X: My “X-Factor” Experience and the Reality About Reality Television

   Okay, I’ll admit it. I watch reality television shows, and I actually like it.

Let’s face it – as annoying as they can be, it really is entertaining to watch regular, everyday people take on extreme challenges. And it’s even more entertaining to hear what’s going through their head the entire time!

Which is why when Simon Cowell’s new reality show for singers, The X Factor, taped a session in Dallas and opened it up to the general public for free, my wife and I joined the thousands of other viewers in standing in a line which wrapped around an entire sports stadium. As we passed by the dressing room trailers, I even saw Simon Cowell walk by just a few feet from me (he was very kind to the screaming fans, but was a lot shorter than he looks like on television, and his pancake makeup made his face look extremely orange).

But Simon wasn’t the biggest let-down. Once inside, we were excited to watch the singers compete and to have a part in voting for which singers would move forward in the competition and which singers would be sent packing. But that’s not the way it actually worked.

Before the hosts stepped foot on stage, a director came out and started calling out months. When he called your birthday month, you were supposed to jump to your feet screaming and clapping to show how excited you were to be there. Later, the producers of the show would use that initial footage to splice in a “standing ovation” from the audience wherever – and for whomever – they saw fit.

And yes – the hosts reviewed a script before filming each scene. A script. On a reality show? You better believe it.

I learned an important lesson that night. In actuality, there’s nothing“real” about reality television. And knowing this almost ruined reality television completely for me…

Almost.

What are your thoughts on reality television? If you’re a fan, which one would you want to appear on?