A talent show or talent contest is an event in which participants perform the arts of

singing Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, dancing, lip-syncing,

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase

skill A skill is the learned or innate ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. Some examples of gen ...

s. Many talent shows are performances rather than contests, but some are actual contests. In the instance of a contest, participants may be motivated to perform for a reward, trophy, or prize of some kind. For example, a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

might not have many students with any interest in performing in front of the student body for the sole purpose of performing alone and may offer different prizes as an incentive for these students to participate in the contest.

Media

Since the late 1940s, talent shows have become a notable genre of

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

. Ever since the original airing of ''Doorway to Fame'' in 1947, countless spin-offs have been produced. In order of oldest to newest, here they are: * ''

Doorway to Fame ''Doorway to Fame'' is an American talent show broadcast on the now defunct DuMont Television Network. The series ran from May 2, 1947 in television, 1947, to July 11, 1949 in television, 1949. Overview The series used early television scene-ble ...

'' (1947); * '' The Original Amateur Hour'' (1948); * '' Hollywood Screen Test'' (1948); * '' Opportunity Knocks'' (1949); * '' Chance of a Lifetime'' (1952); * ''

NHK Nodo Jiman , also known by its English title as ''NHK Amateur Singing Contest'', is a long-running TV program broadcast on NHK TV and NHK radio in Japan. History ''Nodo Jiman'' ("Proud of my voice") features amateur singers who live in the locality wher ...

'' (1953); * '' New Faces'' (1963); * '' Notun Kuri'' (1966); * '' The Gong Show'' (1976); * '' Star Search'' (1983); * '' Soundmixshow'' (1985); * '' Showtime at the Apollo'' (1987); * ''

Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...

'' (1999); * ''

Amici di Maria De Filippi ''Amici di Maria De Filippi'' known simply as ''Amici'' and known until 2003 as ''Saranno famosi'' is an Italian talent show. Created by Maria De Filippi, the show began in 2001 and has since aired annually. The show is produced by Fascino P.G.T ...

'' (2001); * '' ''Idol'''' (2001); * ''

Star Academy ''Star Academy'' is a Dutch-developed reality television talent show format that first aired in the Netherlands as '':nl:Starmaker (televisieprogramma), Star Maker''. Format There are many versions of the show, each country having its own sl ...

'' (2001); * ''

Last Comic Standing ''Last Comic Standing'' is an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, and again in 2014 and 2015. Each season a comedian from an initially large group of hopefuls was picked as ...

'' (2003); * ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' (2004); * ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' (2004); * '' So You Think You Can Dance'' (2005); * '' Dancing on Ice'' (2006); * '' Got Talent'' (2006); * '' How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?'' (2006); * '' Last Choir Standing'' (2008); * ''

The Sing-Off ''The Sing-Off'' is an American television singing competition featuring a cappella groups. It debuted on NBC on December 14, 2009, and was produced by Sony Pictures Television and Outlaw Productions, with Mark Burnett's One Three Media (for a t ...

'' (2009); * '' The Voice'' (2010); * '' The Glee Project'' (2011); * '' Q'Viva! The Chosen'' (2012); * '' El Numero Uno'' (2012); * '' Duets'' (2012); * '' Top Talent'' (2013); * '' Rising Star'' (2013); * ''Tri Akkorda'' (2014); * ''

Masked Singer ''Masked Singer'' is an international music reality game show franchise. It originated from the South Korean program '' The King of Mask Singer'', developed by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. Format The format features celebrities who perform ...

'' (2015); * '' Little Big Shots'' (2016); * '' Dance Se Puder'' (2016); * '' Dance Dance Dance'' (2017); * '' Let It Shine'' (2017); * '' World of Dance'' (2017); * '' The Four: Battle for Stardom'' (2018); * '' All Together Now'' (2018); * '' The World's Best'' (2019); * '' Asre Jadid'' (2019); * ''

Bring The Funny ''Bring the Funny'' is an American comedy competition series that aired on NBC from July 9 to September 17, 2019. Hosted by comedian Amanda Seales, the series features various comedy acts performing in front of an audience for a chance to win $ ...

'' (2019); * '' Your Moment'' (2019); * '' Go-Big Show'' (2021). All of these spin-offs have been critical in catapulting amateur artists to stardom and resulting in their commercially successful careers.

Non-competitive talent shows for troubled youths

Talent shows can be seen as a way to help boost the self-esteem, confidence, and assurance of youth. Some communities and companies see talent shows as a way to help prevent

juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...

among children, teens, and young adults. As a result, these communities create programs such as ''Girls Only!'' in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

to promote the growth of these otherwise trouble youth to better the community. Such programs are created with the hope to prevent youth from the possibilities of entering delinquency or lives of crime.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talent show Drama Singing competitions