Classy. Howard Stern Makes 7-year-old Rapper Cry

[apples and oranges]

Well, in his defense, Sharon seemed to be the one who delivered the final blow.

[Happyhippychick]

1. The kid was terrible, the parents shouldn't have let him audition. He was going to be rejected

Sooner or later, Howard thought it was less cruel to do it sooner.

[crazykate]

36. at least the show them all the voice singers are very good

at least with american idol they show some of the poorer acts, been watching the voice usa auditions this year and the singers are all perfect straight away, though i know why.

when it comes to the voice auditions, all the average singers are weeded out in preliminary auditions that don't get televised so then when it comes to the blind auditions stages of the voice which are the televised part at the start of each series, the singers only that are allowed to make it to this stage are best ones.

the televised parts are always before the judges on these kind of shows, even on american idol, and all the others, but when it comes to the other talent shows except the voice, they allow some of the average singers to go before the celebrity judges/coaches so it gives the show some depth.

whereas with the voice this does not happen at all, though this is the selling point for the voice, and makes it different to all the other talent/singing competitions out there in that regard.

all the average singers get eliminated in all the pre-televised auditions rounds when it comes to the voice.

yeah they shouldn't let them through to the televised shows on competitions like american idol and x factor but they do, and the voice usa in 2016 will do the opposite and not let any of them through, still worth applying if you are a good singer though.

http://singingthevoiceusaauditions2016.blogspot.com/

[Lars77]

2. TV humiliating seven year olds. Where will this garbage tv stop?

[Ian David]

3. See also

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v653/ian02302/?action=view&current=LyingSackofCrap3b.mp4

BTW, that's my daughter in that recording.

[Raine1967]

11. REALLY? Your daughter of Stephanie Miller show fame?

That is pretty cool. I remember when that was first aired, and I have heard her on the show more recently. Well Done! Loved her then and and adore her now!

[Raine1967]

12. Imagine for a moment if it were Howard and

a young Brittany Spears were up on that stage. Think of the pain we would have avoided.

That young man can still have an amazing future, but truth is truth. He isn't ready for the big leagues, yet.

Rejection is a real and true part of life. Howard handled it fine.

[Nye Bevan]

4. He should have appeared on "Barney and Friends" instead.

I'm sure Barney would have called him sooooper-de-dooper.

[tammywammy]

5. I thought Howard Stern was pretty nice in his interaction with the boy

[Major Nikon]

9. Amazingly so

It's just the rest of the time when he's a complete asshole.

[slackmaster]

23. Yes, so did I

[belcffub]

6. I don't know... howard seemed pretty sincere

you hate telling a 7 year old that they are not good enough but it is a contest... being fair to all contestants is the judges job... I would not have wanted to be a judge on that on...

[trumad]

7. oh please

Howard has been great on that show....

Simon would have put the kid in a fetal position.

[Ian David]

8. After his voice changes, he might do better. n/t

[murielm99]

10. Why do they have so many kid contestants

on this stupid show? That is the problem. They should limit the entry age to sixteen.

People should stop watching it, and it will go away.

[JVS]

26. Because parents want money

[K8-EEE]

13. You would have to put a gun to my head to get me to watch this show nt

[MADem]

14. I have watched a couple of those shows with Howard Stern on it.

I was surprised at how good he is at moderating, at commenting, at keeping the energy up--he's not really mean when he tells people they stink, he's just honest. He'll also tell people if he doesn't think their "talent" is terribly marketable.

The kid was truly awful. Howard wasn't a jerk, though--he said the kid was brave, and that no one likes hitting the X on a seven year old. And then he went and gave the kid a hug! He said he was a terrific kid, and he didn't want to make him cry and said he was better than most of the rappers on the radio...but at the end of the day, even Howie Mandel said the kid sucked.

His parents should be ashamed of themselves that they encouraged his appearance on this program despite his lack of talent. They facilitated his humiliation, IMO.

[fishwax]

19. I pretty much agree

I think he probably didn't need to buzz the kid--let him finish and then tell him all that he told him--you're brave to get up here, you seem like a great kid, you're not ready for this level of performance. That's how kids who don't have it have generally been handled in the past, and I think that works fine.

Overall, Stern has been surprisingly disarming, even with people he buzzes. His comments are calibrated for sharp humor, but he doesn't come off as mean spirited or anything.

