Talent show

A school talent show taking place at St Ninian's High School in Glasgow, Scotland.

A talent show is an event where participants perform talents of singing, dancing, acrobatics, acting, drumming, martial arts, playing an instrument, or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather than contests, but some are actual contests. In the instance of a contest, participants may be motivated to perform for a reward, trophy, or prize of some kind. For example, a high school might not have many students with any interest in performing in front of the student body for the sole purpose of performing alone and may offer different prizes as an incentive for these students to participate in the contest. [1]

Media

In recent times, talent shows have become a notable genre of reality television,[2] such as Idol, Got Talent, The X Factor, and The Voice which have been critical in catapulting some amateur artists to stardom and resulting in their commercially successful careers.

Successful artists

Name Of Artist TV Series Season Featured Placing
Kelly Clarkson American Idol 1st 1st Place Winner
Fantasia Barrino American Idol 3rd 1st Place Winner
Carrie Underwood American Idol 4th 1st Place Winner
Jackie Evancho America's Got Talent 9th 1st Place Winner
Neal E. Boyd America's Got Talent 3rd 1st Place Winner
Susan Boyle Britain's Got Talent 3rd 2nd Place Runner-Up
Leona Lewis The X Factor (UK) 3rd 1st Place Winner
Little Mix The X Factor (UK) 8th 1st Place Winner
Tessanne Chin The Voice 5th 1st Place Winner
Javier Colon The Voice 1st 1st Place Winner

Non-competitive talent shows for troubled youth

Talent shows can be seen as a way to help boost the self-esteem, confidence, and assurance of youth. Some communities and companies see talent shows as a way to help prevent delinquency among children, teens, and young adults. As a result, these communities create programs such as Girls Only![3] in San Diego to promote the growth of these otherwise trouble youth to better the community. Such programs are created with the hope to prevent youth from the possibilities of entering delinquency or lives of crime.[4]

References

  1. Parke, Beverly N. (2003). Discovering Programs for Talent Development. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press. pp. 131–132. ISBN 978-0-7619-4613-7.
  2. Redden, Guy (2008). "Making Over the Talent Show". Exposing Lifestyle Television: The Big Reveal. Ashgate Publishing. pp. 129–144. ISBN 978-1-4094-9286-3.
  3. "Girls Only! Toolkit". San Diego District Attorney's Office.
  4. "Girls Only! Toolkit". San Diego District Attorney's Office. Retrieved 15 December 2014.