Britain’s Got Talent reportedly booting professional acts, but what’s professional?
According to a new report coming in via the Daily Star, several acts from this season are going to be kicked off the show ahead of the upcoming top 40 reveal after it was “learned” that they have professional experience that gives them an unfair advantage on the show itself. Several of these acts were featured prominently in the first part of the show, which means that several former favorites could be considered now out of the running.
This is a move seemingly orchestrated by viewer backlash, as there were many people out there who felt that there was an unfair advantage with acts with professional experience performing on the show. The question here that you have to wonder as a result of this news is fairly simple: What correlates with being a “professional” anymore? Does this mean getting an opportunity to perform three or four times for cash, or a residency somewhere that lasts a couple of months? The rules are so ambiguous on this, and it feels almost unfair to cancel out people who earned a living wage as a singer or a magician but could never get over the hump. Their dreams aren’t any less significant than the dreams of anyone else, and some of these people need a break as much as the next person.
To us, the term “professional” only applies when referring to an act that already has either a substantial social-media following, or is notable enough that they are considered a legitimate celebrity somewhere. Being a part of a circus troupe or maybe being on television once or twice before doesn’t correlate there. (With magic acts in general, aren’t many or all of them professional at this point?)
In the end, it just feels like the rules are extremely murky here on this subject. Not only that, but this is the sort of show where if you take away one thing, something else will come in and the viewing public will have that to complain about instead.
Do you think that having professional acts on Britain’s Got Talent is anywhere near as big a deal as some out there in the universe are making it out to be? Share some of your thoughts now in the attached comments. (Photo: ITV.)