Lots of TV shows (is anyone still watching "The Next Great American Band"?) and even more websites have tried to duplicate the juggernaut that is "American Idol" and failed. But "Total Pop Star" claims to be different. The web-based contest, which starts Nov. 12, is looking for "Idol"-wannabes to submit their videos online and then voters will take over, crowning a winner on Jan. 27.
The twist? Well, the six semi-finalists wo get the most votes work with judges Andrew Van Slee, of Universal Music, Joey Lawrence, one-time "Gimme a Break" child actor turned Broadway headliner, and Merrick's own Deborah Gibson. The trio of judges will also write a new single for the winner to perform. (Wouldn't it make more sense for Joey and/or Deborah to keep a new hit single for themselves? Just wondering.)
Anyway, according to the press release, the contest is "sure to unearth the world's next singing sensation." Um, OK. Color me skeptical, but the music industry does need new stars and if this is the way to create one, godspeed. Let's hope whoever wins is better than Tila Tequila.
PHOTO: Deborah Gibson by Ray Garcia Photography / Deborah-Gibson.com
Comments (6)
This is great!
Went to the launch party last night in Hollywood. It was a blowout!
This is the real deal by far and we saw the first episode you can see on www.totalpopstar.com/totalpopstar.
They have some amazing talent ALREADY! CHECK IT OUT.
THIS IS ALOT MORE FUN THAT SITTING THRU COUNTLESS HOURS OF TELEVISION COMMERCIALS AND BULLSHIT TALENT LIKE AMERICAN IDOL. THIS SITE ROCKS!
Think you've got what it takes to be a pop superstar, but don't feel like standing in line to get a chance to audition for Simon Cowell?
Well, then maybe the Total Pop Star contest is for you. Created by Universal Music Composer/Producer Andrew Van Slee, it is the largest on-line singing competition in the world, and open to anyone and everyone with a passion for singing and all things music! The winner gets a record contract and prizes worth over $150,000.
Celebrity judges for the competition are former teen idols Deborah Gibson and Joey Lawrence. (Hopefully they won't be as mean as Simon or spacey as Paula Abdul).
Quick Facts:
Contestants must be 13 years of age or older and may register from anywhere in the world by creating a profile and uploading a singing video to the TOTAL POP STAR site.
A Contestant's fate is based on how well they can market themselves as each Contestant must earn 1,000 votes to become a Finalist.
The six finalists with the highest number of Internet and text votes will be named the TOP 6.
The TOP 6 will fly into Hollywood, CA for a week-long studio recording adventure and reality show.
Working closely with the judges, the TOP 6 will prepare for their final performance. Each of the TOP 6 will also prepare a hit single - written by the celebrity judges- that they will perform if named the winner of TOTAL POP STAR.
Final performances will be streamed to the TOTAL POP STAR site where on-line fans will vote for their favorite.
The competition begins November 12th and one lucky winner will be named the next TOTAL POP STAR on January 27, 2008. For official rules and requirements visit www.totalpopstar.com. Good luck!
I think this competition is embarrassing for Joey and Deborah. What where they thinking? This show is bad.
I dunno. I didn't think is was that bad. Like everythihg else newer stuff like this takes time to sink in I guess. Amer. Idol wasn't all that when it first came out either...
Total Pop Star, A scam? Read on and you decide!
NEWS RELEASE...............June 13, 2008
Online Singing Competition, on Turmoil.
On May 30th 2008, TOTAL POP STAR, one of the largest online singing competition faced what it seem as "the biggest controversy on the worldwide web ever." Thousands of contestants and supporters worldwide were confused and angered at the turnout of the Season 1 deadline where most votes including those of the finalists were either reset to zero or lessened (literally 'lessened' as some contestants weren't really back to zero but still had their thousand votes). Where did the hard earned votes go? Nobody knows. Read more... Visit http://totalpopstarscam.wetpaint.com/
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ISSUES ONLINE, An Investigative Inquiry on issues
concerning Total Pop Star.