History Main / HopelessAuditionees

* "Kaz Superstar" was a ''WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi'' story for DC Comics (Cartoon Network Block Party) lampooning the William Hung act on ''Series/AmericanIdol''. The girls' manager Kaz auditions at a talent show and is so awful he is kicked out of the studio by all three judges. But his act gets notice and soon he's in high demand while Ami and Yumi are relegated to has-been status.

* The cartoon adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' has particular fun with this. The audition episode The Substitutes doubles as ADayInTheLimelight episode, and got foreshadowed by a comic relief scene in an earlier episode tormenting [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Lightning Lad]].

* Always a highlight of any ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' audition are the people with [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway lame powers]] trying their best to impress the Legion.
* One ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' strip in the Metro newspaper (and reprinted in the Megazine) showed a talent show where one of the failed contestants (an ElvisImpersonator no less) comes back and holds the panel hostage. Dredd beats him up and arrests him, only to be criticised for the lack of style in his violence. Dredd arrests them too.

* "Kaz Superstar" was a ''WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi'' story for DC Comics (Cartoon Network Block Party) lampooning the William Hung act on ''Series/AmericanIdol.'' The girls' manager Kaz auditions at a talent show and is so awful he is kicked out of the studio by all three judges. But his act gets notice and soon he's in high demand while Ami and Yumi are relegated to has-been status.

* Brazilian film ''Xuxa Popstar'' includes one such montage, in which various guys audition to be the Popstar talent agency's brand new star set to be launched during the big runway show at the end of the movie. Said men include several wannabe dancers, several men who [[FanserviceExtra gratuitously take their tops off]] -- one of which does so while singing a nursery rhyme --, two men that start arguing halfway through their audition, and an older man who auditions by reciting poetry. By the time we get to this last one, main character Nick Yoner is already visibly exhausted. For those who are curious, it can be seen [[https://youtu.be/3a-ZrR-G9YY?t=2263 here]].

* Subverted cruelly by the talent show parody ''Superstar USA'', which ran parallel to ''Series/AmericanIdol's'' third season. Basically, the bad auditioners were treated like stars while the truly talented were told "You will thank me for saying this: NEXT!" One can imagine why the show wasn't picked up for another season; the potential damage to a person's psyche - whether it's a girl who really can sing running offstage in tears after being told she's terrible, or someone truly horrible told they're a star only to be later humiliated in front of a live audience [[note]](who, by the way, had all been told that the performers were part of a "Make a Wish"-type program; they were cheering because they thought these people were ''dying'')[[/note]] on national TV - was disturbing. According to Website/ThatOtherWiki, the person chosen over the others ("winner" just doesn't sound right), Jamie Floss, didn't seem to mind that the show was a joke and actually had small roles on TV dramas. Thankfully, her album was never released.

* ''Series/AmericasGotTalent'' pretty much gives away who the hopeless auditionees are by playing upbeat or otherwise mocking music during the pre-performance interviews with them. Some also get a RecordNeedleScratch when the interview music stops and they're shown walking on stage. The hopeful ones almost always have horror stories and overly dramatic music playing for their segments.
** Invoked with Leonid the Magnificent; a very tall, flamboyantly gay Russian guy with a thick Russian accent, who has been a participant of the first two seasons. His second time around, he comes on stage in huge platform shoes, no shirt, spray-painted silver, with a giant headdress, and two women on leashes who dance while he does virtually nothing but pose and make faces - far less than what he'd done in the first season. He still gets put through to the next round, much to David Hasselhoff's anger (and he walks out afterward). He gets eliminated the next round, though.
** ''Completely'' subverted by Music/PrincePoppycock, a stage persona who performed in a full 18th century French gentleman's court formal outfit, complete with white face paint, a huge white wig, and high-heeled shoes. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6E5kebinoQ With a magnificent tenor voice and incredible stage presence.]]
** Presumably because this trope is becoming increasingly viewed as mocking the poor saps who get rejected, later seasons cut ''far'' back on it, only showing a handful of ''particularly'' bad ones.
* ''Series/SoYouThinkYouCanDance''

