MSN.Ca News: Top 10 credible reality TV singers
Given the parade of untalented wannabes who try out for "American Idol," "The X Factor" and the plethora of reality TV contests every season (their auditions providing these series' most alternately awkward and hilarious moments), it's not surprising that many music fans believe that nothing good can come from TV talent shows.
But not every singer who uses the boob tube to achieve instant fame is untalented, are they? In MSN Canada's interview with pop-rockers These Kids Wear Crowns, the most criticism the BC-bred band got from the judges of MuchMusic talent competition, "disBAND," is that in their plaid shirts they didn't "look" like a band - the music, however, was more than A-OK.
In that vein, here's a look at the ten most credible contestants to warble their way onto a TV talent show stage.
10. Guy Sebastian (Australian Idol)
The "Idol" format has been franchised into 42 territories internationally, from Vietnam to Armenia. The first winner of "Australian Idol" in 2003 was Guy Sebastian. Born in Malaysia of Sri Lankan heritage, Sebastian is the best-selling "Australian Idol" alumnus, and has gone one to work with several prominent American artists, including John Mayer, who played guitar on three tracks from his 2009 album "Like It Like That," and co-writing songs with Robin Thicke and Brian McKnight for his second album, 2004's "Beautiful Life." Sebastian recently appeared as a judge on the Aussie version of "The X Factor."
9. Susan Boyle (Britain's Got Talent)
If 47,508,506 views on YouTube and Simon Cowell himself cracking a smile mean anything, it means Susan Boyle has talent. The rather plain-looking Scot was 47-years-old when she stunned the audience and judges of "Britain's Got Talent" with a note-perfect rendition of the "Les Misérables" song "I Dreamed a Dream." That appearance led her to the competition's finals (she lost to a street dance group called Diversity), a major label record deal and a debut album, 2009's "I Dreamed a Dream," which has sold over nine million copies worldwide. Her second album, "The Gift," is scheduled for release this November.
8. George Canyon (Nashville Star)
Essentially a country version of "American Idol," "Nashville Star" ran for five seasons on Country Music Television here in Canada before debuting for one final season on E! Television. Nova Scotian George Canyon was Season 2's runner-up behind Brad Cotter. A professional musician for several years, Canyon had put out two albums before appearing on the show in 2004 and has put out four since. The most recent, 2008's "What I Do," features "Second Chance," a song co-written with Nickelback's Chad Kroeger. That album's lead single, "Just Like You," went Top 5 on Canada's country singles chart.
7. Carrie Underwood (American Idol)
Fourth season "American Idol" winner, the sweetheart Carrie Underwood has enjoyed one of the most successful post-"Idol" careers of any of that show's contestants. Her three studio albums - 2005's "Some Hearts," 2007's "Carnival Ride" and 2009's "Play On" - have all been certified platinum in America. She's also won numerous industry awards, including five American Music Awards, five Grammies, and a whopping ten Academy of Country Music Awards. Underwood has also recently ventured into acting, appearing on the hit TV show "How I Met Your Mother" and in the upcoming family film "Soul Surfer."
6. JLS (The X-Factor)
British pop star Taio Cruz has called them "all very, very talented in their own right," and anyone who has seen them harmonize must admit that the members of British boy band JLS can sing. Taking the harmonies and dance moves from Motown groups like The Miracles into the 21st century, JLS (short for Jack the Lad Swing) were runners-up on the fifth series of British talent show "The X Factor." Member Marvin Humes revealed to this writer that the experience of gaining exposure through television has "been nothing but positive for us. We're very, very lucky, but we worked hard and we wouldn't change anything for the world right now."
5. Carly Smithson (American Idol)
It took awhile for this sixth-place, seventh season "American Idol" contestant to really find her voice. Under her given name, Carly Hennessy released the album "Ultimate High" on MCA Records in 2001 to critical acclaim but dismal sales. Having taken her husband's surname, she re-emerged on "American Idol" in 2007, making it to the Top 6 before being eliminated. Smithson, who admitted in a recent interview that she "needed that extra little bit of time to develop myself," would make a splash this year as singer with the hard rock band We Are the Fallen, put together by Evanescence co-founder Ben Moody.
