Ahh the good 'ol days of iPods, MTV's TRL and the popstar making-machine that was Popstars!
Popstars was an international television franchise spawned from New Zealand, a precursor of the Pop Idol shows. It began in 1999 and spread to some 50 countries around the world.
The original series in NZ launched girl group TrueBliss who topped that country’s charts with
“Tonight”. Internationally, famous acts from the series included Girls Aloud in Britain, Eden’s Crush and Nicole Scherzinger in the USA, Lollipop in Italy, and L5 in France.
Initially booming, the ratings of Popstars eventually dropped in most countries, success of many acts was short-lived, and the popularity of the Idol shows took over.
In Canada, Popstars ran for three seasons from 2001 to 2003. The first season, broadcast on CTV, assembled the group Sugar Jones whose five members were chosen amongst thousands of applicants. The girl group scored a huge hit with its cover of Fierce’s “Days Like That”, its album went platinum, and two JUNO nominations followed in 2002. Three members went on to release music as soloists. Winnipeg’s Maiko Watson released an album in 2009 and Andrea Henry released single “Let It Go” the same year. Montréal’s Julie Crochetière has been the most prolific releasing a few solo albums.
Popstars moved to Global TV for the next two seasons. Season 2 saw the formation of Velvet Empire. Song “Frontin’ On Me” received airplay, but the album apparently did not sell as expected, and the group disbanded. Velvet Empire’s music is unavailable on iTunes, and the MV for the single has been erased from YouTube.
Christa Borden came out of Season 3. Music that she apparently released is largely unavailable, though she has some MVs up on YouTube. She has been working as an actress.
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