Fans vs. Judges

Most of the competition type shows choose winners by either having judges make that decision, or by having viewers vote. A few shows have done a combination of the two. Personally, I prefer leaving the decision to the judges. The only time I feel that having the viewers decide is when the goal is to find what pleases the public. My best example for that was "On the Lot". Here, contestants showed their ability to create movies. It made some sense for the audience to make that choice, because they are also the consumer.

Let me contrast a couple of similar shows. The CW's "America's Next Top Model" is decided by judges. Bravo's "Make Me a Supermodel" was decided by voters. In both competitions, the prize is a modeling contract. On ANTM a group of female hopefuls go through some training as well as competing in challenges. Each week, the judges eliminate one of the girls till it gets to the final two, then they choose a winner.

On "Make Me a Supermodel", males and females compete against each other. There are judges who decide which three will be put up for a vote by the public. The focus here is more on the performances of the models which are critiqued by the judges. I don't recall there being much in the way of training provided.

Modeling is a profession where the client is not the person buying the merchandise, but the person selling it. A model is hired by a company that wants to sell a product so the person they best feel can sell the item is the one hired. Who viewers like does not translate into a model actually having what clients will want. One week on "Make Me a Supermodel", the judges even expressed the sentiment that the wrong person was sent home.

Two other shows that are comparable are CMT's "Can You Duet" and NBC's "Nashville Star". In both, there are male and female contestants. In CYD, all the contestants are duos, though some teams were put together after the auditions. Each team is coached by each of the judges. This season it was a vocal coach, a songwriter and a member of a very successful duo. The judges used their expertise to help polish the duos. In the end, it was the judges who chose who would stay and go each week and who selected the winners.

"Nashville Star" most of the contestants are individuals, but they did have some groups. Each of the judges this season take a group of competitors to mentor. One took females, one took males and one handles groups. They comment on the performances, but it is left to the viewers to vote. The singer/group with the least votes goes home.

Since the music business is audience oriented, I suppose there is some validity in having the winners chosen by the public. However, I often feel that it may not result in the most talented and marketable performers to win. It often ends up just being a popularity contest and may be swayed by a lot of things, including personal stories, looks rather than skill, or having a fan base that knows how to work the phone and computer methods of voting.

The good news in all these shows is that those who don't win can still go on to be successful. Exposure is good and so is the experience of working in a professional environment. Even though I don't like the voting shows as much, I do find myself voting. My favorite in "Nashville Star" is Gabe Garcia.

One thing I like that is a sort of compromise is having viewers of the judge-decided shows have the chance to vote on their favorites for different things. For example, on "Can You Duet", viewers were asked to tell which duo they felt had the best connection. There are ways to involve the viewer without resorting to the contest being decided by people who may not really understand the needs of the career being sought.