Popstars is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the Idol franchise, Popstars first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl group TrueBliss. Despite all shows in the Popstars franchise having been off air in recent years, it remains one of the most successful TV show formats of all time with the format being sold to more than 50 countries and producing groups such as Girls Aloud that had success on the UK charts for the next ten years after winning. The show was the inspiration for Simon Fuller's Idol franchise.
History
The series originated in New Zealand, broadcast on TV2 in 1999, where producer Jonathan Dowling formed the five member all-girl group TrueBliss. Dowling then licensed the concept to production company Screentime in Australia, who then on sold it to TresorTV in Germany before taking it worldwide. Despite all versions now being cancelled, Popstars remains very successful, with the format being sold to over 50 countries.
The show was the inspiration for Simon Fuller's Pop Idol franchise which would dominate reality TV, (along with Big Brother and Survivor) for the next few years.
Although Popstars started successfully in most countries during the early 2000s, the shows gradually began to fail and were dropped by many broadcasters due to poor ratings. The last country where Popstars was still popular and successful – besides other casting shows such as The X Factor and Got Talent, as well as Idol – was Germany. This is where ProSieben produced the ninth season in 2010 because of the show's massive success in the ratings, but in 2012, Popstars was finally cancelled due to the short success of the groups formed throughout the episodes. In 2007, the show returned to France on M6 for one season. A new version of Popstars started in 2008 in the Netherlands and ran for three seasons. Germany's version returned for an eleventh season in 2015, but would later get cancelled following poor ratings. In 2021, a revamped version of the original New Zealand series returned to TVNZ. The new series focuses on individual artists and songwriting development and does not involve putting together a pop group.
Popstars around the world
Legend: Currently airing Franchise has ceased production Franchise awaiting debut or renewal
Country Local title Network Host(s) Judges Seasons, series, winners, and groups formed Other notable artists Argentina Azul TV (1) Telefe (2 & 3) Season 1, 2001: BandanaSeason 2, 2002: MambrúSeason 3, 2026: TBA Australia Popstars Seven Network Season 1, 2000: BardotSeason 2, 2001: Scandal'usSeason 3, 2002: Scott Cain Popstars Live Season 1, 2004: Kayne Taylor Miranda Murphy Austria Popstars: Mission Österreich Puls 4Website Season 1, 2011: Season 1, 2011: Belgium Pop Stars VT4 Season 1, 2001: Vanda Vanda Brazil Popstars SBT , 2002: RougeSeason 2, 2003: Br'oZ Season 1: Kênia Boaventura, , Maíra Charken, Marjorie Estiano and Season 2: Vinícius "D'Black" Cardoso Canada Popstars (1)Popstars: Boy Meets Girl (2)Popstars: The One (3) CTV (1)Global TV (2–3) Season 1, 2001: Sugar JonesSeason 2, 2002: Velvet EmpireSeason 3, 2003: Christa Borden Julie Crochetière Colombia Popstars Canal Caracol Season 1, 2002: Escarcha Denmark Popstars (1–3, 5) Popstars Showtime! (4) TV 2 (1–4)Kanal 5 (5) Season 1, 2001: EyeQSeason 2, 2002: Jon NørgaardSeason 3, 2003: Fu:elSeason 4, 2004: Maria LuciaSeason 5, 2014: Linnea Season 2: Julie Berthelsen and Christine MiltonSeason 3: Emil Thorup Ecuador Popstars Teleamazonas Season 1, 2003: KirubaSeason 2, 2004: La Coba Finland MTV3 Season 1, 2002: Gimmel, Paula Vesala, Mira LuotiSeason 2, 2004: INDX Season 1: Jenni VartiainenSeason 2: Jane France Popstars (1–2, 4–6) Popstars – le duel (3) M6 (1–4) D8 (5)Amazon Prime Video (6) Season 1, 2001: L5Season 2, 2002: WhatforSeason 3, 2003: LinkupSeason 4, 2007: Sheryfa LunaSeason 5, 2013: The MessSeason 6, 2024: SOR4 Season 1: Louisy JosephSeason 2: Chimène BadiSeason 3: Diadems and M. PokoraSeason 4: Léa Castel, SlimaneSeason 5: Sindy Auvity Germany Popstars RTL II (1–2, 11) ProSieben (3–10) Season 1, 2000–01: No AngelsSeason 2, 2001: Bro'SisSeason 3, 2003: OvergroundSeason 4, 2004: Nu PagadiSeason 5, 2006: MonroseSeason 6, 2007: Room 2012Season 7, 2008: QueensberrySeason 8, 2009: Some & AnySeason 9, 2010: LaViVeSeason 10, 2012: Season 11, 2015: Leandah Season 2: Yasmin K.Season 3: PreludersSeason 5: Bisou Greece Popstars Mega TV Season 1, 2003: Hi-5 Hungary Popsztárok TV2 Season 1, 2002: Sugar & Spice India Coke [V] Popstars Channel V Season 1, 2002: VivaSeason 2, 2003: Aasma Indonesia Popstars Indonesia Trans TV Season 1, 2003: Sparx Ireland Irish Popstars RTÉ One Season 1, 2002: Six Nadine Coyle Italy Popstar (1)Superstar Tour (2) Italia 1 Season 1, 2001: LollipopSeason 2, 2003: Lucky Star Season 1: Valentina Monetta