Passing judgment

Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Entertainment | Sun, November 25 2012, 2:11 PM

Paper Edition | Page: 14

Word has spread fast about the upcoming local versions of The Voice and The X Factor. Hopefuls all around the country have been sharpening their vocal and other entertainment skills to enjoy their sparkling moment in the spotlight, lest they suffer a crash-bang failure worse than American Idol’s William Hung.

Of course, the “15 minutes and more” fame of reality TV talent shows means that all those confidence-in-abundance, talent-in-short-supply individuals do not simply make a hasty and chastened exit from the small screens. No sirreee, Mr. Hung: they continue to “bang-bang” their way into our consciousness, whether it is in YouTube compilations of the “best and worst” moments of the shows, making hay while it pays as novelty acts or become the subject of “where are they now?” programs down the line.

It’s not only the crooning contestants whose contributions make the shows. We watch not only to see the diamond-in-the-rough of a Susan Boyle, or the hopelessly delusional Mr. Hung (I have to stop banging on him, I know), but the spectacle of the panel of judges’ reactions to them. From the gobsmacked silences of annoyance or awe, the raised eyebrows, waspish put-downs or a teary tribute, judges also make for fascinating viewing.

Each of them conforms to the tried-and-true formula of easily digestible TV characters. In preparing for the next batch of judges to show their stuff, let’s judge for ourselves the characteristics of TV judges, including here at home.

Deddy Corbuzier.The Antagonist: Simon Cowell (rhymes with “scowl”) became notorious for his deadpan, no-holds-barred evaluation of contestants. He may be the man that tender-hearted viewers and contestants love to hate, but it must be conceded that what Simon says is often right on the mark.

In his withering wake have come numerous similarly acerbic-tongued judges, including here in Indonesia, beginning with Trie Utami on the first Indonesian reality talent show AFI (unusual to have a female antagonist judge, unless it’s a model competition), Deddy Corbuzier on the ongoing season of TransTV’s Indonesia Mencari Bakat (Indonesian Talent Search) to the often cryptic Ahmad Dhani on RCTI’s Indonesia Idol.

That said, the baddies can also show their softer side: Ahmad paid Rp 5 million (US$520) to a bread-seller for his catchy original composition titled Neng Neng Nong Nong even though the man did not make it through to the final.

Syahrini: (Kapanlagi.com)The Cheerleader: There needs to be some sweetness and light among all the criticism, the peppy presence to pump up those deflated egos. On the original American Idol the job fell to Paula Abdul, who showed that opposites attract in her strangely symbiotic chemistry with Cowell.

Ellen DeGeneres, although she always seemed a bit out of place on the show, continued the kindly tradition and so did I-need-a-tissue-please Jennifer Lopez. Agnes Monica, although sans the sentimentality of Abdul or Lopez, also offers morale support on Indonesia Idol, and Rianti Cartwright was a woman of few but universally nice words on Indonesia Mencari Bakat.

The latter show now has Syahrini, whose no doubt well-meaning opinions can sometimes be taken the wrong way. Whether it’s saying that she really should be supporting her fellow Sundanese contestants or telling a fleshy teen contestant to skip dinner, she sometimes leaves us “speakless”. The US X Factor has Britney Spears, who never ceases to find someone amazing.

Addie MS: (JP/Triwik Kurniasari)The Counter-Weight: No puns intended, but Randy Jackson was the original balancing act on American Idol who took no sides in giving his two cents. On Indonesian Idol, Anang Hermansyah takes the role (and can get into some snide verbal sparring with Ahmad), while Titi Sjuman and Addie MS offer measured opinions on Indonesia Mencari Bakat. Thank heavens for these voices of reason.

There you have it: the goodies, the baddies and the in-betweeners. Get ready for more opinions to be voiced very soon, like them or not.