Whether you’re listening to music on the radio, in a store, or online, it’s always the same songs that are playing or being discussed. What happened to authentic songs? Instead, music is created to go viral on the internet for 30 seconds. Every new pop hit is starting to blend into the same tunes, although it may not be every artist suffering from this, the industry seems to be forcing the same pop image down our throats. That’s what has to change, and that’s what Netflix’s new show challenges: listening to music despite an artist’s image or popularity.
The show’s first season includes 10 episodes, each one more engaging than the other, with outstanding performances, and special appearances by guest judges: AJ McLean (The Backstreet Boys), Nicole Scherzinger (The Pussycat Dolls), Kelly Rowland (Destiny’s Child), and lastly Liam Payne (One Direction), who sadly left us too soon. Still, his love for the contestants and music brings the show together, creating such an uplifting and loving atmosphere.
Building the Band is about discovering regular people with outstanding talent and star potential, regardless of image or looks; they focus on the most important thing: the person’s voice. Built like Netflix’s popular reality show Love is Blind, where you can’t see your potential soulmate, in this show, you can’t see your potential bandmate. The participants are isolated, and they are only allowed to hear the other participants’ voices while they perform live. From their conversations and vocal preferences, the players must strategically choose who their vocal ranges will be most compatible with, and whether they stand a chance of winning together. Without ever knowing what they look like, the contestants can only meet once their bands are chosen- but not everyone will get to see the spotlight.
Personally, I’m tired of hearing the same style of music or voices over again, so Building the Band was a great discovery, especially for music lovers. This show gives us real and raw talents, with new concepts for music reality TV shows that completely disregard the traditional way of building bands, while showing us how the participants beautifully evolve throughout the series.
This reality show deserves more recognition, and it’s proving to be a success because most bands created are still together, with their first singles already out, and going on small tours throughout North Ameirca. The winners of the show are signed with label companies such as Columbia Records and have more than 3 million listeners on Spotify. So, if you are looking for a quick new show to watch, this is for sure your next binge, and soon enough, you’ll catch yourself jamming to their tunes.
