I think it’s pretty safe to say that reality television has really changed pop culture in America. Almost undeniably the leader of the pack is (or was) American Idol. It probably had something to do with a combination of the audience interaction and the witnessing of the American dream that really drew people in, but it was only a matter of time before the copycats emerged. Now, in Europe, singing competitions have been around forever, and they have remained overwhelmingly popular. In fact, pretty much all of the singing competition shows in America are just imports from overseas, including American Idol, America’s Got Talent, and the newest addition to the pack, The X Factor.

However, in the U.S., it’s kind of a different ballgame. Currently, there’s no bigger television show or force in the music industry than the Simon Cowell-led X Factor. Even the third and fourth runners up are releasing massively successful music, and past competitors have gone on to have big careers. Here in the U.S., contestants don’t seem to be quite so lucky. In fact, Idol winners such as Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood are the exceptions rather than the rules. I mean, who even knows what fellow winners Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks are doing? Let alone, who cares? Sure, even some non-winners have seen success, such as Chris Daughtry and his self-titled band, and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson; but are they actually amongst the biggest acts in music? Not really.

So the question really is why so many shows? Sure, ratings are consistently high, but American Idol hasn’t produced a true superstar since Carrie Underwood in 2005. Instead, we’ve seen more cult acts, such as Adam Lambert and Clay Aiken, middle ground pop stars, like Jordan Sparks, and a hoard of complete failures. Even Jennifer Hudson is more of just a celebrity with an acclaimed voice. She’s hardly lighting up the charts. So what makes other shows think they can top it?

This summer, we were introduced to The Voice. A confusingly crafted, yet strangely addictive competition, the show was one of the most surprising hits of the summer. In fact, it really seemed like the winner and even runners up, had a real shot at superstardom. However, as time moves farther away from the finale, where Javier Colon was named “The Voice,” a successful career is starting to seem more and more grim. Now, I could be wrong, but to put it in perspective, when Kelly Clarkson won Idol, her debut single was a huge-selling #1. Javier’s single barely cracked the top-20. We’ve also seen shows like America’s Got Talent, the US version of Britain’s Got Talent, which produced the multi-platinum international superstar Susan Boyle, has failed to truly launch a mega-star, the exception being Jackie Evencho, the 11-year-old classical crossover singer, who has seen unprecedented album sales for her genre.

It almost appears that the judges are the ones who actually reap the benefits. New Idol judges, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler are perfect examples. The Aerosmith frontman earned himself a top-40 hit, and J.Lo unarguably had one of the biggest singles of the year, “On The Floor,” which was her most popular in quite some time. The Voice judges seemed to have it even better! A faltering Christina Aguilera was tacked on to fellow-mentor, Adam Levine’s band Maroon 5’s single “Moves Like Jagger,” and the song is currently sitting on top of the Billboard Hot 100. Even country artist Blake Shelton earned his first #1 album after appearing on the show. However, as for the contestants themselves? No one’s really seems to care all that much.

So now that Simon Cowell is bringing The X Factor to America, we really have to re-examine the “why?” from earlier. Yes, it’s huge overseas, but that doesn’t particularly mean it will be here. It also has at least three competing shows, two of which Cowell had a hand in creating, and more on the way. What’s the draw? To be quite honest, Simon himself and the return of former Idol judge, Paula Abdul. Will the contestants actually win fame? That’s to be determined, but if the previous shows are anything to go by, probably not.

It really seems that these television shows are just that…shows. They’re not really setting up anyone for superstardom. They’re just providing bi-weekly entertainment. Once the show’s over, so is the interest. I think the appeal is very legitimate, but the competition is really all that matters. The winner wins their moment of glory, and that’s really about it.