Superstar is a British talent search series, looking for the lead role in a production of the 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. The series started on 7 July 2012 on ITV and was presented by Amanda Holden.
In the final, on 25 July 2012, 31-year-old Ben Forster was chosen as Jesus to perform the role in the UK arena tour starting in September 2012. 24-year-old Rory Taylor came in second place.
The Team The series was presented by Amanda Holden. The Panel consisted of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jason Donovan, Dawn French and Melanie C. David Grindrod and Will Burton led the casting team, with Yvie Burnett serving as the vocal coach.
Format
Nationwide auditions
The Nationwide auditions began in March 2012 visiting London, Dublin, Belfast, Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff. The judges are Andrew Lloyd Webber, Melanie C, Jason Donovan and David Grindrod. Host Amanda Holden was on hand for the auditionees.
Grindrod judged the nationwide auditions and was joined by Donovan and Melanie C at the 'Callback' round held at the O2 Academy in Brixton, London. Over 100 contestants were invited to the 'Callback' round in London. Lloyd Webber watched all the performances from a balcony at the side of the stage.
Superstar Island The final 41 contestants are invited to 'Superstar Island' (Osea Island in Essex) for a week of training. Jonathan Ansell is a notable contestant who failed to pass this stage of the show.
Final rounds The final 30 contestants were invited to Lloyd Webber's villa in Majorca. After 10 were eliminated on arrival, the remaining contestants performed again in front of Lloyd Webber.
The next day, the contestants travelled back to Great Britain via coach (with the journey taking 25 hours) and performed a final time in front of the panel, with an accompanying band onstage, for a place in the live shows.
Live shows The Live show stages of the search were judged by Melanie C, Jason Donovan, Dawn French and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The live shows were broadcast live from Fountain Studios in Wembley and took place over nine nights (excluding Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 July). The final was held on 25 July 2012.
The contestants perform on the first live show with the results of the public vote announced during the following night's show. The two contestants with the lowest votes competed in the Sing-Off to stay in the competition. After the performance, Lloyd Webber then decided which potential Jesus to keep in the contest. The saved Jesuses could be seen on the "Stairway to Heaven". The eliminated Jesus(es) then "walks into the light" and leaves the stage.
Finalists Finalist Age* From Status Afnan Iftikhar 23 North Shields Eliminated 1st on Night 1 Dirk Johnson 24 Scotland Eliminated 2nd on Night 2 Tim Prottey-Jones 32 Birmingham Eliminated 3rd on Night 4 Niall Sheehy 31 County Wicklow Eliminated 4th on Night 5 Jon Moses 37 York Eliminated 5th on Night 6 Jeff Anderson 21 Belfast Eliminated 6th on Night 6 Nathan James 23 Reading Eliminated 7th on Night 7David Hunter 27 Warrington Eliminated 8th on Night 8 Roger Wright 41 London Eliminated 9th on Night 9 Rory Taylor 24 Wirral Runner-up Ben Forster 31 Sunderland Winner
* at time of competition
Results summary Colour key –Contestant was in the bottom two and who was saved after the sing off –Contestant was eliminated after the sing off –Contestant who received the most public votes
