Do we really need another star search?

MANILA, Philippines - The Voice of the Philippines premieres today, adding to the long list of talent contests Philippine showbiz has adapted. Like all the others, it will bring to stage a new set of previously unknown hopefuls, a new set of characters to follow, and hopefully one or a few successful singing careers.

But let’s face it. Being on a reality star search is like being popular in high school. You stand out and look like you have a fighting chance because there’s just a room full of people to compare you with. And just like you, they’re industry juveniles.

Another thing we know by now is that it pays to fit the bill of what inspires rabid audience voting. On American Idol (the last season of which no one seemed to be talking about anymore), we had a string of cute white guys with guitars. In the Philippines, it’s the vocal belters. The higher and the louder the better, never mind the trembling strain on your vocal chords on that last note of Noypi, the pain of which we could feel from our living rooms.

It’s good to be that guy while your season lasts. But then you win and realize your fans, who supposedly thought you were special, previously voted for people just like you. So now you’re a belter in a sea of belters, and no one wants to be bothered with having to tell the difference. Just because they loved you as a contestant, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will even consider you a star.

Forgotten winners

It’s not hard to understand why today’s fast-paced life breeds shortcuts to fame and stardom. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing. An opportunity is an opportunity, and there are people who manage to make good on their exposure and find avenues to grow further from there. But for the most part it spews unripe and hapless amateurs into the cruel, cut-throat world of showbiz, which is also very prone to amnesia. As @superstarmarian put it in two of her tweets:

“Mas ok tlga talent shows sa amin. Samin nanalo ang raining music superstars of 2day jonalyn viray, frencheska farr, gretchen espina, etc.”

“Namamayagpag din ang karirs ng mga winners sa 2 seasons ng Protege. Teka I-googel ko lng kng cno sila. Wait.”

Success is made even more improbable now because star searches are no longer novel. There was a time when the concept was fresh and out of the box — a much bigger deal to audiences, directing ample and undivided attention toward the contestants. But today, TV is saturated with so many different franchises and formats of the same thing — not to mention their respective seasons — that we don’t even get to keep track of who wins what anymore.

My biggest beef with star searches, however, is that they propagate the idea that all you really need is a big break. The concept of being big enough to make good on that break comes as an afterthought, as judges make heavily buttered-up comments on meh performances and liberally declare on far too many occasions that a star has been born.

The slow burn

I miss the way artists diligently bothered to explore and come into their own, even while in obscurity. Like rock stars starting out as a raw, sintonado college band whose sound somehow improved exponentially over time. And when they did get into showbiz, opening themselves up to mass commoditization, they still knew who they were and what they stood for. The Eraserheads even had the audacity to mock their instructions to lip sync on live TV, slowing down the movements of their lips and exchanging instruments on stage. While rebellion isn’t always a necessary risk, I think real stars hold on to their fire.

It’s easy to tell when someone is just a dictated-upon industry package or an actual force to be reckoned with, even behind the scenes. These days it’s rare to have someone walk in with enough grounding, substance and edge to stand a chance in a world obsessed with pre-packaging and pre-fabrication. Far too many of them come eager to please. They come wanting instead of knowing exactly what they want to give.

Paying one’s dues

It’s no longer a very attractive idea to pay one’s dues in an age where the immediate goal is a recording contract. But that’s what brews people into the stellar characters who can effortlessly fill big shoes — playing Angelu de Leon’s cousin, Antonette Taus’ friend, and Kim de los Santos’ sister, which is how Anne Curtis’ acting career started out. And now she can scream into our eardrums to her heart’s content and not have to apologize for it.

There are many things that only the slow burn can teach you. Things you don’t learn simply by auditioning, peddling for public votes, and getting them. I guess we all dream of hitting it big in one way or another, but it should be said that big dreams aren’t dreamy up close. They come with a whole new world of problems. And if you haven’t grown into the kind of person who can take them on, it will simply blow up in your face. In the case of showbiz, even professionals themselves don’t exactly know what makes a star. As Direk Joey Reyes blogged, it’s a “strange brew.” It isn’t always superb talent. Sometimes it’s face, sometimes it’s having the right backers, sometimes it’s a cosmic joke.

Star searches will give you this whole speech about getting you there, but they won’t necessarily cook you for it. Actually, that probably isn’t even the priority as these shows, just like all the others, exist primarily for themselves and their own ratings. It just so happens that finding talent among average people is currently the trend that attracts audiences, and consequentially, advertisers, so that’s what they do. No one’s really invested in your career unless it continues to produce worthy returns. Then as of now you’re on your own, and the world just wants you to be useful. So despite the illusion that showbiz is now a lot more accessible, attaining actual stardom is still the same elusive bitch.

* * *

Tweet the author @catedeleon