[deaniac21]

20. You hit the nail on the head

[sendero]

28. That's what happened..

.... and the OP title is pretty misleading.

Howard let the kid down about as easily as it could have been done, and yes the kid was cute but he demonstrated no talent whatsoever - in fact his vocals were down right grating.

[AngryOldDem]

15. What good would it have done to lie to the kid?

Because if they had passed him on to the second round, that's what they all would have been doing. He wouldn't have gotten very far and the rejection would have been even more crushing to him. Even at his age, he wasn't very good. Stern wasn't mean or sarcastic with his rejection -- he gently told the kid that the talent just wasn't there yet. I applaud Stern for his honesty instead of being manipulated/guilted into giving a "yes" because of the kid's age or cuteness quotient.

Wannabe showbiz parents are the problem, I believe, and they're not being fair to the kids, either. I admit to watching these shows mainly as an escape from real life, but I'm becoming really tired of seeing "cute and adorable" young kids with little to no talent taking the stage and then going into meltdown when reality sets in; or worse, being passed on at the expense of other, much more talented acts, so when the rejection does come, the reaction is an even bigger meltdown.

I think kids younger than 16 should not be on these kinds of shows in the first place -- last season's "X Factor" is a perfect example of why not.

[richmwill]

16. Oh, of course...

They should have let him go on and win the entire competition just so his feelings wouldn't be hurt, right? Have no losers, all winners. I blame the parents for pushing a 7 year old who obviously doesn't have the talent to be on the show and have this potential turnout done to him. What did they think, that he would automatically win regardless of his talent (or lack thereof) just because he may be seen as funny, cute and adorable?

[madmom]

17. Was he supposed to let him win because he cried? That's why we have so many

people in this world who thing they are better than they actually are at things, because others were afraid to tell them they sucked! Donald Trump, Mitt Romney are the two that immediately come to mind.

[MADem]

31. EVERYONE gets a trophy!! We're ALL winners here!

I don't understand that kind of foolishness, myself. I don't know if it's a generational thing, but I don't see the point of "everybody wins" contests.

I do think that in some kids' sports, the coaches and parents go whack-o and take it way too seriously...but on the flip side, there are the teams where everyone gets a trophy for participating, and the winning team is scarcely acknowledged. That kind of stuff would demotivate me, frankly--why try if everyone gets a trophy no matter what?

[cali]

18. I don't know anything about Stern except for his ugly racist remark a

few years ago- but here, he couldn't have been nicer.

the idiot parents made that kid cry.

you put your kid on a show like that and it's on you.

[Quixote1818]

21. That would have been tough because the kid was really not that good

Someone had to hit the X or the kid would have kept on going giving him even more false hopes. Maybe some day he will be really good and for a seven year old he is above average but he did not belong in that competition and 7 is a very tender age for any kid.

[MADem]

32. They passed a six year old kid through who did a Michael Jackson imitation

He was doing "little Michael" -- not adult Michael. His name was Isaac Brown. His singing wasn't fantastic but he had a winning personality and a lot of poise and showmanship.

[MrSlayer]

22. Right, bash Howard for no reason.

Even though his massive talent cannot make this show watchable, he is nothing but classy in this clip. I don't get all the Stern bashing that goes on around here. The dude is nothing but funny and has been a proponent of many progressive issues for years.

[edbermac]

24. Baba Booey...Baba Booey...Baba Booey...

[Kingofalldems]

25. Gary would be good also

Fire the no talent comic and replace him with Fa Fa Flo-ey.

[JVS]

27. It's not Howard's fault that the kid was in over his head.

[cherokeeprogressive]

29. I've seen 7 year olds freak out when told they can't have a candy bar at the supermarket.

I hate Stern, but holy crap... maybe the kid missed his nap that day.

[Raven]

30. The kid was adorable but his rap was crap. I thought

Howard was very decent and I would'nt usually give him a break. The kid should be a stand up comic.

[JI7]

33. the Stupid Parents are to Blame in these situations

even if i had a kid who had talent i don't think i would have them go on these shows. i really hate these type of shows also.

[Puregonzo1188]

34. I don't really see what Howard Stern did wrong and I don't feel like he was trying to be a jerk.

Which given what I know about Howard Stern is kind of amazing.


That being said I don't think the show's producers should have included this clip.

[Buns_of_Fire]

35. Ah, how soon we forget William Hung.

The Plan 9 From Outer Space of American Idol singers!