Fame Academy 1
Encyclopedia
The first series of Fame Academy
, a BBC
reality talent search, was first broadcast in the UK over ten weeks in October - December 2002. It was won by David Sneddon
. The live shows were presented by Cat Deeley
and Patrick Kielty
.
On the Tuesday of each week, the teachers would gather the contestants, and inform them of their progress. The contestant who had impressed the judges the most over the previous week would be named the "Grade A student," and would be guaranteed a solo performance at the following live show. The three contestants who the judges felt were performing the worst would be put on probation, and would have to sing for survival live on Friday night on BBC One
, in order to fight for their place in the Academy. When applicable, the contestants who were neither on probation, or the Grade A students would team up for the live show, performing as groups, or on occasion in duets. Although they were safe from elimination, their performances in their groups weighed heavily on the teachers decision on who to put up for probation in the following week.
Following all of the performances on the Friday live show, the public would vote for the student up for probation who they wanted to save - the person with the most votes would be safe. However, the fate of the two other contestants on probation was decided by their fellow contestants, who had to vote for who they wanted to save. In the event of a tie in the student vote the public votes would decide who is eliminated. All four contestants were put on probation in the penultimate week, with the public saving two.
Guest teachers were brought in to "teach", this happened periodically throughout the series, the guest teachers included Lionel Richie
(who also co-wrote a song on the Fame Academy album), Shania Twain
, Mariah Carey
and Ronan Keating
.
The Friday night live shows were filmed in front of an audience at the BBC's Shepperton Studios
, and were lavishly presented. They featured duets and group performances by all the students which were choreographed by dance teacher Kevin Adams, as well as the songs by the three probation students. The guest teachers also sang on the liveshow. In the case of Lionel Richie he performed twice, returning to duet with Lemar on their co-written song "Back To You".
As well as the live shows, highlight shows aired at 7pm on Tuesday and Thursday nights on BBC One. A late night uncut show was later added to the schedules. Extra coverage was shown on BBC Choice
, with round-the-clock live streaming also available on BBCi and Freeview.
. This made the final line-up, until Naomi fell ill and was forced to withdraw from the competition, she was replaced by eventual winner David Sneddon
who had received the second highest number of votes to enter the academy after Sinéad.
The contestants' time in the Academy included singing lessons with Carrie Grant
, exhausting dance and exercise classes with Kevin Adams
, and song-writing lessons with Pam Sheyne who co-wrote Christina Aguilera
's hit single Genie in a Bottle
, and Grammy nominated Steve DuBerry
who wrote Tina Turner
's hit "I Don't Wanna Fight
" (plus hits for Joe Cocker
, Simon Webbe
, Liberty X
). Headteacher Richard Park was also never far away, and managed to keep order for most of the series.
As well as the dramas of singing for survival, there were dramas among the contestants too. David and Ainslie were claimed to be rivals for most of the series. Katie almost got thrown out of the Academy as a punishment for damaging equipment during a waterfight she instigated. Camilla and Lemar got closer and closer, until on the night when all of the contestants returned to the house, they kissed in one of the bedrooms. Sinéad and Malachi were also very close, but a relationship failed to materialise once they left the Academy.
Each week, the teachers were given the task of putting three of the students on 'probation,' where they would be forced to sing for their survival the following Friday, with one of the 3 being saved by the public. The final 2 performers fate was then left to the other students, who would decide who stayed and who left the Academy for good.
Notes:
In the second half David sang I Don't Want To Talk About It and Sinéad then sang The First Cut Is The Deepest. Then David and Sinéad sang I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues. After a total of over 6.9 million votes were cast, David won with 3.5 million votes. He then sang what was to become his debut #1 single, Stop Living the Lie, to end the show.
signed a £1 million record contract with Mercury Records
as part of his prize. His debut single "Stop Living the Lie
", entered the UK charts
at #1 and remained at the top for two weeks. He is one of only a few artists from reality TV shows to have a number one hit record with a self-written song. He had a further two top twenty hit singles and a top ten album, Seven Years Ten Weeks, (which was recorded with Elton John
's band) and signed a development publishing deal with Universal Music in October 2003. Sneddon signed to major music publisher Sony/ATV Music Publishing
in 2009 as a songwriter
.
Lemar signed a deal with Sony Records, and has since won several BRIT Awards
as best urban act. Malachi, Ainslie, Lemar, and Sinéad also went on to release hit records.
Ratings of the show were average, but not fantastic. Most of this was blamed on the format being too similar to Pop Idol
, while fans of the Reality TV element were disappointed by the awkward timings of the highlight shows http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2337903.stm. Despite this, a second series was commissioned for the following year.
An 18 track album featuring songs by all the contestants was released at the end of the series. It sold over 300,000 copies in the first week and reached #2 in the uk compilation charts. Profits from this and the following nationwide tour helped to fund the Fame Academy Bursary.
Fame Academy (Mercury
) December, 2002
Track Listings
In April 2003 all 12 students reunited for a 12 date arena tour of the UK, performing live to sell out audiences, with a final concert at Wembley Arena
. A DVD of their performances, Fame Academy - Live, was released in September 2003.
