Is ‘America’s Got Talent’ Turning Into Just Another Singing Show?
NBC Reading Time: 3 minutes
It’s no secret that America’s Got Talent has become more and more of a singing show in the past few years. We’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of singing acts on this series but when is enough, enough?
It’s practically always been an ongoing debate of whether singers have a place in the variety show or not. While some argue that not all singers are Las Vegas performers, others are pretty obsessed with the act. Believe it or not singing dates all the way back to season one of America’s Got Talent; the original winner was actually a singer!
Even though this talent has always been around, there’s been an alarming amount of singers in the past few years. To put this into perspective, in the past two seasons singers have made it pretty far in the series. In season 16, four of ten contestants were singers, while singers made up six of ten finalists in season 15.
There Are Plenty of Shows Created Specifically for Singers, so Why do People Choose America’s Got Talent?
The appeal of the show is the fact that a lot of contestants wouldn’t be seen on singing series like American Idol or The Voice. Instead, AGT is clearly posed as a contest that accepts all. While there are still tons of variety acts present on the show, fans are concerned that at some point singers will outnumber the rest.
In turn, the critique becomes a slippery slope with the amount of contestants that have rose to fame as singers. One of the biggest names to come out of the competition is singer Grace VanderWaal. The 12 year old singer made waves in the world of talent competitions because she came to the stage and ultimately won the season with an original song.
Even when you think about some of the bigger names in the AGT franchise like Angelica Hale, Courtney Hadwin, Jackie Evancho, even Darci Lynne Farmer, you’ll realize that they all sing. The truth is, singers do so well on this show because this show produces stars. It’s right up there with American Idol when it comes to contestant success. Whether fans like it or not, singers are going to continue auditioning for AGT because it could bring them fame.
Why Are People So Worried About too Many Singers?
While singers are clearly a very successful portion of AGT‘s series, fans are truly concerned that other acts will be treated differently as a result. We’ve seen it before and we’ll probably see it again, sometimes acts are overlooked in place of the singers. Since singing is a talent that’s so widespread, it’s easier for America to follow behind them. Other variety acts don’t always receive great praise, even if their performance was better than the week before.
This phenomenon became a highly debated topic within the AGT fandom after Simon Cowell joined the judging panel. Arguably, singers don’t flee to this competition to sing for this judge. Instead, I believe that they want that “star” narrative VanderWaal got, for themselves. When it gets down to it, fans don’t want singing to out number the acts that would thrive on the Las Vegas strip.
How do you feel about the singing acts – and the number of them we’ve been seeing lately – on AGT? Let us know in the comments below!