* ''Series/AmericanGladiators'': the requirements to get on the show, and the [[Series/{{Gladiators}} UK version]], was a rigorous set of physical tests (shuttle runs, chin-ups, etc.), and you'd need to get through multiple regional levels before the national level. Most of the contenders who did get on the show usually displayed at least some form of aptitude in any of the events; they were not mocked for failure, but given credit for going up there and giving it their all.
* The first episode of any ''Series/NinjaWarrior'' tournament consists largely of those who are running the course for TV exposure. Expect most of them to fall at the first obstacle, while the serious competitors will get to the Jump Hang or Warped Wall before they lose.
* ''American Inventor'' was the best. Some of the inventions would leave you in pain from laughter. The Therapy Buddy was the best: [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Everything. Is. Going. To Be. All. Right.]]
* ''Series/HellsKitchen'' will generally have some contestants who either come from backgrounds with no cooking experience at all, or they're private chefs, diner workers, or otherwise completely unused to working on a line in a fine-dining restaurant and can't make appropriate attitude adjustments. They don't last long, typically. The first season really emphasized that almost all the contestants did not have much formal kitchen experience. Unsurprisingly, those with real experience as chefs made it the farthest. Future seasons featured much more experienced contestants and the Hopeless Auditionees stand out more.
* ''Series/MasterChef'' also includes some Hopeless Auditionees; generally not people who have no skill whatsoever, just those with really bizarre concepts or personalities. While some get truly scathing comments, some do manage to get compliments, just not a place on the show.
* ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' parodies this trope by showing various people auditioning for the role of Green Ranger.
* On ''Series/{{Glee}},'' Sugar becomes New Directions' first-ever reject due to her horrible singing. She does eventually join the club after a long series of events, but doesn't get any solos.
* The various celebrities involved in ''Series/TheVoice'' take great pride in the fact that they never ''ever'' humiliate an auditioner, no matter how badly they do. Even those singers who get a huge case of stage-fright and literally stop singing in the middle of their acts are given constructive criticism, a chance to calm down (and often literally hugs and hand-holding if they seem to need it), and friendly advice on how to be better singers. The best of these HopelessAuditionees are told that they should try again once they've worked on whatever problems they displayed. At least two did come back, with much more success the second time around. A couple of the coaches on ''Series/TheVoice'' have let it be known that there is one sure way to become a Hopeless Auditionee on their show, and that's trying to audition using a Music/{{Queen}} song. In the words of Adam Levine, "Queen is so epic that unless you can top them... and you can't... you shouldn't even try."
* ''Series/DragonsDen'' has this in spades, with a fair amount of the show (namely the middle part) being a montage of hopeless businessmen/women bringing in useless products and not getting anything close to an investment, each one lasting about a minute if you're lucky. Sometimes the show will also cut between three different failed pitches in order, showing bits of each failed one in order in a matter of seconds. (Averted in the US edition, ''Shark Tank'', which doesn't have this segment.)
* The ''Series/BlackMirror'' episode "[[Recap/BlackMirrorFifteenMillionMerits Fifteen Million Merits]]" had a background character who kept getting passed over in the episode's ShowWithinAShow reality TV talent contest. It winds up being justified at the end, because she's a [[HollywoodToneDeaf really bad]] DreadfulMusician.
* ''Series/TheGongShow'', as a parody of talent shows in general, is naturally full of these people, who often tend to [[{{Whammy}} get Gonged]].
* Played with in the ''Series/CornerGas'' episode "[[Recap/CornerGasS2E15RockOn Rock On!]]". Most of the people auditioning to be Thunderface's drummer are actually decent. The problem is ''none of them are drummers'', because [[TheDitz Hank]] forgot to specify that part in the ad.
* ''Series/TheBigLeap'' gets a slew of these when casting the reality show of the same name, before they start seeing the better dancers.

* Averted by ''Series/{{Wipeout}}''. The contestants who make it past the initial rounds make it because they're actually capable of passing the courses in reasonable time, and are given proper recognition for their accomplishments. However, at the end of every episode, there is a montage of the most spectacular failures and hilariously bad falls (not in a mocking manner, but because it's [[RuleOfFunny genuinely funny]]). In the first round, everyone is made to look like Hopeless Auditionees since it is almost impossible to complete without wiping out multiple times. The best of those are then put through the second round where skill, balance and stamina are actually tested.
* Same thing with ''Series/AmericanGladiators'' and the [[Series/{{Gladiators}} UK version]] -- the requirements to get on the show was a rigorous set of physical tests (shuttle runs, chin-ups, etc.), and you'd need to get through multiple regional levels before the national level. Most of the contenders who did get on the show usually displayed at least some form of aptitude in any of the events; they were not mocked for failure, but given credit for going up there and giving it their all.

* Subverted cruelly by the talent show parody ''Superstar USA'', which ran parallel to ''Series/AmericanIdol's'' third season. Basically, the bad auditioners were treated like stars while the truly talented were told "You will thank me for saying this: NEXT!" One can imagine why the show wasn't picked up for another season; the potential damage to a person's psyche - whether it's a girl who really can sing running offstage in tears after being told she's terrible, or someone truly horrible told they're a star only to be later humiliated in front of a live audience [[note]](who, by the way, had all been told that the performers were part of a "Make a Wish"-type program; they were cheering because they thought these people were ''dying'')[[/note]] on national TV - was disturbing. According to Wiki/ThatOtherWiki, the person chosen over the others ("winner" just doesn't sound right), Jamie Floss, didn't seem to mind that the show was a joke and actually had small roles on TV dramas. Thankfully, her album was never released.

[[folder:Film]]

* BringItOn hosts a tryout to recruit a new cheerleader. Some of the auditionees have epically poor cheerleading skills, and some, including a ballet dancer, rapper, and musical theater actor, have the wrong skill set entirely. Ultimately, the team selects Missy, a gymnast who tried out as a last resort because the school had no gymnastics team.

* On ''Series/{{Glee}},'' Sugar becomes New Directions' first ever reject due to her horrible singing. She does eventually join the club after a long series of events, but doesn't get any solos.
* The various celebrities involved in ''Series/TheVoice'' take great pride in the fact that they never ''ever'' humiliate an auditioner, no matter how badly they do. Even those singers who get a huge case of stage-fright and literally stop singing in the middle of their acts are given constructive criticism, a chance to calm down (and often literally hugs and hand-holding if they seem to need it), and friendly advice on how to be better singers. The best of these HopelessAuditionees are told that they should try again once they've worked on whatever problems they displayed. At least two did come back, with much more success the second time around. A couple of the coaches on ''Series/TheVoice'' have let it be known that there is one sure way to become a Hopeless Auditionee on their show, and that's try to audition using a Music/{{Queen}} song. In the words of Adam Levine, "Queen is so epic that unless you can top them... and you can't... you shouldn't even try."

* Always a highlight of any ''Comicbook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' audition are the people with [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway lame powers]] trying their best to impress the Legion.