Star Academy (French TV series)

Star Academy is a French reality singing competition produced by Endemol France. It has been broadcast on TF1 (2001–2008 and since 2022) and NRJ 12 (2012–2013). During the competition, the contestants stay in the Dammarie-lès-Lys's Vives-Eaux castle. At the end of each season, selected contestants go on tour around France, Belgium, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia, and other French-speaking countries.
The reality show is hosted by Nikos Aliagas and has featured guest stars such as Mariah Carey, Madonna, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Celine Dion, The Corrs, Texas, Simple Plan, Moby, Tina Arena, Nelly Furtado, Tokio Hotel, Anastacia, Alicia Keys, Craig David, 50 Cent, will.i.am, Destiny's Child, James Blunt, Sean Combs, Sting, David Guetta, Lenny Kravitz, Janet Jackson, Liza Minnelli, Phil Collins, Laura Pausini, Kylie Minogue, Tina Turner, Andrea Bocelli, Charles Aznavour, Hélène Ségara, Lorie, Lara Fabian, Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, Alizée, Johnny Hallyday, Paul Anka, Lionel Richie, Alanis Morissette, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Bee Gees, and Ricky Martin. It spawned an equally successful show in Canada called Star Académie.
The first eight seasons were broadcast on TF1 from October 20, 2001 (2001-10-20) to December 19, 2008 (2008-12-19).
The prime time shows and daily broadcasts were hosted by Nikos Aliagas. Special episodes (tours, anniversaries, best moments) were also aired, generally between each season.
The program's broadcast on this channel ended after its eighth edition, which concluded on December 19, 2008 (2008-12-19).
The contestants are classed in order.
Season 1 was won in 2001 by Jenifer Bartoli from Nice, who has become one of France's best-loved new female singers since then. Second studio album Le Passage has songwriting contributions from Calogero and Benoît Poher from Kyo. Later she released two other studio albums, Lunatic and Apelle-moi Jen.
Carine and Mario, along with series 2 contestants Anne-Laure and Houcine and series 5 contestants Pierre and Alexia make up the cast of a new comedie-musicale in France "Salut Joe" which features the songs of legendary star Joe Dassin.
Olivia Ruiz has enjoyed critical and commercial success with her album La Femme Chocolat.
Season 2 of Star Academy launched some singers with successful solo careers – winner Nolwenn but also Emma, who reinvented herself as France's answer to Avril Lavigne; singer, songwriter and producer Jérémy Chatelain who married Alizée; singer-songwriter Georges-Alain Jones; Aurelie Konate who appeared in the comedie-musicale Belles belles belles based on the music of Claude François.
After the highly successful season 2, much was expected of season 3 and the favourites were named at the beginning: Sofia and Michal. As it turned out, both of them made their respective male/female semi finals, joined by Elodie and Patxi respectively. Elodie ended up making it to the finals, where she beat Polish contestant Michal and become the winner of Star Academy 3.
Michal will return to the music scene in France in 2007 with his second album All Alone with my Gueule. Sofia ended up releasing her own album Mon cabaret in 2005.
Season 4 winner Grégory Lemarchal became the first male winner of Star Academy in France. He released his debut single "Écris l'histoire" and debut album Je deviens moi in France in 2005. Grégory also enjoyed success in 2006 with "Même si", a bilingual duet with Lucie Silvas of her song "What You're Made Of".
On 30 April 2007, Grégory Lemarchal died of complications due to cystic fibrosis while waiting for a lung transplant.
Season 5 was notable for the return of some familiar faces – season 1 and 2 directrice Alexia Laroche-Joubert returned in the same role, after which the role was filled in season 3 by Nathalie Andre, and in season 4 by Gerard Louvin. Also back was Raphaelle Ricci as prof of scenic expression.
Despite an expanded age limit on participants, there was only one noticeably participant – Jérémy Amelin (18). His popularity grew over the series and he eventually reached the finale where he faced, and lost to, Magalie Vaé.
Among the female contestants the early favourite was Emilie, a violinist who originated from the island of Reunion. However, her popularity with the jury was seemingly not shared by the public. In the female semi-final she and fellow student Ely were voted out in favour of Magalie, who had attracted much attention in France because, unlike previous Star Academy participants, she was overweight.
