I don't watch any competition shows, other than special sports events, like the Final Four, NBA, Superbowl, Olympics etc. 

A long time ago competitions were between individuals and the public judged. Viktor Steibelt and his wife took on Beethoven in Vienna. Each amassed a gallery of admirers. But Beethoven wasn't much interested in Steibelt or his music. It was only when Steibelt stole a Beethoven theme and made a fantasy of it, that Beethoven took interest, and it was irritation. At the Steibelt concert, Steibelt's gallery was enraptured. Beethoven had to do something. 

He left the audience, walked to the stage, grabbed the cello part, took it to the piano, shoved Steibelt out of the way, and put the music on the stand UPSIDE DOWN. Then with the "bird" finger, he began to pound out the music, all the while glaring at Steibelt, and his wife, holding her tamborine. 

Then Beethoven began to improvise on the upside down cello theme. He sat down and developed it as only he could- perhaps the greatest music improviser in history. Before he finished, Steibelt and his wife had left the hall, and made it a point never again ever to play in, or be in the same city as Beethoven. 

Siagiah wrote:

Well, that's an interesting story, but what does it have to do with my topic ??

The Voice is the ONLY reality competition that I watch.  Several of my friends and I gather on Facebook in a private forum where we chat about it live as it's on.  It's a fun show and ripe for camaraderie chatting about our favorites and their performances and predicting who's going to win.

I thought that maybe someone here might also be a fan.

As for your story, Beethoven was quite the ornery snip, eh?  But talented beyond imagination too.
 

What competitions were like back then, for comparison to now. I played in a few; Van Cliburn, and won NAYA. "Launched" my career. Adjudication was like a jury, and judges had scores in which they noted "concerns." Audiences were small, very quiet, and we all played the same pieces. 

I discovered going on tour was one of the loneliest jobs on earth. You're surrounded by people, none of whom are close, or friends. This persists for months. There is little time to practice, so skills decline. The promise of fame comes at a very high price, and financially if you break even, tour was successful. There is no place like home. 

Popular music competitions are a little different encompassing a wide range of styles. Judge critiques appear far less detailed and more subjective. In the occasions we heard a soloist sing opera, like Paul Potts, Jackie Evancho, Susan Boyle, and Andrew de Leon, not only did the audience hush to point a pin drop could be heard, the tears streaming down cheeks of the moved audience spectators said everything. Tears streamed down my face too. 
 

I can't say I've ever watched more than 30 seconds of the voice, but the idea of comparing voices is endlessly fascinating. You can do it by era, by genre and with all sorts of sub-categories, since the best singer and the best voice don't always belong to the same person.
  My parents came out of the 1950's. so their record collections included lots of American Pop Music and more than a little Doo Wop,, plus the folk era of the 60's. 
  At any rate, I have opinions related to singers of almost every genre across the entire period of acoustical recording--From Doo Wop to Opera.
  Here's a thought. If you are going to listen to a pop singer for 15-20 minutes, you choose Frank Sinatra in his late prime, but if you're going to listen for an hour, you're better off with Tony Bennett, who had far better taste.
   Does this kind of "competition" resonate with you in any way?

  

Last edited by SJW (4/30/2019 4:25 pm)