It all starts with the song.
That鈥檚 the idea behind The Launch, a new star search series premi猫ring tonight on CTV. It鈥檚 also the feature that will distinguish it from other TV talent search shows, according to the producers.
It may seem to some viewers that the air went out of the talent-show balloon two years ago when American Idol took a bow after 15 record-breaking seasons. The show, once referred to by rival broadcasters as 鈥淭he Death Star,鈥� didn鈥檛 scare anybody the last two seasons, which weren鈥檛 even shown on a major broadcast network in sa国际传媒.
With a more outrageous unscripted show 鈥� featuring a former reality star 鈥� drawing viewers over to the news channels, the industry seemed ready to push pause on the genre.
Idol, however, will not be idle long. It鈥檚 coming back in March, this time on ABC, but still with Ryan Seacrest as host.
Beating it to the gate is The Launch, which, according to executive producer John Brunton 鈥� whose Insight Productions does the Junos and was behind Canadian Idol 鈥� flips the whole format on its head.
鈥淥n Idol, you鈥檇 only hear the song at the very end,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his time, the song comes first, and the point of the show is to match the song to the right singer.鈥�
The Launch is the pet project of Bell Media president Randy Lennox. The former Universal Music sa国际传媒 CEO has been steering the private broadcaster in a rock 鈥檔鈥� roll direction since arriving in 2015.
鈥淲e always say with him, he doesn鈥檛 hear 鈥榥o,鈥� 鈥� says Insight鈥檚 Lindsay Cox, one of the showrunners on The Launch.
Lennox has already been making music at Bell. The west-end Toronto native stood before the board of directors and talked them into getting into the live theatre business with the stage musical Bat Out of Hell. That led to sold out runs in London and Toronto. With The Launch, he鈥檚 not just trying to help create a hit reality show, he鈥檚 attempting to launch a format that could be 鈥� as Idol was 鈥� successfully exported around the world.
鈥淚nternational distributors are waiting for something new,鈥� says Jane Rimer, Insight鈥檚 chief international business and creative development head, 鈥渁nd they recognize that there鈥檚 always an appetite for music.鈥�
Lennox used his music business connections to pull mogul Scott Borchetta 鈥� who discovered Taylor Swift 鈥� into the project. He鈥檚 chief among the celebrity mentors on the series, who also include Shania Twain, Fergie, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue and Boy George.
鈥淏oy George immersed himself in the show,鈥� says Cox. 鈥淗e took such care with the artists, he actually wanted to go and pick their wardrobe because he knew what would work, and he was right.鈥�
Sixx also threw himself into the process, says Cox.
鈥淗e鈥檚 sitting there and his eyes are welling up as he鈥檚 watching people audition, because they were so good and so pure.鈥�
Landing songwriters as part of the mix was key to this series鈥� chances. Busbee, who wrote the hit Try for Pink, contributes as does Tedder, who has written for Beyonc茅.
The series was shot in Toronto in what looks like a state-of-the-art commercial recording studio; in reality it was built from scratch on a soundstage.
The producers screened over 10,000 hopefuls before narrowing them down to 30. They hail from all over sa国际传媒, including Dylan Menzie from Belle River, P.E.I., Chad Price from London, Ont., and the band Havelin from Edmonton.
Each week is essentially about 鈥渓aunching a song and an artist together,鈥� says Cox. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not taking a complete amateur and saying, 鈥楬ere鈥檚 a shot,鈥� like they do on The Voice or Idol where they give them a little bit of the showbiz razzle dazzle and cross their fingers.鈥�
The chosen 30 are a mix of amateurs and professionals but none have recording contracts. Five give it their best shot a week.
鈥淭hese are people who already have incredible talent, and in some cases, they鈥檝e already got a good, strong, social media presence,鈥� says Cox. 鈥淭hey just haven鈥檛 been launched.鈥�
