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The simpathy vote |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Jun 2003
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The simpathy vote
Well, we seem to have two contenters this year, the woman in the wheelchair, and the blind guy (maybe three, if you count "second chance" woman who gave up her singing career for married life), although admittedly they might not get to the public voting stage.
Last year I predicted a future winner of Pop Idol may be wheelchair bound or have some other affliction (think I might have also mentioned maybe a blind person too), the way things were going. Due to the public choosing someone with a good tabloid friendly tale to bring out their simpathy, over talent. And as we've seen, Mcmanus sympathy effect lasts all of a month or two, then nobody wants to know. Michelle Mcmanus probably wishes she had never entered Pop Idol now. "If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor", as the song goes. And throughly slapped down I was too, for my prediction, in some quarters. We shall see....... |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Black Country lad in Yorkshire
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I take your point but the blind chap is very very good
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#3 |
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Join Date: Mar 2004
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As I disabled person I personally find this quite offensive, surely there are disabled people out there that have talent, its just that society pities us so we hide away (well not me anyway) and don't do what non-disabled people do, consquently when someone has had the confidence and balls to go out and something like that they are critised. The guy with the visual impairment is great, why shouldn't he be given a chance to show what he can do, or should he be in day care somewhere? By the way people who are in wheelchairs are not bound to their wheelchairs with chains etc, we do get out of them!
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#4 |
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: London
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DryHumper
Well, we seem to have two contenters this year, the woman in the wheelchair, and the blind guy (maybe three, if you count "second chance" woman who gave up her singing career for married life), although admittedly they might not get to the public voting stage.
Last year I predicted a future winner of Pop Idol may be wheelchair bound or have some other affliction (think I might have also mentioned maybe a blind person too), the way things were going. Due to the public choosing someone with a good tabloid friendly tale to bring out their simpathy, over talent. And as we've seen, Mcmanus sympathy effect lasts all of a month or two, then nobody wants to know. Michelle Mcmanus probably wishes she had never entered Pop Idol now. "If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor", as the song goes. And throughly slapped down I was too, for my prediction, in some quarters. We shall see....... Yep the old cynic in PIV thought this too,and that "Last Chance" women aggghhhhh what a crock!!!! Compare her to Rowetta and I think most people will see that this is just "Sympathy or PITY Voting"...didn't we learn anything over the McManus affair? The new? Peters and Lee (ask your parents kiddies )IMHO there is a classic pity vote in the making.Let's hope that when the public vote kicks in the pity acts get the boot in place of genuine talent be they disabiled or not.I'm just waiting for Last chance women to mouth Thankyou silently to Cowell,then we'll know we've got McManus Mark 2,all pity and NO substance.
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#5 |
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Join Date: Oct 2003
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Here we go with this old dirge again....change the record guys. Personally, I think 2 to Go and Verity are not great...it's not that they can't sing...I just don't like them. If it's been sympathy so far...then it's on the judges part. I think the judges are more shrewd than that.
You guys are jumping on the 'sympathy' bandwagon a bit early here. Wait for the voting to begin. As for sympathy...what about Rowetta? I don't see many folk complaining about her getting the sympathy vote....and yet all she did was plead, cry and act like a crazed person. That's certainly one way of getting noticed. As for the ancient MM arguement...let's look at the status of previous Pop Idol winners. Will Young - definite success Gareth Gates - over Hearsay - over Kim from Hearsay - over One True Voice - over Girls Aloud - still with us Michelle McManus - probably over David Sneddon - over Alex Park -still with us There is one thing that's also missed, Michelle didn't have a disability...she was fat. Remember, many, many people thought she was the best of a not so great bunch (when you think about it - they weren't really outstanding). Michelle could sing...she just wasn't to everyone's taste...so it was the sympathy vote for those people. Michelle is one of many who have not had success after winning Pop Idol....the majority of whom are not considered to have some kind of sympathy factor going on. The fact appears to be that Pop Idol etc is not a very successful way to launch a career, it seems. Now that we're further down the line with this stuff, I think anyone going in for this may have to run the risk of 'Flash in the Pan' syndrome, make a bit of cash and invest it well. There's so much media and TV hype that it seems to escalate the fame process too quickly. The public get wrapped up at first and then wind down after Xmas...it seems to be the way with this stuff If anything...it's about novelty + short term entertainment. Sad really. Maybe if they would leave it alone for a few years?
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#6 |
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Join Date: Jun 2004
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The sympathy vote did nothing for Linda, the woman in the wheelchair. I thought she had a definite something before her wheelchair was shown. However she let herself down when she apparently went to bed without properly rehearsing her duet with Verity. To me that showed lack of commitment on her part and lack of consideration for her partner. Its a shame that she let herself down.
