Project SuperStar
| Project SuperStar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Reality television |
| Presented by |
Quan Yi Fong (season 1–2) Jeff Wang (season 1–2) Jeremy Chan (season 3–) Dasmond Koh (season 3–) Shane Pow (season 3–) |
| Judges |
Billy Koh (season 1–2) Lee Wei Song (season 1–2) Li Feihui Anthony Png (season 1–2) Dawn Yip Eric Ng (season 3–) |
| Country of origin | Singapore |
| Original language(s) | Chinese |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 60 (as of 4 February 2007) |
| Production | |
| Production location(s) |
Various (auditions) MediaCorp TV Theatre (live shows) Singapore Indoor Stadium (final) |
| Running time | 20–160 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | MediaCorp Channel U |
| Original release | 22 June 2005 – 26 October 2014 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Project SuperStar (Chinese: 绝对 SuperStar) is a singing talent search competition organised by MediaCorp and broadcast every Wednesday and Thursday at 8:00 pm on Channel U in Singapore. Project SuperStar was organised to uncover and develop young talent in Mandarin pop in Singapore. Closely modelled after the Pop Idol, 24 contestants were selected to enter the Quarter Finals of the competition. For both seasons, it was hosted by Quan Yi Fong and Jeff Wang. Episodes were pre-recorded, and broadcast on Wednesday for male contestants, while episodes on Thursday feature female contestants. Result shows were shown on the same Thursday of the week at 11:30 pm. Season 3's Live-telecast will begin on 18 August 2014 and the finale is set to be on 26 October 2014. It is announced that Dasmond Koh, Jeremy Chan and Shane Pow will be the hosts for the third season.
Format
Season 1 and 2
Male and female contestants will perform on two separate days, Wednesday and Thursday respectively, with the results of both female and male category announced on Thursday at 11.30 pm. Contestants would sing and their performance would be assessed by judges present at the show itself, and also by the public.
Judges would give a score each upon ten (intervals of 0.5), which weigh 30% of the final score for the contestant for that particular episode. The remaining 70% is obtained from telepolling and SMS voting from the public. The judging team is made up of Ye Peifen, Li Feihui, Xu Huanliang, Fang Zhonghua and Lee Wei Song, some of which are Singapore’s acclaimed singers and producers.
Quarter Finals
There are five weeks in the Quarter Final, with the fifth week being Revival Round. Three of all five weeks' requires each contestant to perform both a solo and a duet. Half of the eligible contestants were contested each week, with two singers per gender receiving the lowest combined score after each week are eliminated. The first eight singers eliminated in the first Quarter Finals were ineligible to compete for the Revival Round, The eight singers who were safe after the second round would directly advance to the semi-finals, while the other eight had to contest again in the Revival Round to compete for the remaining places in the Semi Finals, bringing the total number of semi-finalists to ten (five per gender).
Semi Finals (Season 1 and 2)
There are four weeks of the Semi Finals, with one contestant per gender eliminated from the competition each week, until the competition comes down to the last male and female winner, who would be crowned as Male and Female category winners, respectively. Each week consist of a theme, performing between one to three songs, with each song accompanied by a live band that will replace the original music, as shown below:
Themes (Season 1)
- Top 10 : A slow song and a dance item
- Top 8 : Oldies' night
- Top 6 : Theme song of a local drama/movie
- Top 6 : A song by local artist
- Top 4 : Same song with slow and rock versions
- Top 4 : An English song
- Top 4 : Productions choice, same song, different rendition
- Top 2 : Command the attention of the huge audience through a song
- Top 2 : An unplugged song
- Top 2 : Duet with Guest
- Top 2 : Designated song by judges to point out contestants' weakness
- Top 2 : Contestant's choice
Themes (Season 2)
- Top 16 : Retro Night: The 1980s to 1990s
- Top 10 : A slow song and a dance item
- Top 8 : Oldies Night: The 1940s to 1970s
- Top 6 : Theme song of a local drama
- Top 6 : Theme song of a movie
- Top 4 : One English song of their choice
- Top 4 : One Chinese song of their choice
- Top 4 : Productions choice, same song, different rendition
- Top 2 : One rock song (will require the finalist to dance, live band will be accompanied)
- Top 2 : One unplugged song (live band will be accompanied)
- Top 2 : One hip-hop song (will require the finalist to dance)
- Top 2 : One jazz/bossa nova song (live band will be accompanied)
- Top 2 : One personally selected pop song (live band will be accompanied)
Finals (Season 1 and 2)
Prior to the Grand Final, the Male/Female category winners would be required to record and release limited editions of a Single, of which the sales record will be tracked. The singles would only be available for a few days, and the sales accounts for 30% of their score in the final. Only the public's vote (which carries 70% of the score) determined which category winner would win the competition.
