Can You SING? Got any TALENT?

There's American Idol.  Then comes The Voice.  And in the Philippines, PGT (Pilipinas Got Talent) and Protégé.  And what can I say?

American Idol.

Ok, ok.  I got hooked on this.  During the time of Jasmine Trias, and the eventual winner Fantasia Barrino, I tried to update myself on the goings-on of AI.  I could not remember all of the top finalists during their batch but Fantasia was okay.  In fact, I have stored in my pc library some songs of hers.

And during the time of Kris Allen, I never missed an episode up to the time he won.

Generally, I had some misgivings though.  There are great talents during the audition round that I totally missed during the finals.  And there are those that got qualified that I considered so-so.  I am not Simon Cowell, nor Paula Abdul, nor Randy Jackson, but I sure do recognize somebody who got talent.  Well….

And then there are the American viewers who choose the eventual winner.  And it is not hundred per cent sure that the winner would eventually make it big.  Hello.  There are  previous winners that went pffft afterwards.  And there are non-winners who made it big.  Think about Daughtry, and Jennifer Hudson.

They are not always right, I mean, the American voters.  But hey, it’s nice to listen to them once in a while though, the contestants, I mean.  Not bad.

The Voice.

Upon learning about this new contest, I got excited.  They said this is much much better than AI.

I was disappointed though.

First, the judges or mentors or whatever they are called, have all the nice words to the contestants.  Even though, most of them are so-sos. I mean, it’s supposed to be THE VOICE, but I did not see outstanding performers there.  There is no exceptional singer.  Even the winner, Javier Colon, is not that impressive.  Hu-hum.  

Well…..

And in the local front….

GMA just launched its own talent search.  The Protégé.  Seems similar to The Voice.  I have some misgivings though to some mentors.  Aiza Seguera as mentor?  Is she that experienced enough to be included there?  And there is also Gloc 9, a rapper.  Hmmm….

I am not excited.

And on to PGT, Pilipinas Got Talent.

I am amused during the audition part.  The show is good in highlighting the good as well as not-good performances but generally, amusing as well.  It’s really fun.

But the fun ends when it’s time for the next round.  Filipinos are not good in choosing those deserving enough.  This is the time where real talent is replaced by good looks and popularity.  And it’s sad.  Most of the time, those chosen are not talented enough.  And what is worse is when it’s time for the judges to choose the other qualifiers.  They are not better themselves in choosing the talented ones. 

There was even a time when they have mistakenly considered good look as talent!

Que horror!