+Weekly results per contestant Contestant Night 1 Night 2 Night 3 Night 5 Night 6 Night 7 Night 8 FinalNight 3Night 4 Ben Forster Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Winner(night 9) Rory Taylor Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom two Safe Safe Bottom two Runner-up(night 9) Roger Wright Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom three Bottom two Safe Eliminated(night 9) David Hunter Safe Safe Bottom two Bottom two Safe Safe Safe Eliminated Eliminated(night 8) Nathan James Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Eliminated Eliminated(night 7) Jeff Anderson Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Eliminated Eliminated(night 6) Jon Moses Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Eliminated Eliminated(night 6) Niall Sheehy Safe Safe Safe Safe Eliminated Eliminated(night 5) Tim Prottey-Jones Safe Bottom two Bottom two Eliminated Eliminated(night 4) Dirk Johnson Bottom two Eliminated Eliminated(night 2) Afnan Iftikhar Eliminated Eliminated(night 1)
Live show details
Night 1 (15 July 2012) Group performance: "Superstar" (Andrew Lloyd Webber)
+ Contestants' performances on the first live show Contestant Order Song (artist) Result (Night 2) David Hunter 1 "Forget You" (Cee Lo Green)Safe Dirk Johnson 2 "Make You Feel My Love" (Bob Dylan)Bottom two Nathan James 3 "Sign Your Name" " (Terence Trent D'Arby)Safe Ben Forster 4 "Somebody That I Used to Know" (Gotye)Safe Niall Sheehy 5 "Stay" (Hurts)Safe Tim Prottey-Jones 6 "Stone Cold Sober" " (Paloma Faith)Safe Roger Wright 7 "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (Procol Harum)Safe Jon Moses 8 "Since U Been Gone" (Kelly Clarkson)Safe Afnan Iftikhar 9 "Next to Me" (Emeli Sande) Bottom two Jeff Anderson 10 "Red" (Daniel Merriweather)Safe Rory Taylor 11 "Are You Gonna Go My Way" (Lenny Kravitz)Safe
Sing-Off (Night 2) + Act Sing Off Song Results Afnan Iftikhar "Memory" from Cats Eliminated Dirk Johnson Saved by Lloyd Webber
Night 2 (16 July 2012) + Contestants' performances on the second live show Contestant Order Song (artist) Result (Night 3)Ben Forster1"She Said" (Plan B)SafeTim Prottey-Jones2"The First Cut Is the Deepest" (Cat Stevens)Bottom twoRory Taylor3"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" (Kelly Clarkson)SafeNathan James4"Dedication to My Ex" (Lloyd ft. André 3000 & Lil Wayne)SafeRoger Wright5"Part of Me" (Katy Perry)SafeDirk Johnson6"Titanium" (Sia)Bottom twoJeff Anderson7"Mr Brightside" (The Killers)SafeNiall Sheehy8"The Man Who Can't Be Moved" (The Script)SafeJon Moses9"I Can't Make You Love Me" (Bonnie Raitt)SafeDavid Hunter10"Nothing's Real But Love" (Rebecca Ferguson)Safe
Sing-Off (Night 3) + Act Sing Off Song Results Dirk Johnson "Hurt" Eliminated Tim Prottey-Jones Saved by Lloyd Webber
Night 3 (17 July 2012) Group performance: "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (The Beatles)
+ Contestants' performances on the third live show Contestant Order Song (artist) Result (Night 4)Roger Wright1"More Than Words"( Extreme)SafeNathan James2"To Be With You"( Mr. Big)SafeRory Taylor3"Dakota"(Stereophonics)SafeJon Moses4"I Want To Know What Love Is"( Foreigner)SafeDavid Hunter5"You've Got The Love" ( The Source feat Candi Staton)Bottom twoBen Forster6"Everybody Hurts"(R.E.M.)SafeTim Prottey-Jones7"Time Is Running Out"(Muse)Bottom two Jeff Anderson8"How You Remind Me"(Nickelback)SafeNiall Sheehy9"Dirty Diana" (Michael Jackson)Safe
Sing-Off (Night 4)
+ Act Sing Off Song Results David Hunter "The Long and Winding Road" Saved by Lloyd Webber (Night 5) Tim Prottey-Jones Eliminated (Night 5)
Before the performance, Lloyd Webber decided not to eliminate either of them until he had seen the solo performances they had prepared for the night. They both performed on Night 4 with the elimination at the end of the show.
