Audition show for Last Choir Standing

The BBC's latest derivative reality singing show is Last Choir Standing.

Instead of individual singers, for this series choirs were invited to audition. The producers pulled together features from The X Factor and other such series to try to give the series a good start.

Myleene Klass is a good presenter. Nick Knowles may struggle. But it's good to see some fairly new presenters given a chance instead of seeing the same old codgers recycled again.

The panel of judges includes a soap actress, Sharon D Clarke. She is presumably supposed to be the wacky judge along the lines of Sharon Osbourne. Unfortunately she showed even less judgement than her hapless namesake and didn't have much of a clue who to put through. Suzi Digby and Russell Watson, the other two judges, were mostly shown voting the choirs through so it was difficult to tell what the standard was of the choirs which were rejected.

Vast chunks of the first show were devoted to the back stories of the choirs and not very much was heard of them singing. Each choir had several members and lots of choirs were featured in the first show. So what adds to the texture of shows like The X Factor just made Last Choir Standing look a disorganized mess.

When many of the choirs were singing, a piano was being plonked randomly in the background spoiling the harmonies the choirs were creating on the stage. And of course old X Factor favourites like Rob D's Clubbed To Death, Patience and You Raise Me Up were added to the soundtrack to try to add atmosphere and mood before or after the judges' decisions.

A soulful gospel choir was probably the best act to go through. But Nick Knowles wasn't sure what they were called. He introduced them as Revelation but two minutes thought they were called Revelations.

One of the best choirs shown, the Amabile Girls' Choir, was rejected - Suzi Digby spent time telling them she didn't like their dresses - while other much poorer choirs were nodded through. But some interesting acts, like Handbags of Harmonies were voted through so the series could get some traction if the production standards are sorted by the time they get to the live shows. And that will include a lot more music and a lot less waffle.

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