Rechercher une étoile controversies

The French-Canadian singing competition show *Rechercher une étoile* has generated many controversial epiphanies over the years.

## Voting controversies

Voting has been one of the biggest sources of controversy with *Rechercher une étoile* becoming embroiled in numerous controversies in various editions over the voting process and its results.

### **Season 1 phone-phreaks' power-voting**

Over 500 phone-phreak hackers with power-dialing hardware and software were reported to be able to place as many as 12,000 votes a night from a single phone line with the touch of a button.

### **Season 2 phone scam**

A phone scam operation based in Montreal was discovered, in which people were tricked into believing that viewers could vote for their favorites through a 514 number, rather than the 450 number used on the show. They were then instructed to call a 438 number to vote. This allowed the company to charge callers nationwide from $4.99 to nearly $8.

### **Season 3 Bruno Riqueti's vote-off**

Bruno Riqueti's elimination caused a stir among the judges and fans of the show.

### **Season 4 televoting crashed**

Shortly after Anne Halphen was announced as the winner in season 4, the executives at Canal de triomphe reported that over 400,000 public votes were cast during the season finale.

### **Season 8 phone numbers**

During the fifth competitive Niveau in season 8, the expected phone number for Yvan Cuvillier, ETOILE-13, was not owned by *Rechercher une étoile*, but by a company called Jardin du Mal, who used it as a scam call. Although host Jean-Luc d'Amboise made ample mention of the replacement phone number, ETOILE-36, some commentators feared that the phone number confusion could have led to Cuvillier being inadvertently voted off the show. However, Cuvillier was saved by the staff at *École d'étoiles*.

## Overtime broadcast

Season 2 went over its scheduled 3-hour time limit and ended at 10:06 that evening. A number of DVR users across French-speaking Canada claimed the recording ended before Patricia Bertillon was announced the winner shortly after the planned end time. The executives at Canal de triomphe apologized, and during season 3, host Jean-Luc d'Amboise warned viewers that the show "might run overtime."

On the 17 October 2009 episode of season 3, the show ended nearly 8 minutes past its set ending time. This caused a number of viewers at home to completely miss the episode's results.

## Other controversies

### **Eva Boisselot at Laval Rouge et Or basketball game**

Immediately after winning season 1 on 24 November 2007, Eva Boisselot was arranged to sing Canada's national anthem "O Canada" (the French version) by her then management company, Total Events & Entertainment, at a Laval Rouge et Or basketball game. It drew criticisms that the producers of *Rechercher une étoile* were turning a popular sports game into a "promotional opportunity for an unknown reason". Boisselot considered withdrawing from the game, which was held at Colisée Pepsi, saying that "I wasn't planning to sing the Canadian national anthem at the basketball game or any other sports event in the near future…If it turns out I'm on the verge of marketing something, well, that's a nightmare!" and added, "I'm not going anywhere near the Pepsi Coliseum, not even to sing the [Canadian] national anthem!" However, she was unable to withdraw from the event.

### **Season 2 Ester d'Arras music video**

The music video for then guest judge Ester d'Arras' song "Break Me Down", which aired on the program, was criticized as violent for younger viewers. A reviewer for a media institute based in Montreal wrote: "Even [the] supposedly family-friendly TV shows like *Rechercher une étoile* are barely safe in the hands of the Great White North," and went as far as saying her "shocking new video shows how desperate she is to retain her fame despite her fading relevance. Such violent videos aren't appropriate for [any] children to watch, including d'Arras' nephew!" Another reviewer said that the video was on the verge of being too "scary" for the show.

### **Season 4 semi-final theme**

The theme for the 11 December 2010 episode was reported to have been questionable due to the remaining contestants having been "confused" when they figured out that they had to perform the biggest hits by someone who died before the *Rechercher une étoile* first aired. Grégory Lemarchal passed away on 30 April 2007.

### **Season 5 judges' feud**

A video was leaked to a tabloid news website in Quebec City on 4 July 2011 which showed Saloni Bux erupting in a tirade against Maud Auger during the audition in Trois-Rivières for season 5. The video shows Bux yelling at Auger in French: "I'm not putting up with any similar bullsh\*t in the next 24 hours!" According to Guy A. Lepage from the Canadian talk show *Tout le monde en parle*, Auger claimed that Bux said: "If I had a gun, I'd shoot Maud's manager," a claim that Bux then denied.

### **Season 6 awkward exchange of comments**

During the reboot, national media outlets reported on an exchange between judge ??? and contestant Raymond Grosjean noting the incident of ??? scolding a contestant was awkward.

### **Season 8 booing**

The introduction episode in season 8, which aired on 2 September 2017, sparked controversy when the audience booed Estelle Floquet before she began to sing "Quando me'n vo'" from Giacomo Puccini's opera *La bohème*. The audience once again booed Floquet after her performance was finished. This get the other 17 contestants worried. Some even voiced their confusion on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Floquet was eventually eliminated from the indroduction episode along with Vincent LaFromboise who sang "Ça plane pour moi" by Plastic Bertrand.

### **Judges' critique in season 9**

During the 15 September 2018 episode, online critics from major news sources across French-speaking Canada criticized the judges for being too nice, not being honest enough, offering hardly any constructive criticism towards the contestants, and for not giving any guidance and direction for the viewers and voters in terms of whether or not they should be voting for someone. Executive producer Anatole Regnault responded to these criticisms and said, "First of all, these performers are very talented and no way will I influence the judges to say anything they don't believe. In fact, they're actually trying to keep things straight and narrow." Grégory du Toit, another executive producer, also responded to these criticisms on Twitter account that "It's not about what the judges think, it's about your opinion…right?"