American Idol is an amateur singer's paradise, is it not? All a hopeful has to do is learn a song, sing it well enough to get through the audition and then he or she gets to sing it on TV; maybe win the series and then become a multi-millionaire with the guaranteed singing contract prize. What could be easier than learning a ditty and then singing it?
However, it is precisely because people think that it is that easy that it is not. Thousands, tens of thousands of people from all around the country go to the auditions and some of them have been singing in competitions for years.
The dividends for victory in American Idol are so immense that many contestants leave nothing to luck. Some contestants have advisors and coaches and managers and practice for at least a year before putting their name down for an audition.
The first aspect of American Idol that rank amateurs notice is fatigue. Practiced amateurs, semi-professionals and those who have sung in competitions before are well aware of the hanging about that is part and parcel of all competitions and television shows in general. Filming is famous for keeping actors and other participants waiting for ages.
The experienced will get all the sleep they can and will look after their throats and voices. The inexpert will sit around talking or even drinking beer. The experienced will have a stronger larynx anyway, but they will also be aware of the importance of looking after it. This gives them a huge advantage over the other hopefuls.
The freedom of choice of songs is limited. Not a lot of people know this. You could practice your favourite song for months, turn up at the rehearsal and then be told that you may not sing it for copyright reasons.
The company producing the show have financial arrangements in position with many singer-song writers and publishers of music, but not all. So it is best to check well in advance to save disappointment
Contracts are a further surprise awaiting those who do not have an agent who is au fe with recording contracts. A contestant is not allowed by contract to sign up with a record label at any time during the competition whether he or she is winning or knocked out. The firm putting on the programme has the first option on the contestants under all circumstances for a certain duration of time.
Random luck plays a great part in the outcome of the programme. The papers and the message boards might predict for weeks that a particular singer will win, but nothing can be decided until the very last day of voting. There have been a number of broken hearts, because the papers claimed that someone was a sure-fire winner, just for it not to be thus on the day.
Wherever there is so much money to be made and the stakes are so high, the rank amateur has little opportunity of breaking in. It is always best to give yourself every chance of winning before even entering and to realise that you have little opportunity of being successful.
However, it is precisely because people think that it is that easy that it is not. Thousands, tens of thousands of people from all around the country go to the auditions and some of them have been singing in competitions for years.
The dividends for victory in American Idol are so immense that many contestants leave nothing to luck. Some contestants have advisors and coaches and managers and practice for at least a year before putting their name down for an audition.
The first aspect of American Idol that rank amateurs notice is fatigue. Practiced amateurs, semi-professionals and those who have sung in competitions before are well aware of the hanging about that is part and parcel of all competitions and television shows in general. Filming is famous for keeping actors and other participants waiting for ages.
The experienced will get all the sleep they can and will look after their throats and voices. The inexpert will sit around talking or even drinking beer. The experienced will have a stronger larynx anyway, but they will also be aware of the importance of looking after it. This gives them a huge advantage over the other hopefuls.
The freedom of choice of songs is limited. Not a lot of people know this. You could practice your favourite song for months, turn up at the rehearsal and then be told that you may not sing it for copyright reasons.
The company producing the show have financial arrangements in position with many singer-song writers and publishers of music, but not all. So it is best to check well in advance to save disappointment
Contracts are a further surprise awaiting those who do not have an agent who is au fe with recording contracts. A contestant is not allowed by contract to sign up with a record label at any time during the competition whether he or she is winning or knocked out. The firm putting on the programme has the first option on the contestants under all circumstances for a certain duration of time.
Random luck plays a great part in the outcome of the programme. The papers and the message boards might predict for weeks that a particular singer will win, but nothing can be decided until the very last day of voting. There have been a number of broken hearts, because the papers claimed that someone was a sure-fire winner, just for it not to be thus on the day.
Wherever there is so much money to be made and the stakes are so high, the rank amateur has little opportunity of breaking in. It is always best to give yourself every chance of winning before even entering and to realise that you have little opportunity of being successful.