On the spot with 'X Factor'

FALLING SOMEWHERE between Thailand’s “Academy Fantasia” and “The Voice” in terms of format, “The X-Factor” tops the popularity list when it comes to the British viewing public’s love of reality TV shows. Now in its 11th series, impresario Simon Cowell’s talent contest recently saw Londoner Ben Haenow crowned the winner, garnering 10 million votes from small-screen viewers countrywide.

Although invited by the organisers to view the final sing-offs on December 13 and 14, events conspired to drastically reduce my planned two-day stay in London. A flight disruption caused by a computer failure at the UK’s air traffic control centre meant my flight was diverted to Copenhagen and only after a 24-hour-plus stay at the Danish capital’s airport did I manage to fly to London just in time to catch Haenow going head-to-head with Fleur East in the 2014 final live at Wembley Arena. 

Haenow, 29, sang Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”, while East, 26, repeated her success with her cover of Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk”. Both contestants were requested to sing the same winner’s song, a cover version of One Republic’s “Something I Need”. 

Haenow's version received the loudest applause and his popularity was confirmed by the dazzling pinpoints of light emanating from audience members’ smartphones. The lighting effect app, which the audience is asked to download and synchronise to their cells before entering the arena, is just one of the many apps offering fans the opportunity to interact with the show in real time, and adds a crowd-generated light show designed to ramp up the excitement.

East’s performance was amazing too with the young woman singing her own version of the number with perfect pitch and plenty of emotion.

In fact, I was so impressed with her performance that for a while I was convinced she would win.

But great vocals are not sufficient to get to the top in the cutthroat entertainment business. You also need the qualities – or, in this case, the social background – to turn you into an instant star. There are rumours that the result is decided as early as the first auditions, though this has never been proved

Haenow, a former van driver from Croydon, probably deserved it. His single of “Something I Need” was released within days of winning the contest and shot to the number one spot in the UK charts just in time for Christmas. Later this month he will begin work on his debut album with Syco Music, the production company and record label owned by Cowell, who also serves as one of the show’s judges along with Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Cole, Louis Walsh and former Spice Girl Mel B.

Here in Thailand, cable service provider TrueVisions partnered with CBS RTL Entertainment, which sponsored the trip, to broadcast the programme live on the same day as in the UK. In fact, the entire series was broadcast live across Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand from last August though audience figures are not available. 

While Thais are nowhere near as obsessed with reality TV as the British, our own reality singing shows, “Academy Fantasia”, “The Star” and “The Voice”, all enjoy a substantial fan base. And it’s not just talent on which the votes are based. “The Voice Thailand” judge Jennifer Kim recently opined that Thais tended to vote for the contestant for which they had the most sympathy.

Also, while the “X Factor UK” winners have had mixed success over the show's 11 years, almost all the finalists of our talent shows have found themselves with a steady stream of work. Alumni of “Academy Fantasia”, also in its 11th year, are in constant demand for concerts, musicals and TV soaps, as are the winners and runners-up of “The Star” and “The Voice Thailand”.

Some have even become household names. Sukrit “Bie” Wisetkaew, first runner-up on “The Star” in 2006 has appeared in several of Scenario’s musicals and acted in TV dramas and was voted as one of “The Most Influential People in Thailand” in a poll by the Thai Positioning magazine and Siamrath in 2008. He is currently in the US working on an English version of the musical “Behind the Painting”, which Scenario is hoping to stage off-Broadway. 

“Academy Fantasia” alumni Pongsak “Aof” Rattanaphong, Patcha Anek-ayuwat and Thanakrit “Wan” Panichwid are today stars in their own right and regulars both at concerts and music festivals and in TV dramas. 

Will young Ben Haenow enjoy similar success? Perhaps not. But as I listened to “Something I Need” being played repeatedly on the radio as I travelled back to the airport, I was reminded that reality TV, particularly the series that seek talent, are here to stay and will continue to draw tens of thousands of hopefuls to auditions every year in the hope of enjoying more than just 15 minutes of fame.

 

On the Web:www.itv.com/xfactor