Life after a talent show – wiadomosci24 – 09.06.2012

http://www.wiadomosci24.pl/artykul/zycie_po_talent_show_234989.html#plus-755952

What does the future participants of talent show programs look like after the lights are off?  

‘’Mam Talent’’, ‘’Must Be the Music’’, ‘’The Voice of Poland’’, ‘’Bitwa Na Głosy’’. The number of talent show programs in Poland is growing fast. For many people, such a program is a chance to make their dreams come true. It’s a way to succeed.

Only few achieve it, many of them go back to their ordinary life.

When it turns out that you have some talent and luck to fit into the formula of the program, then the headlights light up, the machine starts spinning –  Recognition, interviews, TV invitations, popularity, .. success?

Each edition of such a program has a fixed length of its duration. At some point the headlights go out and the finalists are thrown into deep water. In many cases, they are young people who have no experience in the show business industry. People with heads full of plans and expectations. The talent show participants, and in particular the first three winners, sign contracts that are not always favourable to them. Stations want to use them to make money. They are promoted for about a year, have performances, concerts and interest from the public. At the same time, the media keep focusing on their private life or image, not on what they have to offer vocally.

Then, there is the next edition of the program, new participants,  and the machine that had previously taken the participants to the top, starts working again … but for others. The interest of the audience is smaller, it is becoming harder and harder to have a concert organised plus the album must be released during the first year. Suddenly, it turns out that not all doors are open and you have to fight for everything. It’s a real school of life that requires incredible amount of work and strong will from young vocalists.

In the show business and the music industry, in the majority of cases, the most important thing are the relationships that these young people do not have, and talent is less important. You do have to have some connections.

An example? A vocalist ‘’A’’, sometimes, unconsciously, becomes an enemy of a person ‘’B’’, who has some influence, for example, in a radio station.  ‘’B’’, who does not like ‘’A’’ any more, will not let her/him sing on the radio so ‘’A’’ is not able to reach new recipients.

Therefore, an important step for the artist is to choose a good manager who will guide him in the show business.

Many talent show winners were stars for a while but then it suddenly ended. Along the way, they either got confused and became puppets of the media, or did not cope with the above-mentioned obstacles. This was the case of Klaudia Kulawik – a winner of ‘’Mam Talent’’.

She performs from time to time, however, it happens very rarely. Klaudia does not have her own musical achievements. Did she miss her chance?

Maciej Czaczyk from ‘’Must Be the Musik’’ still has not recorded an album. The same applies to Magda Welc from the same program. Magda only manager to record some Christmas carols.

This sad list is a long one. Only a few people are successful.

However, there is one thing certain: Kamil Bednarek, Enej and Michał Szpak are still on top.

The latter has performed during such prestigious events as: Orange Warsaw Festival, ‘’Hity na Czasie’’ or  a festival in Opole. Szpak has recorded an album and he has recently recorded his first music video for a song “Rewolucja”, which is very popular.

In my opinion, the finalist of ”The X-Factor’’ has it hard in Poland. Apart from the above-mentioned difficulties, faced by all talent show participants, Michał Szpak’s image is constantly criticized. As a result, the press is often focused only on the vocalist’s appearance instead of focusing on his strong vocal, which was praised by Elżbieta Zapendowska. Michał’s vocal abilities reach 3.5 octaves, which is a great achievement. For most people, this value does not exceed 1.5 octaves. It is a pity that many people are not able to see Szpak’s vocal and his image as a whole.

Szpak consequently tries to stay the way he is what is a proof that this artist does not follow the pressure from the outside and remains faithful to himself.

He is also a great example of how a determination and hard work can help you make your dreams come true, step by step – slowly but successively.

The question is – with only a few cases of participants of talent shows who became successful -does taking part in such shows makes sense? These programs can destroy people, but also help to start a career. The real game begins only after the headlights go out and the show is over.

Autor: Zuzanna Wójcik

Related Images: