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

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or with ...

dancing Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its reperto ...

lip-syncing Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase

skill A skill is the learned 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. For example, in the domain of w ...

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 describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

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 unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

, such as ''

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, to July 11, 1949. Overview The series used early television scene-blending technology to project the perfor ...

'' (1947), ''

The Original Amateur Hour ''The Original Amateur Hour'' is an American radio and television program. The show was a continuation of ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' which had been a radio staple from 1934 to 1945. Major Edward Bowes, the originator of the program and its mas ...

'' (1948), ''

Hollywood Screen Test ''Hollywood Screen Test'' is an American talent show that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1948 to 1953. This program holds the distinction as the first regularly broadcast television series by the American Broadcasting Company. ...

'' (1948), '' Opportunity Knocks'' (1949), '' Chance of a Lifetime'' (1952), ''

NHK Nodo Jiman 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 where the competition is held. The first competition was held on the radio ...

'' (1953), ''

New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: 197 ...

'' (1963), ''

Notun Kuri ''Notun Kuri'' ( bn, নতুন কুঁড়ি, lit=New Bud) is a Bangladeshi reality television competition series for child artistes created by Mustafa Monwar. The show debuted in 1966 which ran on Pakistan Television from 1966 to 1971. Af ...

'' (1966), ''

The Gong Show ''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to ...

'' (1976), ''

Star Search ''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...

'' (1983), ''

Soundmixshow ''Soundmixshow'' is a Dutch talent show which was a live-vocals version of the '' Playback Show''. It aired from 17 November 1985 to 27 April 2002 and was hosted by Henny Huisman. The format has since been sold to other countries,Showtime at the Apollo ''Showtime at the Apollo'' (formerly ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' and ''Apollo Live'') is an American variety show that first aired in syndication from September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008. In 2018, the series returned on Fox with Steve Harvey ...

'' (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'' (initially called ''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. s.r.l. (owned by Maria De Filippi) and is broad ...

'' (2001), '' ''Idol'''' (2001), ''

Star Academy ''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements. Format There are many versions of t ...

'' (2001), ''

Last Comic Standing ''Last Comic Standing'' was an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, then again in 2014 and 2015. The goal of the program was to select a comedian from an initially large group ...

'' (2003), '' Dancing with the Stars'' (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'' (2001–2003 ...

'' (2004), ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and ha ...

'' (2005), '' Dancing on Ice'' (2006), ''

Got Talent ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's SYCOtv company. It has spawned spin-offs in over 69 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Fremantle ...

'' (2006), '' How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?'' (2006), ''

Last Choir Standing ''Last Choir Standing'' is a 2008 talent show-themed television series produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom. Broadcast on BBC One in July and August 2008, the series saw amateur choirs competing each week to be the 'last choir standing'. The ...

'' (2008), ''

The Sing-Off ''The Sing-Off'' was 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 ...

'' (2009), ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'' (2010), ''

The Glee Project ''The Glee Project'' is an American reality television series from Oxygen. It served as an audition for the Fox musical comedy series '' Glee'', and the prize for the winner was a minimum seven-episode arc in the following season of the show. ...

'' (2011), ''

Q'Viva! The Chosen ''¡Q'Viva! The Chosen'' is an American reality television series. It premiered on January 28, 2012 in the United States in its Spanish-language version on Univision with a one-hour premiere and the first season concluded on April 28, 2012. It m ...

'' (2012), '' El Numero Uno'' (2012), ''

Duets A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers. Duets or The Duets may also refer to: Films and television * ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis * "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episo ...

'' (2012), '' Top Talent'' (2013), '' Rising Star'' (2013), ''

Tri Akkorda (Russian talent show) * Tri- is a numerical prefix meaning three. Tri or TRI may also refer to: Places * Tri-Cities Regional Airport, Tennessee, US, IATA code TRI * Triangulum constellation, astronomical abbreviation Tri People *Tri, Former nickname for wrestler Trip ...

'' (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 the celebrities who per ...

'' (2015), ''

Little Big Shots ''Little Big Shots'' (also known as ''LBS'') is an American variety television series co-created and produced by Steve Harvey and Ellen DeGeneres. The series features children demonstrating talents and engaging in conversation with the host. ...

'' (2016), '' Dance Se Puder'' (2016), '' Dance Dance Dance'' (2017), '' Let It Shine'' (2017), ''

World of Dance World of Dance is a Southern California-based dance, fashion, music, and entertainment brand founded by David Gonzalez, Myron Marten, and Michael McGinn in 2008. It is the world's largest dance entertainment enterprise, elevating artists and bra ...

'' (2017), '' The Four: Battle for Stardom'' (2018), '' All Together Now'' (2018), ''

The World's Best ''The World's Best'' is an American reality talent competition television series. Produced by Mark Burnett and Mike Darnell, it features international performers being evaluated by three judges—Drew Barrymore, RuPaul and Faith Hill, and a pa ...

'' (2019), ''

Asre Jadid New Era ( fa, عصر جدید, "Asre Jadid") is an Iranian talent television competition. The program was produced by Ehsan Alikhani and launched on IRIB TV3 on 16 February 2019. The second season of the program began on 25 February 2020. And t ...

'' (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 $2 ...

'' (2019), ''

Your Moment ''Your Moment'' was a Philippine reality talent competition show and broadcast by ABS-CBN from November 9, 2019, to February 2, 2020, replacing ''The Voice Kids (Philippine TV series), The Voice Kids.'' It was replaced by ''The Voice Teens (Ph ...

'' (2019) and ''

Go-Big Show ''Go-Big Show'' is a televised American competition series that premiered on TBS on January 7, 2021. In contrast to other talent shows, ''Go-Big Show'' focuses on bigger scale performances featuring monster trucks, horse riding and large stag ...

'' (2021), which have been critical in catapulting some 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 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 Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

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