Reality Rocks

Talkin’ ‘Bout “You Generation”: Simon Cowell Launches Online Talent Contest

By | Reality Rocks – Thu, Feb 28, 2013 3:58 PM EST

Simon Cowell has taken his search for the next, um, Melanie Amaro or Tate Stevens to the Interweb...

photo: Danny Martindale/Getty ImagesThis Thursday, the "X Factor" impresario's Syco Entertainment announced a new global online talent contest, "The You Generation," that does away with those pesky $15 million celebrity judges' salaries, Brian Friedman-choreographed hoochie dancers, and Khloe Kardashian. "You Generation"—which kicks off March 20, in 15 languages and 26 countries around the world—will take things back to basics, featuring unknowns with "unconventional and original talents" performing for webcams in their bedrooms.

The contest will run for an entire year, with different talent categories (and new prizes) rolling out every two weeks. (Or, as Syco's oh-so-British press release says, "every fortnight.") There will also be a grand prize awarded at the end of the year.

Is the launch of "The You Generation" a sign of the times—Simon's attempt to acknowledge that TV talent shows may soon go the way of the other ancient television innovations like MTV-in-stereo (call your cable operator!) and the VCR? Or perhaps this is just his acknowledgment that "The X Factor" is never going to be the 20-million-viewers ratings juggernaut he once dreamed of/bragged about? Maybe...

Check out the contest's YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/yougenerationtv.

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