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#7 |
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Join Date: Jun 2003
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zelana
The sympathy vote did nothing for Linda, the woman in the wheelchair. I thought she had a definite something before her wheelchair was shown. However she let herself down when she apparently went to bed without properly rehearsing her duet with Verity. To me that showed lack of commitment on her part and lack of consideration for her partner. Its a shame that she let herself down.
people usually go to bed when they're tired
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#8 |
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Join Date: Jun 2004
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thms
people usually go to bed when they're tired
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#9 |
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Join Date: Jun 2002
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I cannot recall his name but the blind chap has a great voice and I believe he would do really well either as solo or part of a duo
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#10 |
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Join Date: Jun 2003
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Quote:
Originally Posted by miss-x-
As I disabled person I personally find this quite offensive, surely there are disabled people out there that have talent, its just that society pities us so we hide away (well not me anyway) and don't do what non-disabled people do, consquently when someone has had the confidence and balls to go out and something like that they are critised. The guy with the visual impairment is great, why shouldn't he be given a chance to show what he can do, or should he be in day care somewhere? By the way people who are in wheelchairs are not bound to their wheelchairs with chains etc, we do get out of them!
![]() It's the general public that annoy that me more than anything on this issue. It also annoys me that it isn't a real caring for the person in question either, it's more an emotional fix. Two months later they forget all about whoever it was and move on to the next "human interest" story. In the case of Michelle Mcmanus, she's left thinking "what happened?!?". |
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#11 |
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Join Date: Jun 2003
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Popidolveteran
Hey Dry
Yep the old cynic in PIV thought this too,and that "Last Chance" women aggghhhhh what a crock!!!! Compare her to Rowetta and I think most people will see that this is just "Sympathy or PITY Voting"...didn't we learn anything over the McManus affair? The new? Peters and Lee (ask your parents kiddies )IMHO there is a classic pity vote in the making.Let's hope that when the public vote kicks in the pity acts get the boot in place of genuine talent be they disabiled or not.I'm just waiting for Last chance women to mouth Thankyou silently to Cowell,then we'll know we've got McManus Mark 2,all pity and NO substance. ![]() |
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#12 |
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Join Date: Jun 2003
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"We chose the person who we thought the public would like to see in", I thought more or less said it all tonight. Not the person best voice, the most talent. The person with most tabloid friendly story. Suprisingly honest from Mr Cowell tonight, I thought.
So Lloyd, who I thought was a great singer, gets the boot over the rather average sounding Verity. Sigh. |
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#13 |
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Agree with everything you say about Verity, DryHumper. I also think Sharon has made a big mistake by not putting Andy through. I could see him carried through to the final stages rather like Sam from Pop Idol 2.
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#14 |
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Join Date: Aug 2003
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Why would Simon think Verity would appeal to the public and which section of the public is he talking about? I find her and her singing very insipid. Simon keeps saying Steve doesn't want it enough, but I would say it's Verity that doesn't , she's had two chances before and turned them both down. If she was that keen she would have made the chances work, whatever it took.
I predict either Verity or Voices with Soul will be the first eliminated next week. |
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#15 |
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Last edited by rachelrising : 16-10-2004 at 20:06. Reason: edit------ |
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#16 |
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I think Verity or one of Sharons group will be the first to be eliminated next week.
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#17 |
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Sheffield UK
Posts: 59
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Agreed....
Quote:
Originally Posted by pistonbroke
I cannot recall his name but the blind chap has a great voice and I believe he would do really well either as solo or part of a duo
Am AWFULLY proud of him getting such a big break and things now
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#18 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 20
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Yeah - he certainly is talanted and i dont think sympathy vote comes into it. If someones good they are good and you should vote for the. DryHumper and the others who who reckon they are getting through on the sympathy vote are just annoyed that their favourites arent!
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#19 |
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Black Country lad in Yorkshire
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VWS, being big girls, would normally qualify for the sympathy vote, but Michelle McManus cornered the market on that last year. VWS will have to depend on talent alone and unlike Michelle, they DO have it.
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#20 |
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Posts: n/a
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ZipGypsy
Gareth Gates - over
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#21 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
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I personally think Simon is definitely going down the sympathy road with Verity.
