Rechercher une étoile

***Rechercher une étoile*** (English: *Search for a star*) is a French-language Canadian music talent show for aspiring singers over the age of 16.

## Format

Similar to *Star Academy*, *Rechercher une étoile* sees a selection of hopefuls entering an abandoned workshop rebranded as "École d'étoiles", managed by a "fondateur". In fact, the "workshop" is an idea borrowed from the now-extinct *Popstars* franchise. Once a week, the contestants have to face a prime time show, where they sing a cover version of a popular song they have prepared during the week before, as well as recapping their trials and tribulations at École d'étoiles from the past week. Similar to *Idol* and *The X Factor*, each competitive week has a different theme, and each contestant has to make sure the song they chose fits. However, this doesn't apply to the "Épisode d'introduction" and the semi-final. The live shows are known as a *Niveau*, which is the French word are *level*, and will often feature special guest stars. Based on the judges' verdicts and viewer voting, the contestant with the fewest votes is dropped. The overall winner receives a record deal and/or money.

## On air

Judges timeline

Judges lineup (chair order)

Co-hosts
* Natalia Jankulovski (2007-10; 2015-present)
* David Bandinelli (2011)

*École d'étoiles* counselors

## Season summary

All contestants appearing above (1st to 5th) were born in Canada, except for Audrey Turpin (season 7), Adolf Charroin (season 8), Eleanor Camu (season 9), and Julie Morin (season 14), all four of which are from the United States, while Karidja Boli (season 8) is from the Ivory Coast. Antoinette de Grasse (season 12) holds dual citizenship from both the United States and Canada.

### Season 1 (2007)

*Main article: Season 1*
Many contestants from the inaugural season released debut albums, but while overall winner Eva Boisselot had notable success with her albums, other contestants such as Fanny de Saint-Pierre, Ademar Chéron, and Claudine Jalbert all went on to have international success.

Even those who were eliminated in early episodes, such as Corina Gaume, Hugo Lahaye, and Ghislain Husson also launched successful solo careers.

### Season 2 (2008)

*Main article: Season 2*
The second season of *Rechercher une étoile* became an anomaly in the category of popular reality TV music shows in French-speaking Canada. At first, the winner started out with little success on home soil after the show but eventually had major success in other countries ever since the beginning of 2010. Meanwhile, many contestants who were eliminated in early episodes went on to have massive success not only in Canada, but also Europe and Asia.

### Season 3 (2009)

*Main article: Season 3*
The third season of got off to a poor start before Niveau 1, which paid tribute to American pop star Michael Jackson. The rest of this season would eventually have better ratings but was close to reaching the same result as the inaugural season. Runner-up Celestia Autié eventually performed in recitals and opera productions worldwide.

### Season 4 (2010)

*Main article: Season 4*
The fourth season started airing in September 2010 and had nearly the same success as previous seasons. Before the finale, Canal de triomphe confirmed that season 5 would be the last.

### Season 5 (2011)

*Main article: Season 5*
Prior to the season 4 finale, Canal de triomphe announced that *Rechercher une étoile* would end with season 5, premiering in late August 2011. Despite the publicity that the series would be ending, fans of the show made the Twitter hashtag #LongueVieRechercherUneÉtoile, which went on to be the highest trending topic during the airing of the last episode.

### Season 6 (2015)

*Main article: Season 6*
Four years after the show was discontinued, Canal de triomphe decided to revive the contest. The total cost for the reboot was roughly five-million Canadian dollars. Casting auditions for season 6 lasted throughout spring 2015 in Toronto, Ottawa, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, Chicoutimi, Jonquière, Châteauguay, and Montreal. The minimum age to compete was raised to 16.

### Season 7 (2016)

*Main article: Season 7*
Following the massive succuess of the reboot, Canal de triomphe approved the renewal of *Rechercher une étoile* for a seventh season.

### Season 8 (2017)

*Main article: Season 8*
Many episodes in the eighth season reached the top 3 on Canal de troimphe's most-watched Saturday night programs.

### Season 9 (2018)

*Main article: Season 9*
The ninth season started on 8 September 2018, exactly one week before the 11th anniversary of the original show. However, the theme for Niveau 1 was *Chansons dans les films de l'année de ma naissance*, implying that the 16 official contestants had to perform covers of popular songs from movies that showed up in the year they were born. Many of the contestants went on to have international success with their corresponding debut albums.

### Season 10 (2019)

*Main article: Season 10*
The tenth season started on 7 September 2019.

### Season 11 (2020)

*Main article: Season 11*
The eleventh season started on 25 July 2020. There was no studio audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, viewers at home could still vote. For the first time since 2015, all the contestants were from Canada.

### Season 12 (2021)

*Main article: Season 12*
The twelfth season premiered on September 4, 2021.

### Season 13 (2022)

*Main article: Season 13*
The thirteenth season premiered on September 3, 2022. Three months later, jazz singer Bianca Myong won the season thanks to winning the second round of public voting by a landslide.

### Season 14 (2023)

*Main article: Season 14*
The fourteenth season premiered on September 9, 2023.