Night 4 (18 July 2012) Group performance: "Viva la Vida" (Coldplay) Guest performance: "Ruby" (Kaiser Chiefs) + Contestants' performances on the fourth live show Contestant Order Song (artist) Result (Night 5) Niall Sheehy 1 "One" (U2) Safe Rory Taylor 2 "Roxanne" (The Police) Safe David Hunter 3 "One Day Like This" (Elbow) Bottom two (Night 4) Ben Forster 4 "This Love" (Maroon 5) Safe Jon Moses 5 "I Won't Let You Go" (James Morrison) Safe Nathan James 6 "How to Save a Life" (The Fray) Safe Roger Wright 7 "Here I Go Again" (Whitesnake) Safe Tim Prottey-Jones 8 "Dream On" (Aerosmith) Eliminated (Night 4) Jeff Anderson 9 "Kiss from a Rose" (Seal) Safe
Night 5 (19 July 2012) Group performance: "Livin' on a Prayer" (Bon Jovi) Guest performance: "Baby Come Home" (Scissor Sisters)
+ Contestants' performances on the fifth live show Contestant Order Song (artist) Result Jeff Anderson1"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (The Rolling Stones)SafeDavid Hunter2"Nothing Compares 2 U" (Sinéad O'Connor)SafeRory Taylor3"Fix You" (Coldplay)Bottom twoNathan James4"Ain't No Sunshine" (Bill Withers)SafeBen Forster5"Fast Car" (Tracy Chapman)SafeNiall Sheehy6"Wherever You Will Go" (The Calling)Bottom two Jon Moses7"Feel" (Robbie Williams)SafeRoger Wright8"Rolling in the Deep" (Adele)Safe
Sing-Off:
+ Act Sing Off Song Results Rory Taylor "Alone" Saved by Lloyd Webber Niall Sheehy Eliminated
Night 6 (20 July 2012) Group performance: "Pinball Wizard" (The Who) Guest performance: "30 Minute Love Affair" (Paloma Faith)
+ Contestants' performances on the sixth live show Contestant Order Song (artist) Result Jon Moses1"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (U2)Bottom threeJeff Anderson2"Whole Lotta Love" (Led Zeppelin)Bottom threeRoger Wright3"Feeling Good" (Nina Simone)Bottom threeBen Forster4"Cold As Ice"(Foreigner)SafeRory Taylor5"Silenced by the Night" (Keane)SafeDavid Hunter6"Apologize"(OneRepublic)SafeNathan James7"Sweet Child o' Mine"(Guns N' Roses)Safe
Sing-Off:
+ Act Sing Off Song Results Jon Moses "Could We Start Again Please?" from Jesus Christ Superstar EliminatedJeff Anderson EliminatedRoger Wright Saved by Lloyd Webber
Night 7 (23 July 2012) Group performance: "We Are Young" (fun.) Guest performance: "Greatest Day" (Gary Barlow, featuring Final 5)
+ Contestants' performances on the seventh live show Contestant Order Song (artist) Result Nathan James1"Born This Way" (Lady Gaga)Bottom two Roger Wright2"Handbags and Gladrags" (Rod Stewart)Bottom twoDavid Hunter3"Too Close" (Alex Clare)SafeRory Taylor4"Under Pressure" (Queen feat David Bowie)SafeBen Forster5"It Must Have Been Love" (Roxette)Safe
Sing-Off + Act Sing Off Song Results Nathan James "Love Changes Everything" from Aspects of Love Eliminated Roger Wright Saved by Lloyd Webber
Night 8: Semi-final (24 July 2012) Group performance: "What's the Buzz" (Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice) Guest performance: "Habanera" (Katherine Jenkins)
+ Contestants' performances on the eighth live show Contestant Order Song (artist) Result Rory Taylor 1 "In the Air Tonight" (Phil Collins) Bottom two Ben Forster 2 "Run"(Snow Patrol) Safe Roger Wright 3 "Hard to Handle"(Otis Redding) Safe David Hunter 4 "I Try"(Macy Gray) Bottom two
Sing-Off
+ Act Sing Off Song Results David Hunter "No Matter What" from Whistle Down the Wind Eliminated Rory Taylor Saved by Lloyd Webber
Night 9: Final (25 July 2012) Group performances: "Hosanna" and "Gethsemane" (Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice) Guest performance: "I Don't Know How to Love Him" (Melanie C, featuring Andrew Lloyd Webber)
+ Contestants' performances on the ninth live show Contestant Order Song (artist) Result Ben Forster 1 "Who Wants to Live Forever" (Queen) Winner Rory Taylor 2 "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Aerosmith) Runner-up Roger Wright 3 "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (George Michael feat Elton John) Eliminated
The Arena Tour The tour travelled across the country from 21 September until 21 October 2012 and toured in the following venues: London O2 Arena, Glasgow SECC, Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, Manchester Arena, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, National Indoor Arena Birmingham, Belfast Odyssey, The O2 Dublin, Echo Arena Liverpool, Nottingham Capital FM and Motorpoint Arena Sheffield. Joining Forster was comedian Tim Minchin as Judas Iscariot, Melanie C as Mary Magdalene, BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles as King Herod Antipas, Alexander Hanson as Pontius Pilate, Pete Gallagher as Caiaphas, Gerard Bentall as Annas, Michael Pickering as Peter, and Giovanni Spano as Simon Zealotes.