How did the “Star Academy” bring Beyoncé and so many other stars? – The HuffPost

MUSIC – Time passes, memories remain. And memories, the “star Academy”, Which celebrates with great pomp this Saturday, October 30 the twentieth anniversary of its first retransmission on the occasion of an unprecedented premium broadcast on TF1, it has.

Jenifer, Élodie Frégé, Olivia Ruiz, but also Georges-Alain, Jean-Pascal and Grégory Lemarchal. We obviously remember some of the most emblematic candidates to have pushed the doors of the famous castle with small red bricks.

But now, other personalities, much less anonymous (initially), have also come to push the song on the plateau of the telecrochet. This is the case, for example, of Beyoncé who, during the third season, performed her hit live. Crazy in Love alongside an “academician” named Sofia. The following year, the star returns. This time to sing Survivor with Hoda. Rebelote, in 2006.

Season 5 was marked by the presence of Mariah Carey, also godmother of this edition. On stage, the diva had come to interpret It’s Like That with Magali Vaé, winner of the game show.

The two international singers gave way, during seasons 7 and 8, to Rihanna, but also to Britney Spears. We are then in 2008 and the pop star ignites the ceremony with his title Womanizer.

Madonna, J.Lo, Celine Dion, and even Ray Charles … There are plenty of examples. How did the “Star Academy”, a French reality show, manage to invite such international stars? According to music specialist Bertrand Hellio, according to whom “everyone fought to be in the second season”, this is due to several economic reasons.

A question of notoriety

First, because variety shows, programs in which artists come to promote themselves, became scarce at the turn of the 2000s. Also, because the “Star Ac” audiences were really very good. Daily newspapers in 2003 could reach 5 million viewers. Saturday night bonuses, $ 7 million. For example, the finale of “The Voice All Stars”, on TF1 this October 2021, gathered 3.75 million followers.

“If Beyoncé had to choose a show, in France, to promote, the choice was obvious,” comments Bertrand Hellio. The author of the book Become a music professional also recalls that most of the singers invited to perform at the “Star Academy” appear (or appeared) on a Universal label, then a telecrochet partner.

Finally, and this was the novelty, these artists weren’t just coming on stage, they were also playing a role of mentor or adviser to aspiring music star-system. “It adds a positive aspect in terms of image”, observes the connoisseur.

It is clear that in 2021 the situation is no longer the same. No Kylie Minogue on “The Voice”, nor Stevie Wonder on “The Artist”. Where have these international stars all gone? Why do they shun our French emissions?

Different communication channels

Communication tools are no longer the same. “In 2001, it was in its infancy, it was the era of MySpace, remembers Bertrand Hellio. There were fewer channels of communication than today. TV was dominant. The ‘Star Ac’ was a young audience, but also family. We hit a lot of targets, a lot of different ages. ” Result: the promo took place on the screen.

Since then, new mediums, such as social networks, YouTube, etc., have developed, but not only. As part of the release of her latest album with jazz singer Tony Benett, Lady Gaga has partnered with Westfield, a multinational company at the head of several large shopping centers around the world and in France. The latter thus gave a live concert, broadcast at the same time on giant screens in all of the company’s supermarkets, such as at the Forum des Halles in Paris or La Part-Dieu in Lyon.

Result sine qua non, ”It saved him a lot of time, compared to the time when an artist had to do several TV shows, in several countries of the world”, continues Bertrand Hellio. The craze around Global Live Citizen, charity events broadcast live again for 24 hours, speaks volumes. The number of celebrities who want to appear there, too. A trend that suggests that Madonna is not about to set foot on one of our sets.

See also on The HuffPost: What TV looked like in 2001 when “Loft Story” was launched