The Four: Battle for Stardom

I did not like this show at all. That is saying a lot because I like most singing shows. This one does not connect with me at all. The show opens with the four contestants already in their chairs, so I don't care about them from the beginning because I don't know them. When the judges don't choose the singer who want to challenge one of the four, it is a piss off to us watching because we just enjoyed them and want to see what the four have to offer. The viewer really doesn't care what these judges think of the four. We want to judge them for ourselves. I did not like the judges at all except for Mehgan. There really is no connection to the contestants. Idol, Xfactor, Voice are shows which get the viewer invested. This show did the total opposite.

Despite telling us how different this show is from the others, The Four is just a rip-off of all the other singing shows, despite what might seem like an intriguing premise. It has very polished contestants like The Voice, but, unlike The Voice, the judges are unlikable (except for Meagan) and they have no chemistry. Diddy is a downright D-bag. He thinks he's channeling Simon Cowell, but he's just a poor man's dick head. The major problem with the show is that it's disjointed, and you can't get invested in the contestants, especially "The Four" that start out in the coveted seats. We are constantly told how great they are, but frankly, we just don't see/hear it for ourselves. The show is bad enough on its own, but Diddy makes it unwatchable.

There were two main things I came away with from the first episode: 1) It was completely unfair to the first 4 chosen, because they didn't even get to do an initial performance for the audience before getting challenged. So, they were 'unknowns' and the challenger got to sing twice, whereas the audience then only heard the original member once. That stinks right off the bat. 2) This show is like the polar opposite of The Voice, which I love. The Voice is constructive, and positive, and uplifting, and honors each contestant. The Four is rude, negative, petty, non-constructive, and just plain mean. But, the fate of one individual was still on the line, going into the second episode, so I decided to watch. You know a real star when you see one. You also know a real star when you hear one. This person made the grade on both accounts. So, to have a real star knocked off because of a hyped-up crowd who, again, got to hear the challenger twice, was the final nail in the coffin of the show for me. Supposedly this show is supposed to be about finding stars, but instead they are just throwing stars away for the sensationalist mechanics of the show. I hope this show tanks right away - it's just a horrible representation for a talent search.

I keep trying to give this show a chance but all of these manufactured fights are so annoying. The judges are annoying and give absolutely 0 actual criticism. They have so obviously chosen who they want to win. It's all just so fake and you get barely any actual singing. The set up is just bad. You don't get to care about any of the contestants because they just leave.

As a talent/singing show fanatic, the moment I heard of this show I was excited to say the least. I thought the concept was good, despite a couple of flaws such as the unfairness towards the contestants who start early. However, that definitely wasn't the worst part. Where should I start? The horrible judges, the horrible contestants, the drama or just everything in-between? P. Diddy is an awful judge, he doesn't see talent even if it was shoved in his face. It's so infuriating to see him let go good artists just for the sake of the worse ones sitting on one of those chairs. He tries too hard to be Simon Cowell, yet it just isn't working. Meghan Trainor is even a worse judge. I don't think she does anything at all, to be honest. She just sits there, looks at them, claps or cries. That's literally all that she does, no exaggeration. Now I had no idea who Charlie Walk was. However, he was nearly the only sane person on the table of the judges. He's the only one that knows when someone is a bad singer, the other judges are oblivious. DJ Khaled adds humor and entertainment to the show. Although he doesn't make such a great judge, he still is quite entertaining to watch. On the other hand, the contestants are absolutely horrendous themself. They are average AT BEST. As a reviewer said, they wouldn't last 1 second in another singing show. I thought the crowd would be smarter than the judges. Yet, the crowd decision half of the time is bad. This show is an absolute joke.