hahaha are you kidding?
Nobody watching a show like that would be interested in something that wasn't allready mainstream in nature. They're more of a punk/humourous project..the kind of shit that's fun to go to a hole in the wall bar and get drunk to with friends, not what a bunch of tv execs are interested in telling the children to buy... Them losing would generate more fans than winning, to be honest.
It has nothing to do with selling out... I was teasing the OP a bit just because it's really really funny. I do stand steadfast that it's shows like that which cheapen music. I'd love to see the end of this so called "reality" tv executive's wet dream (so cheap and easy to make compared to anything that takes half a brain to produce)
No one ever had a really substantial carreer in music started from something like that, even the ones that are chosen to win... you get the odd pop star american idol winner, but do you call those carreers? They're over before they've started...America moves on before they can even get fixated on it. They might get a bargain bin movie that'll make a bunch of money for a week, or get 10 year old girls to buy their album for a year, then becoming has-beens like the morons who judged the show they were on. Real careers are built from years of hard work, building a core fanbase (that will follow you no matter how much press you get) and enough of a history, and back catalog to keep you at least selling some records in times of hardship (every career has many of them).
Sure we don't care, but don't kid yourself. If you don't sound allready like the sum 41s of the world, or the Good charlettes... you will not get sales from this sort of thing, unless you try your best to be the worst thing possible that everyone laughs at what a joke you are (a.la william hung) and peopel want to buy your shit because they think it makes them witty (it's funny the ammount of people who entirely base their humour on everyone elses actions, instead of actually having a personality themselves). They were goofy, and all that, but it's not like they were singing ricky martin off key and out of breath in a thick foriegn accent while thrusting their arms around like a defective manufacturing robot,after saying how fucking awesome they are.
The reason I probably wouldn't is because I want to see people who produce those shows sent to concentration camps and given a very auchwitz like lifestyle, complete with them ultimately being put in gas chambers, while they're forced to watch their own shows on giant screens while they slowly die. All the has-been loser "expert panels" that are really cast just to be just like the origional set of has-been talentless hacks on american idol's "panel"...Not only do they make a shitty show, but they basically copy exactly the same show over and over and over just with very small differences (what are they fucking being paid for...not only is it copied from another show, but it was a stupid idea to begin with!)... next there will be america's next top televangelist, america's next top plumber, america's next top rapist... they would have to find the rapist versions of the expert panel... be sure to get someone from the UK or Austrialia for the prick... you know they probably could get ole mr. cowel to be on that show, as he no doubt gets his kicks as a date rapist anyway (doesn't anyone else get that vibe?)
Anyway, it isn't so much a matter of "right or wrong". It's kind of funny to bring a band like that to such a dumbfuck show and scam a free vacation from some lazy over paid talentless tv "producers" who should be asking for change on the street corner for a living... it's more a matter of, in reality, there will be not as much fame as a result as one might think... it's possible if you're really terrible.. but they weren't terrible enough to become famous off of being an idiot (like william hung). Funny to watch the video of it, and no doubt a perfect thing for their press kit (any self respecting band should wear being told they suck from those guys a big honour)
btw. hate to burst your bubble..those shows aren't really contests at all...it's all cast who's going to win beforehand..they let people try out to create rabid interest in the show by the public (wow these are my peers...i could even do this..kind of like with game shows back in the day), and also to generate some comic relief... shit like American idol and stuff like this have two sets of "auditions" one for the public (ones that will lose, and/or provide some "side splitting" rejected shows) and the private auditions through modeling/talent agencies (the ones who will either win or make it to the "finals") The "panel of judges" are usually people who's carreers are effectively over, who are quite out of touch with the times...the reason they take jobs like that is because it's a last ditch effort to revive, prolong their celebrety (without relying on their publisists to spread, on purpose, negative press in order to swipe up what money they can from dumb preteen girls who will pay for anything made by someone in the press.. kind of like Paris Hilton, and even Brittany Spears did in her heyday..she owned the copyright for the "spear brittany" shirts..and has returned to doing lately.) "reality tv" is no more real than CSI (which is quite the fuck inaccurate with ...umm...almost everything). It's basically the result of a Hollywood that has completely run out of ideas, and what new ideas do exist offer too large of a risk for them to be comfortable with it. So they decide to use cheap gear, stupid scripts, or none at all, pick up Z list actors/actresses that are desperate for anything (and willing to work for nothing/or almost nothing), rehashing the same exact show over and over with one word changed (I have this genius idea, why don't we do america's next top foot model.... the network will love it..I could be a tv producer if I sucked enough cock). It probably won't get you anywhere, and it's only worth doing for an interesting experience..so they had some fun time with a free vacation and got told they were terrible by the has-been trifecta from hell.. fine by me.. but you have to admit, tis fun to tease someone about.
So now I announce, I'll be on the next episode of americas next top medical school drop out..we'll be performing some fatal surgery mistakes this round, to see who can go on to intern under Dr. Jack Kevorkian, at his state of the art assisted suicide clinic.