One of the pleasures of reality television shows is getting all judgmental about the contestants. You, the viewer, get to see how they perform under a set of highly artificial and stressful conditions, and then decide if they are worthy of taking up more of your precious TV time.
And you also get to measure your opinions against those of experts in the field, be it singing, fashion or culinary skills.
To add a dash of glamour to the proceedings, since the shows usually feature unknowns, producers have taken to filling those judging panels with celebrities.
Sometimes, the choices make sense.
Singer-songwriters Christina Aguilera and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine bring with them music cred when they critique hopeful wannabes on The Voice. She has one of the biggest voices in pop, while Maroon 5 have had critical and popular success with albums such as Songs About Jane (2002) and It Won’t Be Soon Before Long (2007).
Better yet, the two have upped the drama on the second season of the show by trading jabs. Though you might wonder how much of that is playing to the camera since Aguilera was featured on Maroon 5’s hit single Moves Like Jagger (2011).
At other times, the choices boggle the mind. Former American Idol judge and singer-dancer Paula Abdul sometimes seemed not quite all there with her rambling and incoherent comments. Not to mention that her voice, memorably described as chipmunk-on-helium, does not exactly set a high vocal standard.
While new American Idol judge Steven Tyler, from rock band Aerosmith, has the music chops, he has packed only his leer for the show. When the sexagenarian singer ogled a belly-dancing contestant, talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel took a dig at him in a segment titled The Steven Tyler Creepy Leer Of The Night.
So will singers Britney Spears, Demi Lovato and fashion blogger Bryanboy liven things up on The X-Factor and America’s Next Top Model or drag proceedings down?
SundayLife! casts a critical eye on the three new celebrity judges.

BRITNEY SPEARS, 30
Appearing on: The X-Factor, US, Season 2, September
Drama erupted on the first day of taping on May 24, when she reportedly walked off the set after her song Hold It Against Me was butchered by a contestant.
She later tweeted: “#Britneywalksoff??? LOL was just taking a little break people. I am having the BEST time!!!”
Qualifications: Her trainwreck of a personal life serves as a cautionary/ inspirational tale to bright-eyed contestants that showbiz can chew you up and spit you out. And then hand you a second chance as a judge on a reality show.
Her Auto-Tuned voice makes her sound like a fembot, but it sends the message loud and clear that not having a good voice is no obstacle to a music career.
Better fit on: There is actually a reality show named after a Spears song, Hit Me Baby One More Time, in which singers who are past their prime compete for a cash donation to charity in the 2005 American version. But having to sing live could prove tricky for Spears.

DEMI LOVATO, 19
Appearing on: The X-Factor, US, Season 2, September
Qualifications: Since Spears might have had too much life experience, the producers decided to include a 19-year-old on the panel, just to balance things out. To be fair, the singer-songwriter had a stint on Barney & Friends, so she can probably dispense tips on dealing with dinosaurs such as Tyler.
Better fit on: Lovato is clearly on the show to appeal to a younger demographic so why not revive the now-defunct American Juniors, which was American Idol for kids? Fans of the Disney sitcom Sonny With A Chance (2009-2011), on which she played a rising teen actress, are from this age group anyway.

BRYANBOY, 25
Appearing on: America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 19, October
This is the college edition so expect to see lots of SPGs, or sorority party girls.
Qualifications: As the Filipino star fashion blogger himself has said: “Other than the occasional on-cam interviews, I have ZERO television experience.”
What he does have is a huge following, both of his blog www.bryanboy.com and on Twitter. He also has cachet given that top American designer Marc Jacobs even named a bag after him.
And he already has a signature phrase, which is how he signs off his blog postings – Baboosh!.
Better fit on: How about having him as a guest judge on Project Runway where the focus is on clothes rather than models? It will be fun to see how he copes when he is caught between designer Michael Kors’ outlandish outbursts – “She looks like a transvestite flamenco dancer at a funeral” – and fashion journalist Nina Garcia’s icy putdowns.
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