Unfortunately for modern music consumers, it's only too well-known that cast members from the
Real Housewives franchise often have devious desires to use their respective shows as a platform to promote worthless music careers.
Most notably there was unforgettable (and ever-lingering) "Tardy for the Party" from Kim Zolciak of
Real Housewives of Atlanta. Then the Countess LuAnn de Lesseps of
Real Housewives of New York treated the world to her manners anthem (manthem?) "Money Can't Buy You Class" followed by her even edgier glam-life anthem "Chic, C'est La Vie" this year. But it wasn't until this season of
Real Housewives of New Jersey that viewers got to see the implanted Melissa Gorga record her "hit" party and semi-autobiographical single "On Display."
As brilliant and wonderful as all of these masterpieces are, I think we should all wonder how awesome these songs would be without the elephant in the recording room: auto-tune. Would the Countess actually have class without auto-tune? Would Kim be tardy to the party? Would Melissa Gorga still be on display?! The possibilities are endless.
Last night, Bravo aficionados were treated to a glimpse into the life of the non-auto-tuned when Jay Mohr performed "On Display" live on
Watch What Happens Live. What was plugged by host/Bravo executive as a joke turned out to be the most authentic performance in
Housewives history. Mohr, who is a self-described
RHNJ super-fan and blogger for the show on bravotv.com, gave a legitimate acoustic performance that Melissa could learn from. With just a slight reverb on his microphone, Mohr dethroned the leading divas of
Real Housewives and made viewers, maybe if only for a split second, that "On Display" is a real song. Okay, maybe that's a stretch.
But as long as auto-tune is the as common as spray tans and fake boobs, who knows, maybe even Jersey squawker Teresa Giudice can crank out a number. It's not like talent is a necessity when producing a song on reality TV. And why wouldn't she want to take her no-talent and make it into an opportunity to one-up her reviled sister-in-law? Your move, Teresa. Your move.
Gina Pusateri
Contributing Writer
(Image courtesy of Bravo)