shows like American Idol as their only chance at becoming anything with themselves (in music), when a judge says they're not good enough they will quit trying and think they're not good enough. I think this is what Brian is against, because you should'nt be told you can't make it.