" There was a squad who worked for the show whose specific job was to make people cry . "
Performances. Competition. Judging other people. These are the reasons we all can’t help but love talent competition shows (or “shiny-floor shows,” as they’re technically called). But what if I told you they’re… not exactly as they seem?
Well, you’re about to hear some insider info that boils down to, yeah, these shows can be deceiving — straight from former contestants themselves. Useru/jake2897asked, “Redditors who have auditioned for a talent show such asAmerica’s Got Talent,The X Factor, etc, what goes on backstage that we don’t know about?” Here are the wildest answers:
Disclaimer : Though people exact to be talk from their own experiences with celebrities , BuzzFeed ca n’t support the validity of these stories .
1.Contestants' choice of songs to sing isn’t endless… copyright laws make this part a bit selective:
" Licensing the song is always quite interesting . For the biggest part , contestant who passed the auditions ca n’t blab whatever they desire . It has to conform to the narrative , and for the biggest part they have to choose songs from a list of pre - licensed Sung dynasty .
FYI , songs fromThe Beatleswon’t be certify at all . As far as I know , the same goes for Bob Dylan andMichael Jacksonsongs . "
– u / jenana _ _
2.You barely get enough time to properly show them your skill:
" My married woman audition forAmerican Idol . She said it was just a massive line to get in , and when it ’s your go to sing , you have only a few second before they shuffle you out . First impressions are perfectly everything . "
– u / PhilAwful
3.Contestants who start out performing badly and improve as the episodes go on were probably just good all along:
" One mean solar day before course started , this guy Tom announce that he was proceed to audition forX Factor . We all knew he was go to bootcamp .
At this unrecorded ' pre - try out , ' he sangMake You Feel My Loveby Adele , which I have it away he can sing amazingly . The manufacturer made a passel that they ’ll let him pass to the veridical audition , only if he sangListenbyBeyoncé . They tell thing like : It was n’t good , but naked as a jaybird , and that is what X - Factor is all about . You are like a baseball field that needs to be polished . You got that ' it . '
He did n’t desire to do that song , so they recite him that he will get disqualified if he did n’t do the song they want him to do . TL;DR : producers lie and try on to make you flunk . "
– u / peteo11
4.The panel of judges is, more than anything, just there for show.
" The role of the jury is belike the most fake of the show . Their roles are scripted , and their choice are the choices of a group of manufacturer / editors . That ’s where they have numerous group meeting about , and the stage panel is only involved in the final degree . "
5.If you’re trying to get famous from the show, you seriously need to be the real deal:
" I had a ally a while ago go and try out for one ( I recall it wasAmerica ’s Got Talent , not indisputable though ) , and he was a very , very unspoilt Isaac Merrit Singer .
Anyway , he went and audition , and went through some hooey , and they separate him that , while he was skilful , but they usually take people that are either dead fucking amazing , or absolutely terrible , and he did n’t fit into either of those categories . "
– atomic number 92 / Slut4Tea
6.The waiting is LONG. Like, days of no sleep, without a promise you’ll actually be seen:
" A long fourth dimension ago , when realism television receiver was still raw , i audition to be on the 2nd time of year ofAmerican Idolin New York City . After not kip for two twenty-four hours so that I could await in the crinkle , I was told that I had an prodigious voice , but that New York was already booked hearty , so I should travel to one of the smaller auditory modality and do it all over again , and that they ’d be unforced to film me for that .
I politely turned them down because I had a job and billhook and responsibilities , so I was never on the show . "
– uranium / perfectdenial
7.And waiting in the lines might be a complete waste altogether, because there are secret preliminary rounds that count much more than the “auditions”:
" I worked forAmerica ’s Got Talentin San Antonio , and one of the citizenry who mold full - time on the staff state me that those who just show up to audition have almost 0 chance of actually make it in front of the judges .
There is a preliminary unit of ammunition that is not film for TV , where G of people show up , and pretty much all the ones that make it through to the TV rounds are people that the show extend to out to themselves . It ’s mostly people they discover on YouTube . "
– u / wehaveatrex3
8.Simon Cowell’s opinion of you MATTERS. He pretty much holds your future in his hands:
" A friend of mine incur through to the bootcamp stage ofX Factorand did pretty well . He was talented , but for whatever grounds , Simon Cowell took a disapproval to him and this made things a million time more unmanageable for my protagonist . "
– u / isthatnormalpooing
9.In addition to contestants, they also choose “understudies” after the unrecorded screenings and auditions, just in case:
" Some people either ca n’t make it or get stage fright . The people on military reserve are like understudies — they get stage prepped ( told where and when to hit their marks , how to use the mics , and get a reasoned check ) , but they may not go on .
I was 4th modesty at the day of motion-picture photography . 3 multitude did n’t show for balk - in and stage prep that morning , so I did n’t go on . "
– u / PEACEMENDER
10.The producers reeeeeally want to see you cry — even if they have to cause that reaction themselves:
" Behind the scenes and between takes , there was a team who worked for the show whose specific job was to make people cry . Literally , they would go around and need horrible questions and put the great unwashed down to make good TV . Really not a business for nice the great unwashed . "
11.It literally takes months of auditioning until you actually start shooting — oh, and you better prepare more than one genre of songs:
" So I ’ve audition forTheVoicea few fourth dimension . It set out with aggregate auditions all over the US . Afterwards , the producers would either let everyone pass on or contain someone back . There , you would do a dissimilar song from a unlike music genre .
