X-Factor me arse! As part of a trial series called “Format farm” (possibly similar to when the BBC previewed several pilots and then based on audience reaction either dropped the shows or commissioned a full series) RTE (national Irish TV channel) finally got it right with their show “The Hit”, the premise of which is that eight songwriters are chosen, each put into a room and then two singers visit each room, listening to their songs in the hopes of paring them down to two each, from which they will select the song they will record as their new single, and with which they hope to have, well, a hit. Without going too much into the workings of the show (it's not that complicated but you can probably give a good guess as to how it goes), the difference with this show is that there is no panel of judges --- the only judges are the two singers --- no votes, no long-drawn-out pauses as people discover their fate, and no sob stories. Well, okay, most of them are desperate to break into the big time and have a tale to tell, but it seems a lot more genuine than the tripe some of the reality show contestants or hopefuls come out with.
The best thing, though, is that this isn't “boot camp”. No-one tries to make the songs better or the songwriters more appealing. They come as they are, keyboard or guitar in hand, and play a bit of their song for each singer. If he likes it, he may stay or he may go in a few seconds, though even then that's not necessarily indicative of disinterest: he night have decided right away that he likes the song. Anyway, in the end we're down to four songs, four songwriters with each singer having picked two songs. These songs are then worked on by the singer and/or band, refined and honed, with the songwriters present and taking part in all/most decisions, and eventually one of the two is chosen by the singer as their next single.
One thing the show does, or did, is demonstrate the wealth of talent that is out there in Ireland these days. Even for those who were not picked, the national television exposure has to be good for them, so there are probably not really any losers. My only gripe is that this show seems to have been a one-off, and I think it would itself be a hit if it were to get a full series, but that's down to RTE and the programme makers I guess. I'm hopeful we may see it again though.
For now, below are the two songs that did eventually win and became singles, and hopefully hits. Brian McFadden, ex Westlife of course, chose a song called “Invisible”, by two young and talented songwriters called Ian Colgan and Shane Butler. Yeah, it's derivative pop, nothing groundbreaking, but it has the commercial appeal and hookiness to get the guy a hit, and hopefully open the door for these two young fellas.
The other song was penned by two lads also, but despite a lot of searching I can only find them referred to as Ed and Stephen. Their song “Sidelines” was chosen as the new single for Royseven by their vocalist Paul Walsh. As of today, it's the number one download on itunes. Not bad.