Does America Have Talent?

America is apparently bursting at the seams with talent.

Thousands of people who think they have “it” line up at auditions around the country hoping for their shot at fame and dreaming that the rest of us will buy their albums, clothes and fashion spreads.

Those of us without “it” seem to be happy watching everyone else make fools of themselves. That’s because we know most of those “talented” people really aren’t, and they’re just trying to be bad enough to get their few minutes of fame. They’re all hoping to become the next William Hung, who parlayed a bad voice and dance moves into a record deal.

If you can survive the crush of foolish wannabes, there is something fascinating about watching people with special skills try to prove they’re the best on live television. It’s just that there are now so many such shows that the uniqueness is disappearing.

This summer, we’re being asked to devote hours and hours to a wide variety of shows that are all pretty similar at heart. There are three hours of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” another three hours of Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance,” three hours of ABC’s new and low-rated “The One: Making of a Music Star,” two hours of CBS’ “Rock Star: Supernova,” one hour of the often-funny “Last Comic Standing” on NBC, and an hour of the just-ended stunt show “Master of Champions” on ABC. (That’s not to mention the fashion search on “Project Runway” and the interior designers competing on “Design Star.”)

That’s a lot of talent to deal with — especially for Sarasota viewers, because two local singers are competing and need your votes. Syesha Mercado is on “The One,” and Chadwick Watkins made the semifinals on “America’s Got Talent.”

There’s hardly time left in the week to watch good old scripted dramas, such as the summer cable hits “The Closer,” “Rescue Me,” “Monk” and the wonderful new “Psych.”

The proliferation of these shows is no surprise. Network executives try to latch on to any idea that seems to work, so “American Idol” has spawned all these imitators.

But talent shows go way back to vaudeville and radio days, when “The Original Amateur Hour” was an early hit that eventually transferred to television. Ted Mack’s series helped discover Gladys Knight and Pat Boone during its run from 1948 to 1960.

“Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” ran for 10 years (from 1948 to 1958), and introduced future stars such as Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett and Connie Francis. (These shows weren’t infallible. Elvis Presley apparently flunked auditions for Godfrey’s show.)

And don’t forget the syndicated “Star Search,” the original version with Ed McMahon, which ran from 1983 to ‘95 and introduced us to singers Linda Eder, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé Knowles and Alanis Morrisette, and comedians Rosie O’Donnell, Brad Garrett and Chris Rock.

So you just never know which future superstar might turn up on one of these new variations.

Most of the shows are looking for singers, but “America’s Got Talent” is a bit like the old Ed Sullivan variety show, with a singer one minute and a juggler, acrobat or fire eater the next. One of the finalists is a young girl who yodels.

But what does the future hold for the winners of such shows, other than careers in Las Vegas or in Cirque du Soleil? They’re not necessarily looking for future stars, but wouldn’t it be nice to think the shows might help to establish a future star?

The contestants are often the key on this new breed of talent shows. But the judges play a crucial role. The bickering among the “Idol” judges is as important to the entertainment value as the singing performances. Watching the “Dance” judges, you might actually learn something about what it takes to be a dancer.

You don’t get much from the three judges on “America’s Got Talent.” David Hasselhoff, Brandy and Piers Morgan create a strange mix of nonsensical comments most of the time. But look at what they’re judging.

Sometime soon, viewers will tire of all these shows, and they’ll disappear (although “Idol” may be immune for a while). Then we’ll latch on to whatever seems to be the next latest trend.

But wait. Fox is preparing for another talent show, this one with celebrities called “Duets.” “Idol” judge Simon Cowell is one of the producers of this show, which matches professional singers with celebrities famous for other things, and they’ll be singing duets.

The results could be wonderful or wonderfully awful. Or maybe just bad. We’ll find out when it starts Aug. 29.

America’s Got Talent News