Next , you waitress a few weeks for the callback on their proprietary signal - up land site . At that recall , they wing you to LA for 2 days and you preform a full act for the executive producers . Then , they send you back home . look 2 more week , then when you get a call back , you ’re either confirmed for shooting , on reserve , or you get no call back . "
12.Once you’ve actually reached star-level, there’s not much regard for your friends back home:
" A acquaintance of ours was on one of those show , and once he got to a certain layer , they had him change his email , earphone routine , everything . He was absent from his normal circle , and we have n’t see a Scripture from him since , besides what we read about him or see on the interwebs . Kind of a bummer , really . We really like him . "
– uracil / SittingInAnAirport
13.Certain contestants are… luckier… than others. Like, their luck is put in writing.
" Some people get contracts that guarantee them they ’ll get through a certain stage .
My dad is a performing artist , and sources reach out to him guaranteeing him he ’ll progress to semitrailer - final if he does his professional carrying out onstage at the show .
Several of my dad ’s student have in reality performed at these shows to get some TV promotion for their professional acts . Their success is all concord upon before they even meet the ' jury . ' "
– uranium / everest26
14.Winners have to sign with a particular label or accept a certain deal, which might not bode well for them in the long run. So it might be best to shoot for 2nd or 3rd.
" My full cousin was actually a winner ofCanadian Idolwhen he was younger . regrettably , when you succeed , you have to sign with theCanadian Idolrecord label , and they really screwed him over . They took a ton of money from him and eventually run bankrupt and moderately much ruin his life history , while the 2nd- and third - place contestants go on to be quite famous .
It ’s too regretful , really . He ’s since go back to school day and has a smashing job , but he never really sings any longer . "
– u / littlesemi
15.Contestants who aren’t “good” might have a better chance at progressing.
" My friend was a decorous singer , estimable enough that she clear a living tattle . She applied and got wrench down fromX Factor . She did n’t even get through to see the judges you see on boob tube .
That means when the really bad people are on the show , they are selected because they are bad . For laugh . Feels jolly mean spirited to put people up on a stage to laugh at them . I have n’t watch anything like that since then . "
– uranium / mynameisblanked
16.If you haven’t gotten this already, there’s pretty much nothing real about the auditions — not even the location where it’s filmed — and the shows are no stranger to autotune:
" A friend who is a musician was a featured auditory sense on one of the show . They specifically contacted her federal agent to cast her . She was pay for her ' audition , ' and accommodate for travel / lodging .
The TV show said she try out in Miami , but she in reality was in LA with a background they change for different locating . Also , they ridiculously autotuned her voice , and it scarce sounded like my acquaintance ’s live show . She also had makeup and press , a rehearsal for an interview , and a filmed it three multiplication . There was nothing ' off the streets ' of that tryout . "
u / MusicalSnowflake
17.They aren’t afraid to prioritize sad stories:
" A friend of mine was onAmerican Idola few age back . He has an surprisingly soulful voice and I ’ve in person control him babble . Dude is straight - up good .
He made it through the first 2 rung , but had no back chronicle . Good parents , upbringing , job . All legit . They hold up with another , less - talented guy because he had lost his mum a year originally . "
– uracil / fixerofthings
18.Voting is pretty much a sham — even in countries where there are laws enforcing fair voting:
" By law ( at least in the UK , following some eminent - profile scandals ) nobody can fake or fake the ballot vomit . To get around that , they have multiple methods of trying to boost or deject certain act ' vote share each workweek . Many people are n’t ' vote for their favourite ' so much as being manipulated intonotvoting for sure dissenter . "
– u/360Saturn
19.Audience reactions aren’t actually real, as seamless as the edits look:
" When the audience is seated before auditions begin , they expend an hour or so filming audience reaction , asking them to cheer or boo . If it is n’t obvious enough , interview reaction onAGTare heavily emended and are n’t actually the true reactions to the act that ’s ' onstage ' during the episode . "
– uracil / Chernabogsays
20.Arguing is the key to good TV — and producers know that:
I auditioned for the very firstApprentice . I flee to Denver and take it very seriously . At 22 , I was already a book - worthy success story .
They interviewed us in mathematical group and did n’t care at all about our accomplishments ; we had enough to get to that table , and from there they just want us to bad - mouth each other . Every question was to get us to argue and bad - sassing each other . "
– u / TarmacFFS
21.And finally, they shoot scenes more than once — even the ones meant to look quick or hectic:
" I was on the Queen Mary in Long Beach once when they were filmingAmerican Idolauditions . I call up them snap a matter where , just after the judges see the someone audition , the person runs out of the elbow room to their family / friends that are waitress out of doors all worked up and screaming because they got put through to the next round . Must have filmed them running out of the audition room at least 10 times . "
– u / Chibichanusa
