THE first time I remember seeing a
TV music performance was probably the
Dick Clark American Bandstand, which
was a staple on Saturday afternoon. I
hummed, sang and did the bump to the
tunes of You Can Ring My Bell and I Will
Survive. As a kid, I had little idea of what
the musician or artists looked like until
they appeared on the American Bandstand
or Soul Train.
In the summer of 1981, I was visiting
my aunt at Virginia Beach. My cousins
turned on the TV and showed me the
newly debuted Music
Television channel.
On the channel was no
other than the legendary
Duran Duran, singing
Hungry Like The Wolf.
Like most pre-teens, I
was enthralled. For the
first time, I found out what
Kenny Loggins looked
like. Prior to MTV, he
was simply the king of
movie soundtracks and an
invisible artist. I became an
MTV addict. It was cool, fun
and I could put a name, face
and voice together. From
what I could see, Kenny
Loggins was a big beard guy,
sporting a mullet, who sang
the lead vocal of Footloose!
In the 1990s, more musicians and
singers were primped and made marketable
for the ravenous TV viewers. The
music factory was churning out groups
like Wilson Phillips and Milli Vanilli.
In the music videos and on the radio
they sounded fantastic. Their popularity
brought them center stage of renowned
events like the American Music Awards.
Later, Wilson Phillips' singing capabilities
were questioned in stories exploring
how much the studio synthesized the
band's sound. Milli Vanilli, meanwhile,
were found to be merely lip syncing and
couldn't sing at all. As a result, the handsome
pair was stripped of their Grammys. The lip syncing accusations extended to
Madonna and Janet Jackson's concerts.
With elaborate costumes and athletic
dancing, it's not surprising that some
singers resorted to lip syncing. That fans
noticed it, though, proved that audiences
wanted the real deal.
The boy bands rose to prominence
in the same decade. Cute and slick, the
boy bands catered to teens and young
adults. At the pinnacle of the boy band
hierarchy were Boyzone and Back Street Boys. The latter was
formed by Lou Pearlman, who is responsible
for bringing together many famous
boy bands. With a trail of screaming
girls, more boy bands formed to meet
the demand. From the sweetie boy band
called 911, the rapping LFO, the hot to
trot 'N Sync and the beefcake 98 Degrees
fronted by Nick Lachey, the list went on
and on.
By early 2000, reality became a big
hit with American viewers and it spouted
global franchises. MTV led the phenomenon
with its Real World show. Today's
shows like The Idol, Got Talent and the
Voice have local versions in dozens of
countries. Unlike its predecessors, The
Gong Show and Star Search, today's reality TV has been criticized as being
fraudulent and deceptive. There are
accusations that the scenes are staged,
participants are coached and directors
use misleading edits to sensationalize the
stories. Other critics claim that participants
are exploited and untalented people
gain celebrity status simply because they
have appeared on TV for a season.
Despite these criticisms, some of
these shows outrank regular primetime
shows and win highly prized
time slots. Catering to the
YouTube generation and its
growing appetite for voyeurism,
these reality shows
have been instrumental in
introducing new talents.
These gems have proved
that pure talent can be the
main ingredient in winning
over the hearts of millions.
After appearing on a
reality show, Susan Boyle
and Sung-bong Choi
have become household
names. A little closer
to home, Bell Nuntita
wowed the audience with
her melodic male and female
singing ability. Andlast
but not least, who can forget Psy
and his Gangnam style! The antithesis of
handsome and suave, his breakthrough
as well as others have shown that there is
still plenty of room in the music industry
and the audience welcomes the authentic
marketing of such talents.
Pacharee Pantoomano-Pfirsch is a
co-founder of Brandnow.asia, a boutique
marketing and PR agency. When she's not
busy figuring out how to twerk, she helps
weave beat and rhythm into the client marketing
and PR plans. She can be reached at
pacharee@brandnow.asia
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