Network: TVA Television Network
Broadcast Run: 2003 to 2012
Broadcast Medium: Television
Star Académie was a reality TV series that was first broadcast by TVA in 2003. An adaptation of French television’s Star Academy, it pitted 18 to 30-year-old contestants who want to become singer-performers against one another.
Every year, Star Académie aired 10 weekly galas on Sunday night, as well as 36 daily shows, from Monday to Thursday. Julie Snyder hosted the gala from the show’s inception. Star Académie reached up to 3 million TV viewers for its Sunday night galas and averaged over 2 million for its daily shows.
Several competitors went off to become very popular stars after being on the show, including Marie-Hélène Thibert, Maxime Landry, Marie-Mai Bouchard, Annie Villeneuve and Wilfred LeBouthillier.
The auditions to select the show’s participants were done live on another program aptly called Les auditions de Star Académie, which was broadcast on TVA Mondays evenings. The TV viewers were invited to vote for their favourite, so that the latter got his or her chance to go on the Star Académie adventure.
During the series, these young aspiring artists got the opportunity to meet with some big-name personalities from many different milieus. They also received training from recognized artists and professionals in the artistic milieu.
Written by Yvon Chouinard – January, 2012