America's Got Talent: Is America out of talent?

As the amount of televised talent competitions continues to grow the available pool of talent appears to be shrinking.

Yes "American Idol" and "The Voice" feature plenty of singers who are technically talented but the days of shows like that regularly discovering stars have long since passed. When "Idol" first launched it was fresh and exciting. Kelly Clarkson became a star somewhat because of the platform but mostly because she had a little bit of it factor.

Since those early days the show -- and the many that came after it -- have struggled to find contestants who are more than technically talented. Being a good singer is simply not enough.

Every high school class has a handful of those but ability to sing does not make you a star. True talent involves having more than a good voice, it includes possessing the intangibles that make people care about you.

This lack of it factor is most noticeable on "The Voice" due to its dumb blind audition process. The reversed chairs may make for good TV but the system ignores the idea that appearance is part of pop stardom. Yes there are exceptions like Adele who aren't traditionally pretty but nobody on "The Voice" can sing like Adele.

This likely explains why the winner of "The Voice" immediately drops off the face of the Earth after the show stops airing. The federal government could hide witnesses on the list of "Voice" winners.

Instead of making stars "Idol" and "Voice" create singers with mild recognition who can work on cruise ships or attempt to develop drug problems so they can appear on other reality shows.

The non-singing talent programs are even less useful.

Is there a market for dance troupes? Is there any way to tell the minute differences between them? Shows like "So you Think You Can Dance" act like there are stakes but the value of winning begins and ends with the prize money offered.

The worst offender of all may be "America's Got Talent." The winner of that program gets a contract to perform in Vegas but the vast majority of acts on the show may have talent but it's not talent I would cross the street to see.

Do we really need to watch a clog dancing family? Aren't most of these "talents" things that would cause a groan if they appeared on stage at a Bar Mitzvah?

The pool of watchable engaging talent has largely been tapped yet these shows slog on feeding us mediocrity and oddities. True talent finds an audience whether or not Adam Levine helps out.