Alanis Morissette Says ‘American Idol’ + ‘X Factor’ Are Bad for Singer-Songwriters
In an interesting turn of events, Alanis Morissette has come out saying that reality shows like ‘American Idol‘ and ‘X Factor‘ don’t do enough to nurture singer-songwriters. We don’t think it’s a coincidence that the news comes on the heels of Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban finalizing their own ‘Idol’ judging talks — a role Morissette previously confirmed she was up for herself. Do you think it’s an epiphany or just sour grapes?
Maybe a bit of both.
“Those shows are all about performance — mostly about the voice,” Morissette, who’s actually been a guest mentor on the show ‘The Voice,’ told Yahoo. “The shows aren’t really geared towards fostering the singer-songwriter in the artist. In fact, I’ve noticed that the opposite is true. If anyone wanted to present their own songs they were very much dissuaded from that. It’s not a show for the emerging singer songwriter.”
Morissette explained that focusing merely on vocal talent is what causes many reality show winners to drop off the radar shortly after their initial success. [Talent shows] speak to the idea of fame being highly valued in the West,” she said. “It’s not a means to an end but an end within itself which I find fascinating because it may temporarily fill a void but it really doesn’t have any sustainability.”
While she’s not showing much faith in the likes of, say, Phillip Phillips, Morissette does think the music industry as a whole has changed for the better since her heyday. ”The music industry is different because now there’s more invitation for artists to be transparent,” she noted. “It’s all about give as much information as you can about the under belly and the backstage. Whereas before in the 90′s it was all about mystique and not filling in all the blanks. So I’m happy about it because transparency is much more relaxing,” she explained. ”And there’s more intimacy with the fan. I think before they constantly felt like I was out of reach. Whereas now it levels the playing field which is awesome.”
Despite her protests, don’t count the ‘Guardian’ singer out of the reality arena just yet. She insists, “I live to mentor, so my heart is much more open to the idea of that than even 10 years ago when I, perhaps, wasn’t in a position to be able to offer much advice, solicited or otherwise.” By her choice of the word “mentor,” it sounds to us like she may be back on ‘The Voice’ this season!
Watch the Alanis Morissette ‘Guardian’ Lyric Video