History Main / HopelessAuditionees

In short, it's a sadistic ritual wherein real people are humiliated in front of an audience of millions for the sake of a few giggles. Naturally, this is a subtrope of ExpectationLowerer; the audience feels better by watching people worse than them.

* The Creator/MitchBenn song "Sing Like an Angel" from the perspective of a Hopeless Auditionee who comes across as genuinely delusional. The focus is on how this unfortunate person is about to be humiliated for entertainment purposes ... and on leaving the studio, still doesn't realise it.

* The Creator/MitchBenn song "Sing Like an Angel" from the perspective of a Hopeless Auditionee who comes across as genuinely delusional. The focus is on how this unfortunate person is about to be humiliated on TV for entertainment purposes ... and on leaving the studio, still doesn't realise it.

* DreadfulMusician Cacofonix hosts a talent contest of the reality show style in ''{{Asterix}} and Obelix's Birthday'', and proceeds to find singers even worse than he is, which is borderline impossible.

** A couple of the coaches on ''Series/TheVoice'' have let it be known that there is one sure way to become a HoplessAuditionee on their show, and that try to audition using a Music/{{Queen}} song. In the words of Adam Levine, "Queen is so epic that unless you can top them... and you can't... you shouldn't even try."

* ''AmericasNextTopModel'' never shows the entire auditions process, but there's always around 35 or so girls that make it to the semi-finals and several of them are clearly picked to fill this trope anyway, often if nothing else to cause drama with Tyra Banks.

* ''America's Next Top Model'' never shows the entire auditions process, but there's always around 35 or so girls that make it to the semi-finals and several of them are clearly picked to fill this trope anyway, often if nothing else to cause drama with Tyra Banks.

-->-- '''Simon Cowell''', ''AmericanIdol''

* Anything with Simon Cowell, such as ''AmericanIdol''/''Pop Idol'', ''Series/BritainsGotTalent'', ''Series/TheXFactor''...

*** Since then he has made a guest appearance on ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' as a cast member of the ShowWithinAShow ''Mock Trial With Judge Reinhold'' where he was the lead singer for the show's live band ''William Hung and his Hung Jury.'' This is a lot more professional work than most AmericanIdol contestants have ever gotten.

* Subverted cruelly by the talent show parody ''Superstar USA'', which ran parallel to ''AmericanIdol's'' third season. Basically, the bad auditioners were treated like stars while the truly talented were told "You will thank me for saying this: NEXT!" One can imagine why the show wasn't picked up for another season; the potential damage to a person's psyche -- whether it's a girl who can really sing running offstage in tears after being told she's terrible, or someone truly horrible told they're a star only to be later humiliated in front of a live audience and on national TV -- was disturbing. According to ThatOtherWiki, the person chosen over the others ("winner" just doesn't sound right), Jamie Floss, didn't seem to mind that the show was a joke and actually had small roles on TV dramas. Thankfully her album was never released. The really fucked-up thing: The cheering crowds for the live performances? Apparently, they had all been told that those performing were doing so as part of a "Make a Wish" type program, of the fantasy they wanted to do before they died. Fucked. Up.

** The show also gave us Ian "How you been?" Benardo, a New Yorker with an [[SmallNameBigEgo inflated sense of self-importance]] who, after being rejected from the show, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXNezArHmWQ went and tried his luck]] on ''AmericanIdol''. The way he acts almost goes into parody. He may not actually be serious at all.

Every once in a while, a [[HopelessAuditionees Hopeless Auditionee]] will actually ''pass'' the auditions. If they get far enough, they may even become an EliminationHoudini. If a Hopeless Auditionee can't wrap their head around the idea that they might not be the most talented thing on two feet, they're GiftedlyBad.

* Averted by the gameshow ''{{Series/Wipeout}}''. The contestants who make it past the initial rounds make it because they're actually capable of passing the courses in reasonable time, and are given proper recognition for their accomplishments. However, at the end of every episode, there is a montage of the most spectacular failures and hilariously bad falls (not in a mocking manner, but because it's [[RuleOfFunny genuinely funny]]). In the first round, everyone is made to look like HopelessAuditionees since it is almost impossible to complete without wiping out multiple times. The best of those are then put through the second round where skill, balance and stamina are actually tested.

