STACK NZ June 2015 Issue 63

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On the
JB Stereo
Muse
Drones
The Fall
Sub-Lingual Tablet
Simply Red
Big Love
Speedy Ortiz
Foil Deer
Cairo Knife Fight
The Colossus
Chastity Belt
Time To Go Home
Major Lazer
Peace Is The Mission
Faith No More
Angel Dust (reissue)
Lindemann
Skills In Pills
Gin Wigmore
Blood To The Bone
50 JUNE 2015 JB Hi-Fi
visit THIS MONTH at MUSIC
I t's interesting times for the music talent show
phenomenon, long a fixture of TV schedules
around the world. Here, we’ve just wrapped up
a second season of The X Factor and this month
will see the release of the debut album
of this year’s winner, the multi-talented singer and
beatboxer Beau Monga. Runner-up Nyssa Collins
has also just issued her first single and
a full album will probably come out later year.
But there’s been no word yet whether the
show will be back next year, and there are
certainly signs of viewer fatigue with the genre
in other parts of the globe. For example, the next
season of American Idol – the Godfather of this
current wave of talent shows – will be its last,
with ratings of recent series considerably
down on previous years.
Then again, talent show king Simon
Cowell has just announced a new
series called Ultimate DJ, which
will zoom in on the booming
electronic music culture and
is designed to showcase and
cultivate fresh new DJ/producer
talent.
And let’s not forget that the
whole concept of talent show
contests have been around for
donkey’s years and have always
been particularly popular here. Artists as diverse
as Split Enz, Shona Laing and Space Waltz got
their first break on shows like New Faces back in
the ‘70s, while arguably American Idol would not
have existed if it wasn't for the pioneering efforts
of homegrown ‘90s TV show Popstars.
Of course, taking part in a show like Idol or
X Factor doesn’t always guarantee a long-term
music career, but the current crop of contestants
seem to be doing OK. Last year’s X Factor winner
Jackie Thomas went to No.1 with her self-titled
debut, while runner-up Benny Tipene will this
month released an expanded edition of his debut
LP Bricks, which includes five new tracks. And
X Factor judge Stan Walker – himself a past
Australian Idol winner – recently released
his fifth album Truth & Soul.
But if the reality TV element of talent
show is a turn-off, there is an alternative:
this month sees the regional finals of the
long-running event for aspiring young
musicians Smokefree Rockquest. Now in
its 27th year, Kimbra, Anika Moa, Brooke
Fraser, The Datsuns, Broods, The Phoenix
Foundation and Naked and The Famous
are among the many acts who first got
their break through this talent contest, so
who knows, the next Lorde may already be
waiting in the wings...
POP TALENT
SHOWS IN
TRANSITION
Muse
Benny Tipene
Beau Monga