Masking tape: ideas for improvement

[marketdoctor]

I've seen some discussion of how to improve the show, so here is my list:

1.  Increase the amount of singing relative to other stuff.  Some of that might be a rights issue, and if so, it's good to know where to focus the improvement efforts.  While we're at it:

2.  MUTE THE JUDGES WHILE THE CONTESTANTS ARE SINGING.  Showing them having fun, dancing along, etc. is fine; showing them saying "OMG THIS IS SO HARD!!?!??!?!" distracts from the performance.

3.  In a show that rewards audience attention for the clues, you have an audience that's trying to be perceptive.  Therefore, if you don't show the actual studio audience reacting, people are more likely to spot a fake.  (This is an SNL sketch waiting to happen:  showing an "audience" of cosplayers at Comic-Con, or a political convention, or watching the NFL playoffs.)  Real is fine; none is fine--the costumers worked hard and should have their work showcased.

4.  Casting matters.  The strongest contestants seem to be people who are famous, but not for singing (Chloe Kim!), followed by singers either signing outside their area, and a few non-singers who are better than you'd think.  Someone's got to go home the first week, but the fewer people you want to leave, the less the audience will.

5.  You don't have to refer to everyone behind the mask as a "superstar".  "Celebrity" is fine.  If the mask comes off, and I don't know who the person is, that's fine...unless you told me how famous they were, and then I feel uninformed.

6.  You can draw from other areas of fame than sports, politics, and acting, although those are all high-profile groups.  Getting people who can "also sing" is great.

Note that this whole list is hopes, not expectations, and somewhere, whoever monitors social media for the show is underpaid and deserves a raise.