Kenya Coca-Cola Popstars Season 1, 2004: Sema (Kenya) Malaysia Popstars ntv7 Season 1, 2003: By'U Mexico Popstars Televisa Season 1, 2002: T' de Tila (Playa Limbo)Ana Brenda Contreras Netherlands Popstars: The Rivals RTL 4 Season 1, 2004: Men2B (boys), Raffish (girls) Popstars SBS6 Season 1, 2008: RED!Season 2, 2009–10: Wesley KleinSeason 3, 2010–11: Dean Saunders New Zealand Popstars TVNZ 2 Season 1, 1999: TrueBlissSeason 2, 2021: Christabel WilliamsSeason 3, TBA: Renewal pending Norway Popstars TV3 Season 1, 2001: Cape Portugal Popstars SIC Season 1, 2001: Nonstop Gémeas Romania Popstars România Pro TV Season 1, 2003: Cocktail Bliss Russia Стань звездой (Stan zvezdoy) Telekanal Rossiya Season 1, 2002: Drugie Pravila (Другие правила; lit. Other rules) Slovakia Markíza Season 1, 2001: Seven Days to WinterSeason 2, 2002: MishaSeason 3, 2003: Zuzana SmatanováSeason 4, 2004: VetroplachSeason 5, 2005: BystríkSeason 6, 2006: Ivo BičSeason 7, 2007: PeoplesSeason 8, 2008: Mária Čírová Slovenia Popstars Kanal A Season 1, 2002: Bepop Season 2, 2003: Unique Season 2: B.B.T. and Hajdi Korošec South Africa Popstars SABC 3 (1)SABC 1 (2-3)e.tv (4) Season 1, 2002: 101Season 2, 2003: AdilahSeason 3 2004: Jamali and Ghetto LingoSeason 4, 2010: Nne Vida Season 1: Afro Z Spain Telecinco Season 1, 2002: Bellepop Jesús Vázquez Sweden Popstars Kanal 5 Season 1, 2001: ExcellenceSeason 2, 2002: SupernaturalSeason 3, 2003: Johannes Kotschy Season 2: Martin Rolinski Switzerland Popstars TV3 Season 1, 2001: Tears Tanzania Coca-Cola Popstars Season 1, 2004: Wakilisha Turkey Popstars Kanal D (1)Show TV (2)Star TV (3) Season 1, 2003: Adibin ÖzşahinSeason 2, 2004: Selçuk DemirelliSeason 3, 2006: Metin Levent Uganda Coca-Cola Popstars Season 1, 2004: Blu3 Ukraine Суперзірка (Superstar) 1+1 Season 1, 2010: Viktoriya Korzheniuk United Kingdom Popstars (1)Popstars: The Rivals (2) ITV Season 1, 2001: Hear'SaySeason 2, 2002: Girls Aloud Season 1: Liberty X , Darius Danesh, Warren StaceySeason 2: One True Voice, Javine Hylton, Clea, Phixx, The Cheeky Girls, Hazel Kaneswaran United States Popstars USA The WB Season 1, Early 2001: Eden's CrushSeason 2, Late 2001: Scene 23 Season 1: Nicole Scherzinger, Nikki McKibbinSeason 2: Josh Henderson
Number one singles The following is a list of singles that reached No. 1 in the respective nations of the Popstars artists
Artist Nation Song title Date AlbumBandana Argentina"Guapas" December 2001 Bandana"Cómo Puede Ser" February 2002"Maldita Noche" May 2002"Llega la Noche" August 2002 Noche"Sigo Dando Vueltas" April 2003 Vivir IntentandoMambrú "A Veces" November 2002 MambrúScandal'us Australia"Me, Myself & I" April 2001 Startin' Somethin'Bardot "Poison" April 2000 BardotScott Cain "I'm Moving On" May 2002 Controlled FollyRouge Brazil "Não Dá Pra Resistir" July 2002Rouge"Ragatanga (The Ketchup Song)" October 2002"Brilha La Luna" April 2003C'est La Vie"Um Anjo Veio Me Falar" October 2003Br'oZ "Prometida" August 2003Br'oZSugar Jones Canada "Days Like That" June 2001 Sugar JonesFu:el Denmark "Please Please" May 2003 Next, PleaseKiruba Ecuador"Quisiera" April 2003 Kiruba"Camina" June 2003"Como Extraño Tu Luz" August 2003"Me Pierdo" November 2003"Me Quedo Contigo" May 2004 Baila La LunaL5 France"Toutes les femmes de ta vie" December 2001 L5Whatfor "Plus haut" November 2002 WhatforLinkup "Mon étoile" November 2003 Notre étoileSheryfa Luna "Quelque part" October 2007 Sheryfa Luna"Il avait les mots" January 2008No Angels Germany"Daylight in Your Eyes" February 2001 Elle'Ments"There Must Be an Angel" August 2001"Something About Us" May 2002 Now... Us!"No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" April 2003 PureBro'Sis "I Believe" December 2001 Never Forget (Where You Come From)Overground "Schick mir 'nen Engel" November 2003 It's DonePreluders "Everyday Girl" November 2003 Girls in the HouseNu Pagadi "Sweetest Poison" December 2004 Your Dark SideMonrose "Shame" December 2006 Temptation"Hot Summer" July 2007 Strictly PhysicalSix Ireland "There's a Whole Lot of Loving Going On" February 2002 This Is ItLollipop Italy"Down Down Down" April 2001 PopstarsNonstop Portugal"Ao Limite Eu Vou" July 2001 NonstopMen2B Netherlands"Bigger than That" December 2004 A Different WayRaffish "Plaything" December 2004 How Raffish Are You?TrueBliss New Zealand "Tonight" May 1999 DreamHear'Say United Kingdom "Pure and Simple" March 2001 Popstars"The Way to Your Love" June 2001Girls Aloud "Sound of the Underground" December 2002 Sound of the Underground"I'll Stand by You" November 2004 What Will the Neighbours Say?"Walk This Way" (with Sugababes) March 2007 Stand-alone single for Comic Relief"The Promise" October 2008 Out of Control
References
External links
Official Popstars (Germany) at the National Film and Sound Archive Official Popstars (USA)