If there is one show I don't like to miss it's Star Academy, the equivalent of Operacion Triunfo or American Idol (actually I just looked it up in Wikipedia and the correct US equivalent was a canceled show called: "The one: Making a music star")....
Anyway, the whole idea of this reality show is that 18 contestants are hauled up in a castle in the outskirst of Paris and all week long they "go to school to learn how to be a music star" taking dancing, singing, scenic expression lessons and so on.... Then, on Friday evenings they put on a live show on one of France's main tv channels and the public gets to vote one student off the show based on their performance. Every week the competition gets harder, the quality gets better and the featured stars get bigger (huge music starts are often on the show to sing with the contestants).... and the final winner is announced on New Year's Eve.
I actually never watch their classes or the weekly "exams" with their teachers but I hate missing the live show on Fridays. I love listening to live music and it's thanks to Star Academy that I've learned a great deal on french music icons that you usually don't hear about outside of France. Who's the Elvis equivalent in France? Who were Claude François or Barbara? How come everyone knows the lyrics to all the Starmania songs and why is Dalida still considered an icon and people get up and dance her songs even 20 years after her death?
This year's batch of contestants is very good and I've had a hard time deciding who I'd want to win. So how about giving me your opinion? Here are my top 5 favorite performances so far. Let me know who you think should win:
Quentin singing "Sweet Dreams"
Lucie and Jérémy singing "A ma place"
Jérémy and Christophe Maé (not a contestant) singing "ça fait mal"
Maureen and Alicia Keys (not a contestant) singing "If I ain't got you"
Jeremy and Calogero (not a contestant) singing "Prendre racine"
Fned.
5 comments:
These kinds of shows should be illegal because they are SO addicting! And now with the invention of youtube, not only do you have to keep up with your own countries reality shows but you can now watch reality shows from around the world!
The first guy was the most original I think, although I don't really like the song (sweet dreams), but I had to admire his creativity, good voice, aplomb, even when singing in a different language (unlike the girl who sang with Alicia Keys - she has a really good voice, but wasn't so sure of herself while singing)... Jeremy was good, but he never sings alone, so it's hard to say. At any rate, I never watch these shows, so I luckily will never have to worry about getting addicted to them!!! WHEW!
Mamacita: Tell me about it! I'm so hooked on the damn thing that we never go out on Friday's anymore! :(
Minshap: It's funny you preferred Quentin, he was my favorite for quite some time too... I think he has a really nice voice and he knows how to put on a great show (I was going to post two other of his presentations but I thought it would be too much).... still, he's pretty unpredictable, he can be either really GOOD or really BAD so his grades are not as high as... Maureen's!
Everyone here thinks her voice is so fantastic she's the only student in the history of the show to ever get a perfect score (20) and precisely for her duet with Alicia Keys! Still, after last week's live show she unexpectedly quit and is now off the show.... so that's settled.
Secretly, I think my favorite is Jérémy... he's got a really nice voice and everytime he sings he manages to add a little something to the original song without ruinning it...
Anyway, guess we'll know who wins on the 31st!
Fned.
I do love these kinds of shows as well, bad bad bad! Sunday nights TVAzteca always has some sort of competition going, "Bailando Por Un Sueño, Cantando Por Un Sueño, Bailando Por Un Boda", they even had a circus competition called "Los Cincos Magnificos". They are all quite horrible, lol, but we still seem to watch them.
The latest we watched was the search for the new Timbiriche. I couldn't get "Yo Tengo Que Decirte Papa" out of my head for a month.
I just love hearing people sing in English when it's not their native language. I can only hope that I sound as endearing when I sing Julieta Venegas...
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