In the end, Magalie triumphed on 16 December 2005 and became the fifth Star Academy winner in France. Magalie sold the least CDs by a series winner compared to previous winners Jenifer and Nolwenn. This raises the question of whether the judging should be 100% in the hands of the voting public.
All of last year's profs returned this year including directrice Alexia Laroche-Joubert and dance teacher Kamel Ouali, the latter kept French fans guessing regarding his participation up to the last minute, as he remained involved in the popular musical Le Roi Soleil. Nikos Aliagas continued to present the daily updates and weekly "Prime" on Fridays.
The focus for this season was expected to shift from traditional songs to the "nouvelle chanson francaise" style made popular by singers like Benabar, Benjamin Biolay and former Star Ac 1 contestant Olivia Ruiz. Contestants Marina and Jean-Charles reflected this new musical style and Marina, in particular, was allowed to sing her own compositions on the "Prime".
Gael, whose musical style resembled that of the Gipsy Kings, eventually quit on 13 November, allegedly in relation to the refusal of the producers to allow him to record with the Gipsy Kings, whom his musical style clearly owed an allegiance to. There was also controversy over remarks made by Raphaelle Ricci following the eviction of fan favourite Nicolas Charvillat, suggesting that her fellow "profs" had decided to evict him before he even sang a note.
In the end Cyril, the first black person to win Star Academy or any singing contest in France, triumphed by 67% of the vote over Dominique (33%) on 22 December to become the sixth Star Academy winner in France.
This year was unusual as only seven students went on the tour: Cyril, Dominique, Cynthia, Jean-Charles, Brice, Marina, and Ludovic.
Contestants include
Maureen, the favorite, walked after 7 weeks. Mathieu had been nominated 8 times over Star Academy 7, but each time was favored by the public to continue. Until finally, improving his show greatly, ending up in the final where Quentin, the favorite of most spectators with 0 nominations, won by the close margin of 52.6% to 47.4% for Mathieu.
The eighth season debuted on 19 September 2008.
The contestants in season 8 are:
Top 2 (the finale aired on 19/12/08) –
Eliminated (in order of elimination) –
Alice has been nominated the most times, with five; but was saved by the public each time, with an overwhelming majority above two other nominees. The series also saw a decline in the ratings, as in the premiere week, it has received 5.5 million viewers with 29.6% share (mainly from their competition, NCIS on M6). This was considerably down from the previous series' 7.1 million viewers (30.7% share).
NRJ 12 decided to reboot the show after TF1 cancelled it in 2009, due to declining ratings. It began airing again from December 2012.
Season 9 contestants:
Laurene was nominated 2 times and Zayra only once. Zayra received the most number of marks in the history of Star academy, Zayra's and Star academy best mark was 19 out of 20.
After a break of ten years from the concept and a fourteen-year break from broadcasting it themselves, TF1 announced a return to Star Academy in France. The premiere of the tenth season of the show took part on 15 October 2022 on TF1 with the contestants moving into the castle that same evening. Nikos Aliagas again took up hosting the show, while British singer Robbie Williams was named the godfather of the programme for this season. Michael Goldman is the show's headmaster. The show had a notable change in the amount of contestants as only thirteen solo acts took part. The 2005 Bob Sinclar song "Love Generation" has been used as a generic theme throughout the promotion of the new season. The contestants stay in the Dammarie-lès-Lys's Vives-Eaux castle, which was renovated during summer 2022.
Anisha won by a solid margin of 57% to 43% for Enola.
