''Being realistic is the most common path to mediocrity'.
I remember the announcement of the very first reality TV show – Big Brother. There was negative media frenzy in the lead up to it with scepticism for its concept labelling it as an obvious flop. Who in their right minds would find watching a group of strangers in a house exciting? Who knew just how powerful our instinctive voyeuristic tendencies as humans actually are? How wrong we were! Big Brother arrived and paved the way for a plethora of reality shows, completely reshaping the TV landscape into what it is today.
Reality TV shows are a rapid route to overnight stardom! All you have to do is apply for any upcoming shows. If you are a successful applicant then fame is almost guaranteed. It may be short lived or it could turn you into a household name. There are many different TV reality shows and although Big Brother is the daddy of them all, you should try to put yourself into as TV shows as possible. Make it a hobby. You will need to find out what reality TV shows are being cast and where the auditions will be. Sometimes you will simply need to send in a video clip of yourself to the production team. To find when and where reality TV shows are being cast, you could join a casting website that would list these types of upcoming opportunities such as ‘Fame Street’ which can be found at www.famestreet.com. This would save the huge amount of time and effort it would take surfing the internet week in week out.
Casting websites publish upcoming auditions for reality TV shows and post them on their websites. Don’t be complacent; apply for every TV reality show that comes up whether it’s appearing on a game show, talk show or Big Brother type show. You never know where it could lead! Our TV channels are packed with celebrities appearing on reality TV shows that first aired using ordinary members of the public. What is striking though is that most all of the celebrities that appear on reality TV shows are largely unknown and are barley hanging onto the far obscure side of the fame spectrum. This is due to top celebs not wanting or needing to go on these type of shows. The producers usually have to scrape the barrel of z-list celebrities to get them on their shows but this in turn can sometimes have an enormous effect on the little known celebrity, boosting them from z to a-list over the course of a show.
These shows are viewed by millions of people and the newspaper and magazines thrive of any contestant gossip. Suddenly that thought of ‘who the hell is that’ becomes ‘oh wow look who it is!’ The publics same mentality is flooded onto ‘ordinary’ people so get applying, who knows where it could lead! Caveat: if you take this route, you run the risk of the public turning against you. Maybe you’re just an ignorant plank or have the personality of a loaf of bread. Be nice and don’t give it the big ‘look at me’ attitude. People don’t like it, they really don’t. Keep yourself grounded, believe me, you’re not as great / good looking / cool as you think you are and however much you try to cover up your bad personality traits, the public and media will see right through it. Be yourself
Epic wins
‘The Only Way is Essex’. TV Producers in the UK put together a bunch of people from Essex and the outcome was beyond anything anyone anticipated creating a new genre in Reality TV. The shows concept is different to Big Brother in that the cast are put together in manufactured situation in the real world and are simply filmed. Some of the cast have gone from nobodies to big stars piling solid evidence onto the idea that ‘anyone can become famous overnight. Other similar shows that are just as successful include 'Made in Chelsea', 'The Real Housewife’s' franchise and 'Geordie Shore'. These productions are always seeking fresh faces so get applying for the next series!
Be on a docu-drama
Become your own documentary! – TV’s continue to pump out documentaries about people for all manner of reasons. Shows such as ‘Supersize Vs Superskinny’ allow for people with eating disorders to apply. Maybe you have a huge amount of children or you have a teen out of control. Each week, TV channels have to come up with ideas for new documentaries and reality TV shows. Visit a TV channels website and there will usually be a ‘be on a show’ link for the public to apply to shows.
Game Shows
Appearing on game shows is another easy way to be on telly. Although world domination is unlikely, you can still have your 15 mins of fame amongst your friends and family and maybe win some prizes in the process.
TV talent shows
We’ve already touched on TV singing shows earlier but a whole new genre exists in the ‘Got Talent’ series. These shows showcase all manner of talent. There’s really only one major player in the TV talent show in the shape of the ‘Got Talent’ franchise where most of the acts can be broken down into the good, the bad and the bizarre. The ‘Got Talent’ series has given rise to some amazing acts of astounding creativity making massive stars out of some of them. Personally, my most memorable is the London street dance crew ‘Diversity’ who came runner up to Susan Boyle. Diversity’s exposure on the show introduced the masses to the incredible talent that is street dancing which in turn led to a whole range of TV dance talent shows. Its quite amazing to watch how new TV concepts grow out of other concepts in this way.
Producers want and need great TV. If your act is average then forget it. You will have to be either brilliant at something unique or so very bad that it makes for entertaining television viewing. You can make an act up or hone the skills of something you already do well. You may have a talent that you think is only modest but could actually be world class. Both Susan Boyle and Paul Potts captivated the public’s imagination, not just because of their outstanding singing ability but in both cases the singers did not have the ‘pop star’ look or realize just how good they are. Both went on to sell out concerts around the world.
