COUNTRY MUSIC STANDS ON IT’S OWN

Should Country Music be included on shows like American Idol, The Voice and other reality singing competitions?  Notice, there are genres so big they have an audience all to themselves.  For instance, Gospel music is not recognized on these shows. Sure you can sing a Gospel song or two during the entire season but you cannot make Gospel your primary genre of music.  You’ll be booted off quickly if Gospel is your career choice of genre.   No one on a panel of judges ever says “you’re going to be a Gospel singer and that’s what you should stick to”.  If you want to sing Gospel, you have to find a singing competition applicable to that genre like,  “Sunday’s Best”.  So why is Country Music, which certainly has it’s own huge following, allowed to be included on The Voice or American Idol or any of the singing reality shows?

I for one, am not a fan of Country Music and have watched some really great singers lose the competition because there are several country singers competing who end up with most of the votes.  If  Country Music is going to be allowed as part of the competition, then allow and recognize Gospel music as well.  R&B, Rock, Heavy Metal, Rock & Roll, Pop and Contemporary Music are pretty much evenly balanced according to the audience popularity on these reality shows, so the votes even out.  I know a lot of people don’t like Country Music and some of the judges, like Simon Cowel, don’t mind showing their annoyance when CM songs are sung.  I’m not saying to ignore Country Music or to get rid of it, I’m saying to start a country reality show like American Idol Country Music or The Voice Country version.  That’s giving Country Music more recognition than ever, with a whole platform dedicated to CM lovers.  These are my thoughts, what is your opinion on this idea?  BTW:  please note, the Country Music Awards (CMA), is separate because it’s a separate entity/genre.  Please take a second to vote, below, whether or not you agree!

THE VOICE – My rating 9.5/10

The best reality singing competition on TV.  I can’t say enough about the set-up and comradery between the host and panel of judges.  Whether it’s Adam Levine, Blake Sheldon, Celo Green and Christina Aguilera, or Adam, Blake, Usher and Shakira, the chemistry is awesome.  There are 4 judges seated in luxury chairs that are facing opposite the stage.  In other words, the judges cannot see who’s singing, they can only hear the candidate’s voice.  That means color, appearance, shape, nor gender plays into the choosing of the singer.  It’s purely based on talented voices.  A judge can turn their chair if they want to choose the person singing, if not, their chair turns after the performance is over.  If more than 1 judge turns their chair for a singer, the singer gets to choose which  judge they want to have coach them.  Contestants are pitted against one another after each judge has picked 16 potential candidates.  Eventually the show goes live, allowing America to vote on their favorates.  Each contestant is coached by their judge and a mentor of the judge’s picking to help train them for the live rounds.  There are steals and lots of name calling and plotting between the judges, which makes for a delightful, fun show.  Check this one out, it’s better than XFactor or American Idol.  I’ve been watching since the show began and it always makes my day.  The Voice currently airs on NBC.