** The first season really emphasized that almost all the contestants did not have much formal kitchen experience. Unsurprisingly those with real experience as chefs made it the farthest. Future seasons featured much more experienced contestants and the HopelessAuditionees stand out more.

* Anything with SimonCowell, such as ''AmericanIdol''/''Pop Idol'', ''Series/BritainsGotTalent'', ''Series/TheXFactor''...

* ''American Inventor'' was the best. Some of the inventions would leave you in pain from laughter. The Therapy Buddy was the best: [[ThisIsSparta Everything. Is. Going. To Be. All. Right.]]

** [[WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes}} The cartoon adaptation]] has particular fun with this. The audition episode The Substitutes doubles as ADayInTheLimelight episode, and got foreshadowed by a comic relief scene in an earlier episode tormenting [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Lightning Lad]].

* Anything with SimonCowell, such as ''AmericanIdol''/''Pop Idol'', ''Series/BritainsGotTalent'', ''TheXFactor''...

*** Since then he has made a guest appearance on ArrestedDevelopment as a cast member of the ShowWithinAShow ''Mock Trial With Judge Reinhold'' where he was the lead singer for the show's live band ''William Hung and his Hung Jury.'' This is a lot more professional work than most AmericanIdol contestants have ever gotten.

-->--'''Simon Cowell''', ''AmericanIdol''

->''"I'd never been to an audition before. It was upsetting... a grotesque carnival of human misery."''
-->--'''Jack Donaghy''', ''Series/ThirtyRock''

-->--'''Jack Donaghy''', ''[[Series/ThirtyRock 30 Rock]]''

!!Examples:
[[AC:{{Comic Books}}]]
* Always a highlight of any ''Comicbook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}}' audition are the people with [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway lame powers]] trying their best to impress the Legion.
** [[WesternAnimation/{{Legion Of Super Heroes}} The cartoon adaptation]] had particular fun with this. The audition episode The Substitutes doubles as ADayInTheLimelight episode, and got foreshadowed by a comic relief scene in an earlier episode tormenting [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Lightning Lad]].
* One ''JudgeDredd'' strip in the Metro newspaper (and reprinted in the Megazine) showed a talent show where one of the failed contestants (an ElvisImpersonator no less) comes back and holds the panel hostage. Dredd beats him up and arrests him, only to be criticised for the lack of style in his violence. Dredd arrests them too.

[[AC:{{Live-Action TV}}]]
* Anything with SimonCowell, such as ''American Idol''/''Pop Idol'', ''Series/BritainsGotTalent'', ''TheXFactor''
-->'''Simon Cowell''': Last year I described someone as being the worst singer in America. I think you're possibly the worst singer in the world. Based on that performance. And I'm absolutely serious. I've never ever heard anything like that in my life. Ever.
** Probably the most infamous example of a single auditionee was William Hung, an Asian-American man who became known throughout the world for his atrocious singing. His spectacular bomb has actually made him famous, ironically enough.
*** Also subverted with Hung. While he's far from a good singer, he took the critique positively and the judges didn't really kill him at all. Plus he is very aware that he can't sing.
**** It was that he took the criticism well and admitted to simply doing his best that was the crux to his charm and subsequent fame; he was sincere. Other Hung-wannabes that have followed did not realize that.
** The judges have since made a few unofficial rules for potential contestants, the biggest being "Don't sing [[WhitneyHouston Whitney]] and don't sing [[MariahCarey Mariah.]]" It's almost a guarantee that anyone who tries will become one of these because 1) both singer's songs have been painfully overdone, and 2) most people don't come anywhere near their abilities, and always end up screeching and wailing way out of their depth.

