Popstars poster

Popstars

Created by Jonathan Dowling, Bill Toepfer

1999–2021

Popstars is an international reality television franchise and a precursor to the Idol series. The series first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the five member all-girl group TrueBliss. Popstars remains one of the most successful TV show formats of all time with the format being sold to more than 50 countries. The show was the inspiration for Simon Fuller's Pop Idol franchise.

First aired
20 Apr 1999
Episode length
30 min
Also known as
Popstars New Zealand
Country
New Zealand
Language
English
Elsewhere
TMDB

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  • Reality
  • Documentary

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Cast

Seasons · 11 episodes

  • Season 1

    1999

    The inaugural season of Popstars screened on TVNZ's TV2 channel in 1999 and was made up of nine half-hour episodes. The show's producers received $291,170 in funding from NZ On Air. The format focused on the development of the five-piece girl group TrueBliss. The group's five members were Joe Cotton, Keri Harper, Erika Takacs, Carly Binding and Megan Alatini. Popstars followed TrueBliss as they recorded singles, music videos, album and embarked on a promotional tour of New Zealand. The show also featured series creator and producer Jonathan Dowling and musician Peter Urlich.

  • Season 2

    2021

    In April 2021, TVNZ debuted a 24 episode second season of Popstars. The show format was revamped. Unlike the original show in 1999, it was not a documentary following the formation of a girl group. Instead, the reboot focused on individual artists — both solo artists and groups of any gender, aged 16 or older, and placed its emphasis on original songwriting from the performers themselves. The series involved a panel of three experts, headed by Kimbra, who was joined by Nathan King and Vince Harder. In the auditions phase, the singers were first assessed by vocal coaches Bella Kalolo and Jeremy Redmore. The series screened on TVNZ 2 on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights.

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