I am, unashamedly, a huge fan of the TV show "America’s Got Talent." I make a point of watching every episode I can (and devouring YouTube clips of the ones I can’t), and I’m usually in agreement with the judges’ choices regarding contestants. Sure, I’m not a fan of the inevitable people-hanging-weights-from-their-eyelids that get voted through year after year, but the people in these acts are at least adults, and I respect their right to make informed, adult decisions (however disgusting) regarding their bodies. The acts that disturb me the most, though, are not the contortionists, the weight-hangers, or the daredevils; no, I am most disturbed by the children who sing opera.
This might seem strange to some, but the science behind it is indisputable. The human voice doesn’t mature until a person reaches approximately 25-years of age. There is a reason that most children sound like…well…children and not opera singers: children’s voices aren’t matured. By over-darkening their tone and forcing vibrato into their sound in order to mimic the sounds of opera stars, these so-called “child prodigies” are doing what could be lasting damage to their voices. In order to achieve the depth required of an operatic sound, these children are pulling their sound back into their throats. Because they don’t have the developed vocal anatomy required to achieve this sound naturally, engaging in this practice will inevitably cause damage to the child’s voice, often leading to conditions such as dysphonia and vocal nodes.
It is for this reason that I found Mel B.’s choice to use her golden buzzer on an operatic 13-year-old in this season of "America’s Got Talent" so incredibly frustrating. It’s bad enough that Jackie Evancho’s time on the show popularized this notion, but the fact that this is still viewed as a mark of success and prodigy in children with growing voices? It’s terrifying. I fear for all the impressionable young children who will watch this season of "America’s Got Talent" and decide that since this is the current mark of success for children in the singing world, they need to cultivate an operatic sound. And, sure enough, there are even vocal instructors who will encourage this behavior in their child students, giving them literature way too advanced for their age, even though this is considered by anyone knowledgeable in vocal technique to be vocal abuse.
So, I get it. 12- and 13-year-old “opera singers” are rare; they’re cute; they’re unusual. They’re different. But they’re also unhealthy. If you’re really that desperate to see something out of the ordinary, I assure you, there are dozens of other equally shocking acts on the show. But it’s 2016. And it’s time we stop encouraging children to damage their futures for our entertainment.