4. Jacob Hoggard (Canadian Idol) (F. YEAH!)
He may have placed third on the second season of "Canadian Idol," but Jacob Hoggard's band Hedley has sold the most records of any other CI contestant (380,000 copies of their three records and counting). The BC-bred singer (who also plays guitar and piano) has quite the reputation as a prankster and is a MuchMusic staple thanks to his outsized personality. Hoggard is also featured prominently on the Young Artists for Haiti version of K'Naan's "Waving Flag" and made fun of the whole reality TV show experience on Hedley's hit single "Cha Ching."
3. Jennifer Hudson (American Idol)
While "American Idol" continues to be the scapegoat for cultural critics who call it the nadir of entertainment, there's little denying its ability to produce singers people like. Jennifer Hudson only made the top seven on the show's third season (Fantasia Barrino would go on to win), but there's no other idol who has won an Academy Award. Her performance as Effie in the film version of the musical "Dreamgirls" (a role for which Barrino also auditioned) won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, with her version of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" being particularly singled out for praise.
2. Leona Lewis (The X-Factor)
The accolades piled on "The X Factor" winner Leona Lewis since her run on that show back in 2006 pretty much negate any doubts as to her artistic abilities. She has earned three Grammy nominations, "Billboard Magazine" named her Top New Artist in 2008, and her debut album "Spirit" (2007) topped that mag's album chart, making Lewis the first British solo female to do so. Oh, and "Spirit" has sold some 6.5 million copies worldwide. Of course Lewis's seemingly overnight success was years in the making as she began writing songs at age 12 and studied at Britain's oldest theatre arts school, the Italia Conti Academy.
1. Kelly Clarkson (American Idol)
Is there any denying the talent of the first and most successful "American Idol"? Besides the 23 million albums sold, Kelly Clarkson, like every other so-called credible artist, has had huge successes (2004's "Breakaway" sold six million copies) and artistic conflicts (label boss Clive Davis is rumoured to have not wanted to release 2007's more personal "My December" album). But Clarkson herself believes "American Idol" is a great showcase for new talent, telling this writer back in 2003: "There is a singer out there right now... that can sing and perform ten times better than I can, but the problem is that there's nowhere for them to be found. I think what's cool about the show is that we actually get to find people like that."
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But not every singer who uses the boob tube to achieve instant fame is untalented, are they? In MSN Canada's interview with pop-rockers These Kids Wear Crowns, the most criticism the BC-bred band got from the judges of MuchMusic talent competition, "disBAND," is that in their plaid shirts they didn't "look" like a band - the music, however, was more than A-OK.
In that vein, here's a look at the ten most credible contestants to warble their way onto a TV talent show stage.
10. Guy Sebastian (Australian Idol)
The "Idol" format has been franchised into 42 territories internationally, from Vietnam to Armenia. The first winner of "Australian Idol" in 2003 was Guy Sebastian. Born in Malaysia of Sri Lankan heritage, Sebastian is the best-selling "Australian Idol" alumnus, and has gone one to work with several prominent American artists, including John Mayer, who played guitar on three tracks from his 2009 album "Like It Like That," and co-writing songs with Robin Thicke and Brian McKnight for his second album, 2004's "Beautiful Life." Sebastian recently appeared as a judge on the Aussie version of "The X Factor."
9. Susan Boyle (Britain's Got Talent)
If 47,508,506 views on YouTube and Simon Cowell himself cracking a smile mean anything, it means Susan Boyle has talent. The rather plain-looking Scot was 47-years-old when she stunned the audience and judges of "Britain's Got Talent" with a note-perfect rendition of the "Les Misérables" song "I Dreamed a Dream." That appearance led her to the competition's finals (she lost to a street dance group called Diversity), a major label record deal and a debut album, 2009's "I Dreamed a Dream," which has sold over nine million copies worldwide. Her second album, "The Gift," is scheduled for release this November.
8. George Canyon (Nashville Star)
Essentially a country version of "American Idol," "Nashville Star" ran for five seasons on Country Music Television here in Canada before debuting for one final season on E! Television. Nova Scotian George Canyon was Season 2's runner-up behind Brad Cotter. A professional musician for several years, Canyon had put out two albums before appearing on the show in 2004 and has put out four since. The most recent, 2008's "What I Do," features "Second Chance," a song co-written with Nickelback's Chad Kroeger. That album's lead single, "Just Like You," went Top 5 on Canada's country singles chart.