How many times have I heard him say to someone in auditions; 'You're good, but if you can't handle nerves, you're not good enough.'? Several times as I recall. Yet suddenly he's using Verity's nerves as an excuse for a wobbly performance. Either he's suddenly metamorphasized from a cut-throat manager into a sympathetic last-chance provider, or he knows how to sell a good story and appeal to a particular section of the public, eventually making more money. I'm fairly convinced it's the latter. The blind chap has a great voice, and I don't think sympathy comes into it. Especially not if he can't curb his temper and keeps coming out with childish comments! |
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#22 |
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 743
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DryHumper
Well, we seem to have two contenters this year, the woman in the wheelchair, and the blind guy (maybe three, if you count "second chance" woman who gave up her singing career for married life), although admittedly they might not get to the public voting stage.
Last year I predicted a future winner of Pop Idol may be wheelchair bound or have some other affliction (think I might have also mentioned maybe a blind person too), the way things were going. Due to the public choosing someone with a good tabloid friendly tale to bring out their simpathy, over talent. And throughly slapped down I was too, for my prediction, in some quarters. We shall see....... In any case, when was the last time you saw someone sing with their arms, feet, or any other part of their anatomy other than the mouth (any pervs amongst you please keep it too yourself )!?! Sorry but if someone can move the audience with their singing voice then their 'disability' should not come into the equation.A point to ponder. Did Steve Wonder ride the wave of the 'sympathy vote' to get where he is today, or was it his vocal talent?.... |
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#23 |
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Join Date: Jun 2004
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ArtyAttack
Agree with everything you say about Verity, DryHumper. I also think Sharon has made a big mistake by not putting Andy through. I could see him carried through to the final stages rather like Sam from Pop Idol 2.
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#24 |
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Join Date: Jun 2003
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Code Y
Your tone suggests talent can only be dictated/measured if one is able bodied, and anyone giving plaudits of appreciation to a disabled performer is doing so purely on 'sympathy'. Sorry, but I don't need to socially cleanse my conscience in this way.
In any case, when was the last time you saw someone sing with their arms, feet, or any other part of their anatomy other than the mouth (any pervs amongst you please keep it too yourself )!?! Sorry but if someone can move the audience with their singing voice then their 'disability' should not come into the equation.A point to ponder. Did Steve Wonder ride the wave of the 'sympathy vote' to get where he is today, or was it his vocal talent?.... This year we are seeing the sympathy vote manifest itself most markedly in Verity, or "last chance woman" as you could call her. I think 9x% of people on this forum agree that her singing was markedly the worst on saturday, unyet she wasn't even in the bottom two. That's what I object to. Thankfully shes too far behind the rest to win though, but if she was a bit better, she could win, inspite of not being the best. And the second problem with the sympathy vote is that it doesnt create a star that lasts, which selecting soley a vote on the best talent most likely would. This gives reality talent shows a bad name, which makes it all the harder for the talented acts from such shows to make it. I dont mind if a blind guy wins it, as long as he's the best guy in there, and is voted for only for that reason. |
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#25 |
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Join Date: Aug 2004
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DryHumper
I've kinda answered this one already, but no, thats not true. What I want the general public to do is vote for the singer who they think has the most talent, whether they are disabled, have some other affliction, or have a hard luck or tabloid friendly story, or whatever. But in my opinion they're not, and this is happening every year and doesn't look like changing.
This year we are seeing the sympathy vote manifest itself most markedly in Verity, or "last chance woman" as you could call her. I think 9x% of people on this forum agree that her singing was markedly the worst on saturday, unyet she wasn't even in the bottom two. That's what I object to. Thankfully shes too far behind the rest to win though, but if she was a bit better, she could win, inspite of not being the best. And the second problem with the sympathy vote is that it doesnt create a star that lasts, which selecting soley a vote on the best talent most likely would. This gives reality talent shows a bad name, which makes it all the harder for the talented acts from such shows to make it. I dont mind if a blind guy wins it, as long as he's the best guy in there, and is voted for only for that reason. ). Having read your corresponding reply, I feel we are singing off the same hymn sheet just at different speeds: D. To my point in question. I agree that talent should be the ultimate/main assessment in choosing the winner, yet I feel a contestants personal struggles/torments will always be thrown in to the media arena, its part of the course I'm afraid. Yet, a 'sympathy' story can also divert opinions the other way & create a negative response. This point takes me on to Verity. Self pity is not a quality I admire, nor is wasting a talent and hiding behind a curtain of fear, and using it as an excuse for non-achieving. IMO Verity has done precisely this. The reality is, she has a great voice yet her fragile and nervous state of mind will always suffocate that talent. The reality is, her "last chance" was her "first chance", and she'll have to face up to this reality pretty soon. - probably this Saturday! |
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)IMHO there is a classic pity vote in the making.Let's hope that when the public vote kicks in the pity acts get the boot in place of genuine talent be they disabiled or not.