Popstars: The Rivals

Popstars: The Rivals was a spin-off of the British version of the talent show series Popstars. The show was a singing competition where two groups were created (one girl group and one boy band) and competed for the number one place on the UK's Christmas music chart.

It only had one series, which lasted 18 episodes. It began releasing on 7 September 2002 and ended on 22 December 2002.

 Presenter and judges 
The show was presented by Davina McCall, who also presented the British version of Popstars. The judges consisted of Peter Waterman, Geri Halliwell, and Louis Walsh.

 Competition 

 Auditions and Boot Camp 
Auditions were held in London, Glasgow, Leeds, and Manchester.Popstars: The Rivals: Open Auditions - 3 TV.com Around 100 contestants successfully passed the auditions stage. These 100 contestants were eventually shortened to just twenty by the judges (ten male and ten female).

 Live shows 
The live shows were the finals of the competition and lasted eight weeks. The male finalists competed on Weeks 1, 3, 5, and 7. The female finalists competed on Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8. Each week, after the finalists performed, the public voted for their favourite. The contestant(s) with the least votes was eliminated. In the final weeks, the top 5 from each category formed the bands. 
Male finalistsContestantAgeResidenceResultKeith Semple21LarneTop 5 in Week 7Matthew Johnson17North WalesDaniel Pearce24AshfordAnton Gordon19LondonJamie Shaw17CardiffChris Park20NewcastleEliminated in Week 7Michael Green22ManchesterEliminated in Week 5Nikk Mager18HalifaxEliminated in Week 3Peter Smith25DublinQuit in Week 3Andrew Kinlochan23LondonEliminated in Week 1
Female finalistsContestantAgeResidenceResultCheryl Tweedy19NewcastleTop 5 in Week 8Nicola Roberts17RuncornNadine Coyle17DerryKimberly Walsh20BradfordSarah Harding20StockportJavine Hylton20LondonEliminated in Week 8Aimee Kearsley16SouthportEliminated in Week 6Chloe Staines18ChelmsfordEliminated in Week 4Emma Beard19NorthhamptonLynsey Brown19SalfordEliminated in Week 2
The boy band was named One True Voice and was made up of Keith Semple, Matthew Johnson, Daniel Pearce, Anton Gordon, and Jamie Shaw. The girl group was named Girls Aloud and was made up of Cheryl Tweedy, Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle, Kimberly Walsh, and Sarah Harding.

 Winning group 
After both groups were formed, they released their singles. The last episode announced live which group had charted the highest. Girls Aloud's single reached #1 on the charts, meaning they had won over One True Voice (who reached #2). 

Girls Aloud went on to become extremely popular in the UK and Ireland. One True Voice did not stay together. Additionally, Javine Hylton, a contestant who did not succeed in joining Girls Aloud, also had success..

 References 

category:2000s British musical television series