* Subverted cruelly by the talent show parody ''Superstar USA'', which ran parallel to ''AmericanIdol's'' third season. Basically, the bad auditioners were treated like stars while the truly talented were told "You will thank me for saying this: NEXT!" One can imagine why the show wasn't picked up for another season; the potential damage to a person's psyche--whether it's a girl who can really sing running offstage in tears after being told she's terrible, or someone truly horrible told they're a star only to be later humiliated in front of a live audience and on national TV--was disturbing. According to ThatOtherWiki, the person chosen over the others ("winner" just doesn't sound right), Jamie Floss, didn't seem to mind that the show was a joke and actually had small roles on TV dramas. Thankfully her album was never released.
** The really fucked up thing: The cheering crowds for the live performances? Apparently, they had all been told that those performing were doing so as part of a "Make a Wish" type program, of the fantasy they wanted to do before they died. Fucked. Up.
* Famously subverted by [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jca_p_3FcWA Susan Boyle]] in the 2009 season of ''Series/BritainsGotTalent''. Both the "introduction piece" and the reactions of the jury showed that everybody expected this trope to come down in full force. Then she [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome started to sing]], proving you should never judge a book by its cover. To their credit, the jury admitted how wrong they were in their assessment.

* ''[[Series/AmericasGotTalent America's Got Talent]]'' pretty much gives away who the hopeless auditionees are by playing upbeat or otherwise mocking music during the pre-performance interviews with them. Some also get a RecordNeedleScratch when the interview music stops and they're shown walking on stage. The hopeful ones almost always have horror stories and overly dramatic music playing for their segments.
** Invoked with Leonid the Magnificent; a very tall, flamboyantly gay Russian guy with a thick Russian accent, who has been a participant of the first two seasons. His second time around, he comes on stage in huge platform shoes, no shirt, spray-painted silver, with a giant headdress, and two women on leashes who dance while he does virtually nothing but pose and make faces---far less than what he'd done in the first season. He still gets put through to the next round, much to David Hasselhoff's anger (and he walks out afterward). He gets eliminated the next round, though.

* Fans of ''SoYouThinkYouCanDance'' have, from the second season through to the fifth, had to put up with a geeky-looking fellow who insisted he be called "Sex." His talent was marginal at best. Compounding the fact is he took his mother with him who was insistent that he was an amazing talent getting a raw deal.
** The show also gave us Ian "How you been?" Benardo, a New Yorker with an [[SmallNameBigEgo inflated sense of self-importance]] who, after being rejected from the show, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXNezArHmWQ went and tried his luck]] on ''AmericanIdol''.
*** The way he acts almost goes into parody. He may not actually be serious at all.
* Averted by the gameshow ''Series/{{Wipeout}}''. The contestants who make it past the initial rounds make it because they're actually capable of passing the courses in reasonable time, and are given proper recognition for their accomplishments. However, at the end of every episode, there is a montage of the most spectacular failures and hilariously bad falls (not in a mocking manner, but because it's [[RuleOfFunny genuinely funny]]).
** In the first round everyone is made to look like HopelessAuditionees since it is almost impossible to complete without wiping out multiple times. The best of those are then put through the second round where skill, balance and stamina are actually tested.

* ''PowerRangersRPM'' parodies this Trope by showing various people auditioning for the role of Ranger Operator Series Green.
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* Always a highlight of any ''{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}}' audition are the people with [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway lame powers]] trying their best to impress the Legion.
** [[Series/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}} The cartoon adaptation]] had particular fun with this. The audition episode The Substitutes doubles as ADayInTheLimelight episode, and got foreshadowed by a comic relief scene in an earlier episode tormenting [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Lightning Lad]].

-->--'''Jack Donaghy''', ''[[ThirtyRock 30 Rock]]''

* Averted by the gameshow ''Wipeout'' (no, not [[{{Wipeout}} that one]]). The contestants who make it past the initial rounds make it because they're actually capable of passing the courses in reasonable time, and are given proper recognition for their accomplishments. However, at the end of every episode, there is a montage of the most spectacular failures and hilariously bad falls (not in a mocking manner, but because it's [[RuleOfFunny genuinely funny]]).