the only culture shift I can think of since then, that did have an affect on the music charts, was the emergence of docusoaps and then "reality TV".
In the UK, a show called Popstars, in early 2001, in which a group would be formed from open auditions nationwide, the finalists being whittled down to the 5 members that would form the band HearSay. Their first single, Pure and Simple, wasn't exactly a blockbusting number - in fact, it was an inferior mashup of 2 songs released just 3 years earlier - All Saints' Never Ever and Oasis' All Around The World. However, it walked to number one because the show was so popular and the public so invested in this group, who soon petered out, although 2 members of the group - Kim Marsh and Myleene Klass - have reinvented themselves as presenters and continue to work on our screens over 20 years later.
There had been a couple of earlier examples, such as S Club 7 having their own show on children's TV at the time of their first releases, to market their songs to their target audience. There was also a show in the USA, I think called The Band, that showed a boyband being formed and rehearsing and recording - I remember how the song goes better than I can remember the names, but I think the group A-Town or O-Town, something like that, and the song was called Liquid Dreams, which was a hit.
But these were to be short-lived successes, whereas the idea for the reality show - it reminds me of the bit in Batman Begins when he says "as a man, I can be taken down, but as a symbol....."
Likewise, from a management/company perspective, an artist or group can implode or fizzle out, especially a novelty act in this industry. But with a reality show, we can introduce new artists and groups under our branding every year, each act just replacing the last one.
It underwent a few name changes but ultimately settled under the umbrella of The X Factor & Britian's Got Talent for many years......
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daveyh (641)
a year ago
as for the impact it had on the music industry - well, I can only speak for the UK, but just over 18 months after the first Popstars experiment came Popstars - The Rivals, in which people would audition to be part of one of two groups, a girlband and a boyband - both would realise a single in December 2002, the winner being the one to achieve the Christmas number one.
Not the highest placed single, no, the Christmas number one. They anticipated that, regardless of the appeal of the group or the quality of the song, the power of the show and its affect on the public would see them top the charts even at such a competitive time. And they were proved right, as the winners did take top spot while the other group were number 2.
Since then, X Factor winners have topped the Christmas chart for I don't even want to think about how many years - barring one in which, thanks to an online campaign, a fed up alternative public bought or downloaded enough to help Rage Against The Machine achieve the festive feat. Even then, the X Factor winner merely took over at the top a week later.
The winners of Popstars The Rivals were Girls Aloud, and again, some of their members remain very active in the entertainment industry today.
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