Talent shows used to be the domain of schools, but now they dominate television screens. These main shows are “American Idol,” “America’s Got Talent,” and now “X Factor.”

For the most part these shows are focused on singing or people’s unique talents. “America’s Got Talent” and “American Idol” have been around for a while, but the newest one to hit TV is the “X Factor.” “X Factor” is about people who can sing, whether it’s in a group or as individuals, the object is to find the best singers.

“The shows keep me entertained,” freshman Christopher Prudhomme said.

Along with the judges that exist on the show, some viewers of the show judge not only the show, but also the judges.

“I have seen some short clips of the feedback from the evaluators and I think the show is more about them (judges) then it is about the actual performances that people do,” band director Jeff Jahnke said.

So the whole show of “X Factor” is about people singing and then four judges stating their opinion on how they felt about the performance. Because the viewers see the performances and the judge’s opinions it make the audience put more pressure on the judges.

“I think the feedback from the judges is really more about making a name for themselves.  I don’t know that they have a lot invested in the performers on stage,” Jahnke said.

Some of the fine arts teachers feel the same way about these talent shows.

“From what I’ve seen, it seems like some of the judges can get stuck in a rut in terms of their feedback. It also seems that their feedback is often not direct and honest enough to warrant any true change for the next performance,” associated director of bands Nathan Lewis said.

With all these shows there is constant judging going on. No one person is the same so everyone is going to have different opinions on different things, some stronger or weaker than others. This is just how the Lovejoy fine arts teachers feel about the shows and there are probably a lot of people who feel completely opposite.