Netflix’s Building the Band is building a whole new era of music-themed reality TV, one note at a time. If you were a fan of The X Factor or American Idol, or even if you binged series such as Netflix’s Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE – you will want to make a bowl of popcorn and get extra comfy for Building the Band.
This show centers around a Love Is Blind themed concept (another Netflix hit): 50 singers are put into booths and must form their own bands without ever laying eyes on one another. The auditions are all they have to go off of – well, that and vibes, since the singers are allowed to chat with one another here and there through phone calls and scope out their potential bandmates.
People get eliminated as in any other reality show – not just in the booths, but after the bands are formed. Only six groups will make it out of the booths and experience the full Building The Band process – beginning rehearsals, receiving mentorship, choosing band names, polishing their aesthetic, and performing for crowds and celeb judges. It’s especially interesting to see how the bands and their individual voices will gel together.
This show brings back everything that was so good about The X Factor during the One Direction and Fifth Harmony era. This writer was a fan and misses the nostalgia of those performances. You just had to be there to experience that, and now, you most certainly can. It’s nice to see these bands rehearse behind the scenes, view their dynamics off of the stage, and even get a little peek at the drama when the curtain closes. And it definitely does deliver a serving of drama, fit for any Netflix show. At the same time, there are also wholesome moments that will warm your heart.
Not to mention the show is studded with stars who all used to be in a band – AJ McLean is the host, Nicole Scherzinger is the mentor, and they’re joined by Kelly Rowland and Liam Payne as judges. Those are some big names when it comes to bands, and they’re perfect picks to give these hopeful artists some much needed advice.
It’s wonderful to root for your favorite acts and see so many performances, especially because the groups are formed on their own and not by record labels. It makes it feel especially authentic, because these bands have a real connection and friendship outside of what’s on paper. They are also extremely passionate and dedicated to their vision, forming their own looks and sound.
However, it’s only season one (of hopefully many more), and there are definitely improvements to be made if this show wants to continue hitting all of the right notes. The release schedule of a few episodes per week definitely builds the hype on social media, with more and more fans getting into the series. However, the last leg definitely feels slightly weaker than the rest. The reason is, though it contains a majority of the performances, it’s barely split up with behind the scenes. It’s reminiscent of other singing shows, with a sneak preview of what the week was like for the band before their performance.
But it’s also reality television. It’d be nice to see more of what the band is working on, what improvements they make and pitfalls they encounter, and even showing what they do when they’re not on stage. This would really build up the story and make the viewer feel more connected to the bands, rather than just showing performances back to back to back, for three whole final episodes. They do a wonderful job of this in the earlier episodes, specifically the second part, so it’d be nice to have this continue throughout.
Still, the artists selected are top tier, and most of them have a chance of taking the crown home, which makes this such an exciting watch. Every band has a unique perspective – from girl groups to boy bands to mixed groups – and honestly, most of the performances will either blow you away, make you dance along, or inspire a rewatch. Only one band can win, but many of the groups are still together beyond the show, which proves that this process really can and does work. Yours truly will be anticipating many of the groups’ music and eagerly waiting for the next season.
