Could Old-School Simon Cowell Judging Be The Secret to ‘AGT’s Success?
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The gloves came off during the week’s Tuesday installment of America’s Got Talent. The AGT judges, particularly Simon Cowell, started getting very real with the contestants. That…kind of caught us off guard.
There’s been a trend in reality TV over the past several years for the judges to shy away from the negative and focus on encouraging the contestants. It’s not really clear as to why this is. Maybe all the turmoil going on in the world has made us all want to just enjoy fun competition shows without having to feel uncomfortable with any of the comments made on them? But it’s definitely something that we’re seeing on almost all of these shows. For instance, a red buzzer in any of the live rounds is very rare nowadays, while it used to be more commonplace in the past.
Simon Cowell has a reputation for being one of the meanest judges to ever grace a TV talent show panel. This week’s AGT made us realize we hadn’t seen that side of him in so long we almost forgot what it looked like! Calling out acts for mistakes, brutally telling children how much they disappointed him, making a teenage girl cry…is this 2019 or 2003?
Simon Cowell Stirs Up Controversy On Social Media
The response to this week’s episode has been pretty divisive, some are LOVING that the judges weren’t afraid to be honest with the contestants…
@AGT @itsgabrielleu @juliannehough @terrycrews @howiemandel @SimonCowell everyone is doing great this year! Keep it up! Honest & Real!
— Shelly Hanes (@ShellyHanes1) August 22, 2019
…while others are finding the harsh commentary incredibly off-putting.
There are clearly a lot of conflicting opinions about this topic, and rightfully so. After all, the judges and their commentary set the tone of a TV talent show!
Truth be told, there’s probably not only a place on television for both shows with harsh, there’s a need for it. There are people who watch reality TV to feel happy and inspired. While others are interested in the business side of it and want to watch shows where future stars will be made.
But as to which side AGT should fall under? Well, I have a feeling we’re going to be debating that for a long time to come.
