For the past few months, over 4000 kids across Canada attended the auditions for Canada’s young, talent-seeking reality show THE NEXT STAR! Entering its 4th season, it’s become one of the most popular shows on YTV, where the viewers pick the star from the top 16 finalists.
MusicianSuzie McNeil, songwriterChristopher Ward and music marketing execSteve Cranwell are returning to give their wonderful insight as judges, and returning as host is former Degrassi star Adamo Ruggiero! We got the chance to chat with Adamo about Season 4…
Are you excited about the upcoming season?
You know what, I really am. I mean, it seems like every season it keeps getting bigger and our producers have all these new ideas, and these kids just get better and better, so I don’t even know what Season four is going to be, something awesome, I assume.
How will it be different from the past 3 seasons?
The thing is that we’re mixing up the cities, and I always think that’s important, that we give obviously different parts of the country a chance. Actually, this year we’re headed to Winnipeg, Calgary, and Halifax, those are the three different ones. Of course we’re sticking with our Toronto’s, Montreal’s and Vancouver’s, but we’re doing Winnipeg, Montreal and Halifax, so we’re going to see a whole new group of kids from places that we didn’t go last year. And, of course, the template of the show is still going to be the same, still going to have our top 6, and they’re still going to get to chill out in Toronto and go through this super awesome mentorship, have the finale, and we’re going to have different celebrity guests this year, but I can’t really say who they are yet. And you know what, last year was awesome because it was the first year the kids did music video’s, and then it was the first year the kids did like a Christmas special, and I know that our producers have so many other ideas, so I feel like it’s going to be those things plus something else.
What do you think the judges will be looking for this time around?
I feel, to some extent, the same thing that they’re always looking for. You know, you’re just looking for that person who has the spotlight follow them, you know? They walk into a room, and you can just sense their energy, and of course they have a wonderful singing voice and of course they have a persona, charisma, but I think based on our kids for the last three years, especially the kids last year, the bar’s been set quite high, and I feel like they’re going to be looking for all those things, and plus some. And, you know, going through the tour for the last three years, it’s interesting because now that the kids are familiar with the show, they’re, of course, they’ve auditioned a couple times, or they’re watching it on television, they’re familiar with me and they’re familiar with the show and it kind of creates this TV-family around each other, that they do come in with a lot more confidence and with a lot more gusto and so I’m so excited to see what these kids have in store for the fourth season, and they never fail to impress our judges, no matter what bar they set. I’m always talking with Suzy, Chris and Steve and they’re like “you’re not going to believe this kid”.
Is there anything you recommend a participant do to set them apart from the rest?
It’s so hard because, I feel, as soon as you start giving yourself rules, that’s when you kind of loose the naturalness that make them unique. But I always tell the kids “I know that you sing at home and I know that you have this imagined spotlight on you whether it be dancing in your bedroom or bathroom or wherever it may be, and I just tell them to take that spotlight and bring it with you in the room. And just when you have that feeling where “I can’t do it”, that’s the sign that I always wait for, that I can. So I always say treat this like it’s your bedroom and you’re dancing to your favourite song, or to your favourite artist, and you’re just kind of having a party. So, of course, the kids need to be prepared, but it’s that confidence, it’s that sense of naturalness that sometimes is harder to get, you know? I always tell the kids to keep that in their mind.
Who’s been your most memorable contestant so far?
Oh my gosh, you know, for the last three seasons we’ve traveled the country and auditioned thousands of kids… it’s one of those moments when I’ve had one of those “wow” moments, but it’s hard to pick just one. If I had to pick one, what would I think? You know what, there’s this moment in the first season that’s always just stuck in my mind and because it’s the first year doing it, I really didn’t anticipate such talent from such young kids, I absolutely didn’t. And we were in Montreal, and these two little sisters, the cutest little pumpkins in the world, one was six and one was four, and they just burst into this beautifully harmonized Italian opera together, and I swear if I had just heard them, I would not imagine they’d be as little as they were, but they were just absolutely brilliant, and it just shocks me. And I think the reason why it shocked me is two reasons: one because I’m not a music man, I love music, I’m a big music fan, but I don’t have any music running through my blood which is part of the reason why I love this show because I kind of learn from these kids. And the second thing is that when I was there age, I didn’t have that confidence and skill at such a young age so, there’s just so many kids that totally wow me.
What do you do when you’re not hosting or acting?
Now, I’m finishing my University degree, I’ve been going to University for part on and off for the last seven years, and this year I went full time to complete my degree, so I will be graduating in the spring which is very exciting for me. I’m getting an honors double major in communications studies and film theory. It’s been a long road, but it’s something that’s been really important to me, and it’s going to be quite a conquest of mine here
Is there anything else you want to tell about Season 4 of The Next Star?
Season 4, like I said, we’ve added the new cities. The kids can log on to ytv.com/nextstar and there will be all the information. And yeah, last year we had over three million web votes and when people were voting for our winner, who was Diego, we became the number one trending topic on Twitter that night, which is really exciting, so I just feel like season four is going to be even bigger, I just want to encourage all the kids to find their spotlight, pack it in your backpack, bring it over, and show what you can do!
Thank you, Adamo! Don’t miss the premier of YTV’s THE NEXT STAR AT 7pm tonight! The season finale will air on Sunday, September 25 at7 p.m. Don’t miss a moment until then!