Elton John blasts ‘paralysingly brain crippling’ X Factor
Musical legend Elton John has blasted reality TV shows such as X Factor, American Idol and Britain’s Got Talent, calling them ‘paralysingly brain crippling.’
In an interview with Metro, the ‘Your Song’ singer admitted that he had been asked to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol this year but turned the role down. He added:
‘I’m not a fan of talent shows. I probably wouldn’t have lasted if I’d gone on one.’
Speaking about Cowell’s own special genre of TV shows, Elton continued:
‘It’s become boring, a***-paralysingly brain crippling.’
‘TV vaults you to superstardom and then you have to back it up,’ he said.
‘Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke are at the mercy of the next song they can get. It’s important they write their own songs, so they’re not at the mercy of anyone. Songwriters today are pretty awful, which is why everything sounds the same. Contemporary pop isn’t very inspiring.’
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well can anyone fault him. one week you sing disco, the other rock, and in the end you sing bubble gum pop. you can have a career like leona, but, as we have seen, it’s really rare. i like the shows, because people like matt enter that competition, and i like listening to covers of famous songs. because x factor IS, a karaoke competition.
he is mostly right, however some of the acts who appear have indeed paid their dues, and would not have been discovered were it not for a silly competition.
on america’s got talent, there was debra romer, a singer/song writer stuck in michigan…playing coffee houses and fairs…she had a youtube channel that got some interest, but it was the show that got her name nationwide
nothing wrong with that
check out the list of talented artists that were dropped by simon’s label Syco
it’s mostly talent show winners…they get discarded after the 1 or 2 years following the show
Its all to easy for artists like Elton John to blast shows like this because 20 years and more ago things were done so very differently.
When Elton talks about an artist proving themself, he is referring to the artists struggle to make ends meet in clubs, pubs, small theatre venues, touring and living in a van because you can’t afford the hotels. He is talking about struggling to meet recording studio costs for that first demo recording that you duplicate in the 100′s to thousands to send to A & R people in record companies, radio station DJ’s, and Artist managers.
If you were one of the lucky ones to get a break than that was great, because your good fortune was dependent on someone else retiring and leaving a gap in the market for you to fill. Music industry reps in those days which was only as far back as the 80′s used to talk of entering the music industry for a performer and song writer as a business, and you had to pick the right time to start. This was so you would have the greatest commercial chance of succeeding. Industry accountants and solicitors also used to say the same thing and would use business language. For many wanabe artist this was a turn off and literally thousands would have given up and followed time served advice “not to give up the day job.”
Now there is a load of professional people out in the industry who have somehow lost out on what to say anymore as the numbers trying to do it without professional help have risen by the thousand. This is including music teachers, instrument teachers and singing teachers.
Today the market place has been flooded by struggling independent labels who as soon as possible are grabbed up by the conglomerates if they should have someone who is likely to sell records. We have also been infiltrated by the watering down of pop, with rap, hip hop, idie mix, mix, dance mix, beats, street dance and god knows what else. So much so that our younger generations have been denied good music. They don’t know how to write a good song in a dominant song format.
The oddest of things is when the British charts had little infiltration from America we actually had variety in our charts. We had Rock music, we had big ballad singers, we had commercial punk, punk rock, we did have northern soul which grant it originated in america, we had heavy metal. The mixture and variety of choice was amazing now everything sounds the same. I can’t listen to a song and remember any of it a day later, never mind an hour later.
Music sales have become fragmented by the excessive use of the internet and also the change from vinyl to CD disc. The subject matter here is course for future debate.
So much has changed since 1957/58 the charts no longer accounts for sheet music sales, several charts exist whereas at one time it was one top twenty. The top twenty as portrayed on radio one or that old pop classic BBC show “Top of the Pops”. Even when the chart divide came and the fizzy drinks manufacturers began to sponsor the charts and take an interest in merchandising this led to further divides within the internet with the rise of satelite radio stations. All of which have a chart.
Which chart is anyone to follow sure as hell defeats me. But when I turn on my radio I know that the chart I’m hearing is the completely fragmented chart, based upon few sales in the record shops but mostly downloaded from the internet at reduced costs to the industry.
In the 1980′s music was the 7th biggest industry for Britain, today its sadly dropped to 30 and all because of the internet and the rise of todays new professionals. Technical engineers, technical arrangers, website planners, sadly where ever the musicians singers and songwriters have gone is a real mystery.
Lesser spotted and endangered species are real singers, real musicians and real songwriters.
Maureen, hear hear. Nail on the head. Elton is right of course, but it’s too easy to ignore the impact and effects of the evolution you just described so eloquently!
His advice about writing your own material is however very valuable imo, to not be totally at the mercy of this modern music bizz bermuda triangle.
I wonder how he’ll feel about the x-factor dedicating a week to him!
Probably won’t care. He is getting royalties for it.