For this eleventh season of Star Academy, the candidates are once again staying in the Château des Vives Eaux in Dammarie-les-Lys as was the case during the first seven seasons and the previous one. New this year: a special room, called the "public room", is appearing, to allow the students of the week to answer viewers' questions in a principle close to the "SMS evenings" of the early 2000s. The best student of each bonus, designated by the stage expression teacher, has the opportunity to go there the following Monday. The nominees of the week also have access to defend their place at the castle. The sound theme remains the same as for the previous season, namely "Love Generation" by Bob Sinclar, after having already been used for seasons 5 to 7. "Run Baby Run" by Bustafunk, the theme song for the third firsts seasons, is used exceptionally during the 48th daily. Despite rumors of his departure, TF1 confirmed, during a back-to-school press conference on 28 June 2023, the return of Michael Goldman once again as promotion director for the 11th season. The teaching staff remains the same as for the previous season with two changes. Yanis Marshall, dance teacher, gives way to dancer Malika Benjelloun, former choreographer of several international artists such as Puff Daddy, Billy Crawford or Robbie Williams and having also collaborated with the choreographers of singers Katy Perry and Madonna. Laure Balon, professor of stage expression, is replaced by Cécile Chaduteau, former dancer of Kamel Ouali during the first seasons of the program, former backing vocalist for the singers Johnny Hallyday and France Gall, and choreographer of the musical Flashdance – The Musical (2023).
The primetime scenes are supported by a co-choreographer, Angelo Recchia. James Blunt and Vitaa are the godfather and godmother of this new season, where their portrait is broadcast. A portrait of the candidates is also broadcast. Initially, 16 candidates were to enter on 4 November 2023, but on 30 October 2023, we learned that only 13 candidates will enter for "budgetary reasons". The Star Academy tour is returning this year, entitled Star Academy – Tour 2024. The ticket office opens on 3 November 2023. A daily 15-minute show around this tour, which was initially scheduled to be broadcast on TFX and TF1+ from 25 March 2024, was canceled at the last minute by the broadcaster and Endemol France due to the pace of the tour, deemed "very intense". Following the bonus dedicated to the tour on 15 December 2023, here are the students who will participate in the tour: Axel, Candice, Djebril, Héléna, Julien, Lénie and Pierre. The concert in Bercy at the Accor Arena on 8 June was broadcast live on TF1, the official broadcast of Star Academy. The winner is Pierre with 55.6% against Julien with 44.4%. He won 100,000 euros and a contract with Sony Music.
For this twelfth season of Star Academy, the candidates will once again stay in the Château des Vives Eaux located in Dammarie-les-Lys in Seine-et-Marne, as was the case during the first seven seasons and since the tenth season in 2022. The castle will be equipped with 61 cameras which will follow the daily lives of its residents during daily broadcasts and live streams. Jean-Louis Blot, president of Endemol France, reveals that the singing room is changing location to be closer to that of the theater. A foyer was also added for students to practice their music or relax. The design of the bonus stage at Studio 217 has been revised to offer "more spectacular shows". It will be more square and equipped with platforms covered with screens that come out of the ground. A proscenium was also installed for a better approach to the artists and the public. Finally, a dressing room will be equipped with a camera, which will allow students to speak to their fans in the form of vlogs between two rehearsals. These videos will be broadcast on the Fan's box on TF1+. For this idea, TF1 declares that it was inspired by Candice, last season's candidate who produced daily vlogs of her adventures during the 2024 tour: "The idea came to us by seeing what Candice did during the tour on YouTube, and this inspired us to offer them this freedom to tell their feelings before the bonuses" confirms Rémi. For this new season, the godmother of the twelfth season of Star Academy is the French singer and songwriter Clara Luciani.
For this twelfth season, Michael Goldman, already director during seasons 10 and 11, retains his status. A fairly drastic change is taking place this year on the faculty side: Adeline Toniutti, singing teacher, gives way to opera singer, actress and teacher at the Paris conservatory, Sofia Morgavi. Hugues Hamelynck, Belgian actor, director and improviser, succeeds Pierre de Brauer to provide theater classes. The world champion athlete in the 100 metres hurdles, Ladji Doucouré, takes the place of Joël Bouraïma for sports classes and Fanny Delaigue, singer, dancer and pianist in musical, becomes co-rehearsalist alongside Lucie Bernardoni, succeeding Marlène Schaff; the latter is now in charge of stage expression courses, replacing Cécile Chaduteau. Also new this season, four artists such as Julien Doré, Lara Fabian, Patrick Fiori and the winner of season 11, Pierre Garnier, were designated "exceptional teachers", to offer students private lessons (sing, theater...) in the form of masterclass. The winner is Marine, she won Star Academy 2024 with a solid margin (65%). She receive 100,000 euros and sign a contract with Sony Music.