The Influence of Star Search Shows

When I started telling people I was researching karaoke, everyone said that I would find that the star search shows have had a huge influence on karaoke's popularity. But I didn't find that, or if there is an influence, it seems oblique, and in some cases (see Eva's interview) almost a backlash against.

(Excerpt from interview with Eva Pang)

Eva: Karaoke wasn’t always my thing, but it’s fun, and it’s sort of a supportive atmosphere, because the worse you sing, the more you get claps. (laughs)

Melaena: (laughs) good point. Yeah, I saw that last week because I really sucked last week, and everyone at your table was like “wooo!” Oh my god, you guys are awesome!

Eva: Yeah, it’s probably the only time you wouldn’t get booed off the stage. Which is great for people. Because, I mean, look at, like, TV shows like Canadian Idol, American Idol, and all that sort stuff. People are dying to be big superstars, and they just get trashed for how hard they work. And, you know, people who aren’t very good, they put them on TV so people can laugh at them.

Melaena: Those are harsh, harsh shows.

Eva: I know. It’s like, not everybody wants to sing because they want to be a superstar. Sometimes it’s fun to sing in the car, kind of thing. This way you can sing in public and instead of being booed off the stage, people are going to actually enjoy it.

(Excerpt from interview with Michelle Maga)

Melaena: What about the influence of the American star search shows, like American Idol?

Michelle: Um… I don’t watch them! I’m sure it’s there, it affects a lot of people. I think in a big way, with the karaoke contests. I think they’ve been around a little bit longer than the idol shows, but, uh, it… I think we’re seeing more of them, of the contests, because of them. They’ll name it, you know “Karoake Idol”, “Rosario’s Idol”, you know. Kind of play off to draw people in.

But I think the idol shows probably also give people a little more courage, to at least go to karaoke [unintelligible]. I think for the most part, though, people who go karaoke recognize that they’re just doing this for fun. They don’t expect to win any contests, they don’t expect to be discovered someday… I’m sure that’s a little fantasy in everybody’s mind—I mean it is in mine even though it’s not a big part of my life—but I think everybody who comes to karaoke really realizes that that’s not the case.