In a new release for the Netflix Reality show, The Signing review will let you know whether it lives up to the standards of the other reality shows in the realm. Also known as La Firma, this show features Lex Borrero, Tainy, Nicki Nicole, Rauw Alejandro and Yandel as judges who will be guiding the twelve contestants through the rounds as they become better music artists ready to sign on to the record label NEON16. Lex Borrero serves as the creator and producer of this show to search for the next Latin Urban star.

-The Signing Review Does Not Contain Spoilers-

Competitive reality TV shows are fun to watch. You are rooting for a certain contestant to win and continue to feel passionate about it till they are either eliminated, or they win, in which case the incoming vindictive feeling takes over everything. However, in this show, it wasn’t easy to find anything to root for. All the contestants came with something in mind, but it wasn’t reflected in their music or in the kind of themes they were expected to emulate throughout the show.

It must be noted that the creators probably didn’t want forced emotionality to take over the crux of the show. Still, it didn’t even manage to give the audience any indication as to why these artists didn’t just take the normal route of becoming an artist. Furthermore, the judging criteria for this show were all over the place. There was not a single moment you could agree with the judges about the performance. While they did make it seem like all the genres within Latin music would be accepted, the eliminations told a different story.

The selection process for the show seemed more inclusive than it is and even included people who had been through addiction and were currently in recovery. While it should have championed those efforts and used their experience to give something new to the show, it didn’t manage to do that. Additionally, the themes given to the contestants and how the judges thought about them had a lot to do with their own opinions rather than any creative expression from the contestants themselves.

However, the most infuriating thing about this show was the blatant use of autotune to make their voices sound better. It gets worse, folks because they pretend it isn’t happening by making them all seem like they’re singing live when they really aren’t. Reality shows have the word reality in them. At least a part of it should be believed in. Fundamentally, this shows that the series has very little to do with music in general and just wanted some sparkle and spectacle in order to choose an artist from a roster of up-and-coming singers.

This show also made one thing clear, the male gaze extends past languages and genres and is very clear in the way the male singers in the show speak of the women and the people they fall in love with. Even within the love song theme, the focus was majorly on the female body rather than the emotion that comes with that. When someone from the group of singers decided to talk about being a woman in music, she was criticised, saying she didn’t follow the theme.

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The Signing Review: Final Thoughts

This show is absolutely uninteresting to watch. The singers are all talented and have their strengths, but they continue to make music that sounds exactly like their peers. Moreover, the contestants that tried to go against the grain and try something different were removed from the competition.

It must be noted that the person paying for this show is also the person judging within the series. Their contribution is unequal because even though they would like to believe it doesn’t exist, it definitely does. This creates a weird kind of dynamic within the show and especially in the way the viewers would interact with the content.

The Signing is currently streaming on Netflix. What did you enjoy seeing in this show? Let us know in the comments below.

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