7. Carrie Underwood (American Idol)
Fourth season "American Idol" winner, the sweetheart Carrie Underwood has enjoyed one of the most successful post-"Idol" careers of any of that show's contestants. Her three studio albums - 2005's "Some Hearts," 2007's "Carnival Ride" and 2009's "Play On" - have all been certified platinum in America. She's also won numerous industry awards, including five American Music Awards, five Grammies, and a whopping ten Academy of Country Music Awards. Underwood has also recently ventured into acting, appearing on the hit TV show "How I Met Your Mother" and in the upcoming family film "Soul Surfer."
6. JLS (The X-Factor)
British pop star Taio Cruz has called them "all very, very talented in their own right," and anyone who has seen them harmonize must admit that the members of British boy band JLS can sing. Taking the harmonies and dance moves from Motown groups like The Miracles into the 21st century, JLS (short for Jack the Lad Swing) were runners-up on the fifth series of British talent show "The X Factor." Member Marvin Humes revealed to this writer that the experience of gaining exposure through television has "been nothing but positive for us. We're very, very lucky, but we worked hard and we wouldn't change anything for the world right now."
5. Carly Smithson (American Idol)
It took awhile for this sixth-place, seventh season "American Idol" contestant to really find her voice. Under her given name, Carly Hennessy released the album "Ultimate High" on MCA Records in 2001 to critical acclaim but dismal sales. Having taken her husband's surname, she re-emerged on "American Idol" in 2007, making it to the Top 6 before being eliminated. Smithson, who admitted in a recent interview that she "needed that extra little bit of time to develop myself," would make a splash this year as singer with the hard rock band We Are the Fallen, put together by Evanescence co-founder Ben Moody.
4. Jacob Hoggard (Canadian Idol) (F. YEAH!)
He may have placed third on the second season of "Canadian Idol," but Jacob Hoggard's band Hedley has sold the most records of any other CI contestant (380,000 copies of their three records and counting). The BC-bred singer (who also plays guitar and piano) has quite the reputation as a prankster and is a MuchMusic staple thanks to his outsized personality. Hoggard is also featured prominently on the Young Artists for Haiti version of K'Naan's "Waving Flag" and made fun of the whole reality TV show experience on Hedley's hit single "Cha Ching."
3. Jennifer Hudson (American Idol)
While "American Idol" continues to be the scapegoat for cultural critics who call it the nadir of entertainment, there's little denying its ability to produce singers people like. Jennifer Hudson only made the top seven on the show's third season (Fantasia Barrino would go on to win), but there's no other idol who has won an Academy Award. Her performance as Effie in the film version of the musical "Dreamgirls" (a role for which Barrino also auditioned) won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, with her version of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" being particularly singled out for praise.
2. Leona Lewis (The X-Factor)
The accolades piled on "The X Factor" winner Leona Lewis since her run on that show back in 2006 pretty much negate any doubts as to her artistic abilities. She has earned three Grammy nominations, "Billboard Magazine" named her Top New Artist in 2008, and her debut album "Spirit" (2007) topped that mag's album chart, making Lewis the first British solo female to do so. Oh, and "Spirit" has sold some 6.5 million copies worldwide. Of course Lewis's seemingly overnight success was years in the making as she began writing songs at age 12 and studied at Britain's oldest theatre arts school, the Italia Conti Academy.
1. Kelly Clarkson (American Idol)
Is there any denying the talent of the first and most successful "American Idol"? Besides the 23 million albums sold, Kelly Clarkson, like every other so-called credible artist, has had huge successes (2004's "Breakaway" sold six million copies) and artistic conflicts (label boss Clive Davis is rumoured to have not wanted to release 2007's more personal "My December" album). But Clarkson herself believes "American Idol" is a great showcase for new talent, telling this writer back in 2003: "There is a singer out there right now... that can sing and perform ten times better than I can, but the problem is that there's nowhere for them to be found. I think what's cool about the show is that we actually get to find people like that."
Maple-syrup flavored source