Reality TV and documentaries have been part of the entertainment industry for a long time, and some of my favorites are those that have to do with music. Both Netflix and Disney Plus have put out tour documentaries for some of the biggest artists on the scene, for example, Ariana Grande’s excuse me, i love you, Beyoncé’s Homecoming, and most recently, Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour: The End of an Era. Growing up, some of my favorite bands came out of reality singing competitions. For example, The X Factor UK was the stepping stone for bands like One Direction and Little Mix, and The X Factor USA was where Fifth Harmony was born. However, there was a time when I stopped paying attention to these types of shows. Maybe it was because they didn’t know how to market themselves, the competitors wanted instant success and disappeared from the music scene when they didn’t get it, or maybe the fact that the quality of the artists’ music didn’t feel authentic. For whatever reason, I stopped paying attention, but, during this last year, there has been a renaissance in musical reality TV and documentaries that has made me tune in again.
The return of these types of reality shows is showing a revival in the way the music industry used to work in the early 2010’s. Two of the shows in this genre I’ve watched recently were Building the Band and Pop Star Academy: Katseye. Even though they all fall under the umbrella of reality TV, each of these shows has its own formula and is different from the likes of shows like The X Factor. In Building the Band, the set-up was that everyone who went into the experience knew that they were going to be forming a group if they wanted to get through to the next round. This is different from the successful groups that came out of X Factor, which all auditioned as solo acts and were then put together by the judges. In Pop Star Academy, the contestants also knew that the end goal of the training program was to create a global girl group utilizing the K-Pop training method. Already, we have a different foundation for the groups: in one category, we have the ones who wanted a solo career from the start, and in the other, we have the ones who entered these experiences with the goal of joining a group.
Their music and overall style of the bands also took very different approaches. While the groups who came out of X Factor went down the more traditional pop music route, shows like Building the Band showed different styles for each band. Groups like Soulidified and SZN4 focused more on showcasing their vocal abilities and toying the line between pop and R&B, while 3Quency focused on harmonies and choreography. Midnight Till Morning, the other group to make the top four in Building the Band, is the one that had the most X Factor-like journey. Even the late Liam Payne, former member of One Direction and judge on the show, said that the boys reminded him of himself and the other One Direction members while they were competing on the singing competition. Katseye’s origins in Pop Star Academy took a complete shift from the previous bands. Katseye’s training was a lot more rigorous since it was based on the K-pop training method which focuses on highlighting not only vocal talent but also dance skills and star power. Pop Star Academy’s official genre was a survival show, where contestants would get eliminated after each round before the final show, where the six members of the group would be chosen.
Getting your start on a reality show can be a brutal process. Everything you do is filmed, and things can get taken out of context, putting the contestants in awkward situations. Current members of Katseye have spoken out about their time on the show, stating how a lot of the situations in the documentary were exaggerated or misrepresented. The invasion of privacy can be hard on a lot of people, and it’s not for everyone to handle. The plus side of getting your debut in one of these shows is the exposure. When One Direction debuted with their first single, they already had a built-in fan-base because of their time on X Factor, which contributed to their success. The same thing happened with Katseye. Each of the girls that debuted already had their own set of fans following them from their trainee days that integrated themselves into the group’s fan base once they debuted. Of course, being in a reality competition isn’t the only way to get exposure. Bands like 5 Seconds of Summer and Flo are two groups that didn’t get their start on any kind of singing competition, proving that it is possible to have a successful career outside of this formula.
Watching Building the Band and Pop Star Academy made me realize just how much I missed these types of shows. Reality TV isn’t perfect by any means, but it’s a great way to expose listeners to new talents. Each of the top four bands from Building the Band have released singles and have gained a lot of attention from fans of the show. Even though only one won, all of them have kick-started their careers. The girls who didn’t make it into Katseye have also made their mark on the industry; releasing solo music, being part of other girl groups, and pursuing the other talents they showcased on the documentary. Even though there’s a lot that can be improved in this genre, starting with the way the artists are treated, one thing reality TV does well is showing us who these people are and preparing them for their musical debut by helping them create a connection with the public.