On the day of the actual performance, each of them would have to perform five songs in the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Season 3
The series returned to Channel U after a eight-year hiatus. Unlike the first two seasons where it involve 24 contestants (12 per gender), the series saw its reduction of acts to 12 (six per gender), similar to the number of contestants seen in the third and fourth season of Campus SuperStar. For the first time, the finals were held on the MediaCorp Studios instead of Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The season also saw a change of format of voting, which are now limited to Toggle Now app and carries a 25% weightage, instead of 30%, while also the first time, the judges scores, in replacement of CD sales, contributed towards the scores in the finale. Another changes made is that the contestants were now mentored by the judges (a format similar to The X Factor), and the Revival rounds were removed.
Series overview
To date, three seasons have been broadcast, as summarised below.
Contestant in male category
Contestant in female category
| Season | Start | Finish | Winner | Runner-up | Third place | Winning coach | Winning manager | Main hosts | Guest hosts | Main judges | Guest judges | Sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | 22 June 2005 | 1 September 2005 | Kelvin Tan | Kelly Poon | Chew Sin Huey | N/A | Quan Yi Fong Jeff Wang |
Dennis Chew1 Christina Lin1 |
Billy Koh Lee Wei Song Roy Loi Anthony Png Dawn Yip |
N/A | VodaVoda Mango TV M1 | |
| Hong Jun Yang | ||||||||||||
| Two | 8 November 2006 | 4 February 2007 | Daren Tan | Lydia Tan | Nat Tan | Quan Yi Fong Jeff Wang Christina Lin2 |
Lee Teng3 Charlyn Lin3 Pornsak3 Sim Yun Ying3 |
SK Jewellery Hoyu Sony Silkpro SILKYGIRL M1 | ||||
| Carrie Yeo | ||||||||||||
| Three | 18 August 2014 | 26 October 2014 | Alfred Sim | Abigail Yeo | Justin Chua | Dawn Yip | Jeremy Chan | Dasmond Koh Jeremy Chan4 Shane Pow4 |
N/A | Roy Loi Dawn Yip Eric Ng |
Tiger Huang5 Lee Wei Song5 |
AMC Live Marigold Peel Fresh White Rabbit Calbee Eversoft |
| Tan Yan Hua | ||||||||||||
- Notes
- ^ Dennis Chew and Christina Lin served as the leaders of the supporters during the final. Chew led the supporters of male category winner Kelvin Tan, while Lin led the supporters of female category winner Kelly Poon.
- ^ Christina Lin presented backstage for the performance shows on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
- ^ Lee Teng, Charlyn Lin, Pornsak and Sim Yun Ying served as the leaders of the supporters during the final. Lee and Pornsak led the supporters of male category winner Daren Tan, while Lin and Sim led the supporters of female category winner Lydia Tan.
- ^ Jeremy Chan and Shane Pow presented backstage and acted as the managers for the contestants.
- ^ Tiger Huang and Lee Wei Song would serve as the guest judges at the final.
International Versions
As of 2018, one country produced their own version of Project SuperStar Malaysia, which was broadcast on 8TV (Malaysia). Its first season premiered on 2006, while its third and recent season premiered on 9 February 2008, and ended on 3 May 2008.