I believe that TV is, for the most part, just a showcase for images. This is proven by the musical standard, which is very low. Imagine that the songs from 30/40 years ago by Battisti, Mina, Celentano, etc., are known all over the world. My girlfriend, who comes from the former Soviet Union, often tells me that our old songs there are still listened to a lot today; they even hold festivals for them. But who knows Valerio Scanu there? Heaven forbid, these are just my personal opinions... However, it seems to me that today, it is not so much quality as the image of a group or a single artist that gets through. Inevitably, you cannot belong to the music world for long if you do not leave your mark in the musical field; I believe this is true by definition; this is why those who come out of these talent shows are forgotten after a few years. In my opinion, it all comes down to the market. Today people like talent shows, even if I don't understand why. From the first "Amici" by Maria De Filippi, there has been a succession of programs reinvented and copied from abroad that, all in all, however, always have the same basic idea: conducting a selection to bring someone out, not so much for their skills as for the way they turn out photogenic and "break the lens."
I have had the chance to listen to performances of kids at Karaoke in pubs, with 10ā¬ microphones, that were clearly superior to these on XFactor or Amici (which, for their part, are also helped by very respectable audio equipment).
A small example, a friend of mine, Claudio Sacco...
Now, professional singers might find 1000 flaws in the setup, but at least I recognize a musical sense and he is very, very in tune (I would also like to point out that the microphone is practically totally dry, so no help with reverb, delay, autotune, etc.). On Amici, I have heard many, many out-of-tune kids. I wonder if they haven't managed to find people who are at least in tune from the entire Italian population to assign to a program where singing is the key idea. In a television program where singers compete, one expects them to be at least in tune (an essential requirement to present oneself as a singer).
Therefore, in my opinion, Bollani doesn't have one reason, but a hundred. Besides, one must also put oneself in the shoes of those living the dream of being able to become a great singer through television, which anyway gives a good push upwards and then, in the end, inevitably, it is the market that decides if you stay afloat or sink.
A phrase from a friend of mine, Valentina Lo Surdo, comes to mind, who once, in one of her musical reviews, said: "In a family where there is a musician child, all the moms and dads believe they have Mozart in the house." Everyone, then, driven also by the fact of having made it onto television, believes they can be the next Frank Sinatra, and that's perfectly fine because you don't get anywhere with pessimism, but the reality is obviously quite different!