Fame Academy
Fame Academy is a televised competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist. The prize consisted of a £1m recording contract with a major record company, plus the use of a luxury apartment in London and a sports car for one...
, a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reality talent search, was first broadcast in the UK over ten weeks in October - December 2002. It was won by David Sneddon
David Sneddon
David Sneddon is a Scottish musician and singer-songwriter.He has performed on British television, radio and theatre. Sneddon won the first BBC UK series of Fame Academy in 2002...
. The live shows were presented by Cat Deeley
Cat Deeley
Catherine Elizabeth "Cat" Deeley is an English television presenter and model. Since 2006, Deeley has also been the host of So You Think You Can Dance in the United States, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition...
and Patrick Kielty
Patrick Kielty
Patrick Kielty is an Irish comedian and television personality from Dundrum, Northern Ireland.-Background:He was affected by The Troubles in Northern Ireland. On 25 January 1988 his father, businessman Jack Kielty, was shot dead by the Ulster Defence Association /"Ulster Freedom Fighters" , a...
.
Format
Eleven previously selected contestants were showcased to the nation in the first live episode, while the first viewer vote of the series was announced in a surprise twist - three other potential finalists would be showcased to the nation - and the public could vote for whom they wanted to enter the Academy, making up the final line-up of twelve contestants.On the Tuesday of each week, the teachers would gather the contestants, and inform them of their progress. The contestant who had impressed the judges the most over the previous week would be named the "Grade A student," and would be guaranteed a solo performance at the following live show. The three contestants who the judges felt were performing the worst would be put on probation, and would have to sing for survival live on Friday night on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, in order to fight for their place in the Academy. When applicable, the contestants who were neither on probation, or the Grade A students would team up for the live show, performing as groups, or on occasion in duets. Although they were safe from elimination, their performances in their groups weighed heavily on the teachers decision on who to put up for probation in the following week.
Following all of the performances on the Friday live show, the public would vote for the student up for probation who they wanted to save - the person with the most votes would be safe. However, the fate of the two other contestants on probation was decided by their fellow contestants, who had to vote for who they wanted to save. In the event of a tie in the student vote the public votes would decide who is eliminated. All four contestants were put on probation in the penultimate week, with the public saving two.
Guest teachers were brought in to "teach", this happened periodically throughout the series, the guest teachers included Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
(who also co-wrote a song on the Fame Academy album), Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
and Ronan Keating
Ronan Keating
Ronan Patrick John Keating is an Irish recording artist, singer-songwriter, musician, and philanthropist. Keating debuted on the professional music scene alongside Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and Stephen Gately, in 1994 as the lead singer of Boyzone. His solo career started in 1999, and...
.
The Friday night live shows were filmed in front of an audience at the BBC's Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
, and were lavishly presented. They featured duets and group performances by all the students which were choreographed by dance teacher Kevin Adams, as well as the songs by the three probation students. The guest teachers also sang on the liveshow. In the case of Lionel Richie he performed twice, returning to duet with Lemar on their co-written song "Back To You".
As well as the live shows, highlight shows aired at 7pm on Tuesday and Thursday nights on BBC One. A late night uncut show was later added to the schedules. Extra coverage was shown on BBC Choice
BBC Choice
BBC Choice was a BBC TV station which launched on 23 September 1998 and closed on 9 February 2003. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, and was the first new channel from the BBC since BBC Two launched in 1964...
, with round-the-clock live streaming also available on BBCi and Freeview.
The students
Eleven of these contestans were pre-selected and then the public voted in the twelfth, Sinéad QuinnSinéad Quinn
Sinéad Quinn and graduate of the University of Hull was a contestant in the first series of the UK BBC TV series Fame Academy in 2002. She later went on to sign a recording contract, released an album, and had a #2 UK single. She is married to Paul Stewart, drummer with The Feeling...
. This made the final line-up, until Naomi fell ill and was forced to withdraw from the competition, she was replaced by eventual winner David Sneddon
David Sneddon
David Sneddon is a Scottish musician and singer-songwriter.He has performed on British television, radio and theatre. Sneddon won the first BBC UK series of Fame Academy in 2002...
who had received the second highest number of votes to enter the academy after Sinéad.
The contestants' time in the Academy included singing lessons with Carrie Grant
Carrie Grant
Carrie Grant is a British vocal coach and session singer. She is best known for her work on the television talent contests Fame Academy, Comic Relief does Fame Academy and Pop Idol, together with her husband and colleague David Grant. She is also personal voice coach to many successful pop stars...
, exhausting dance and exercise classes with Kevin Adams
Kevin Adams
For the NHL player, see Kevyn Adams.Kevin Adams is an American theatrical lighting designer. He has earned three Tony Awards for lighting design.-Biography:...
, and song-writing lessons with Pam Sheyne who co-wrote Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
's hit single Genie in a Bottle
Genie in a Bottle
"Genie in a Bottle" is the second single by American pop recording artist, Christina Aguilera, taken from her self-titled debut album. It was co-written by David Frank, Steve Kipner, and Pamela Sheyne, and produced by Frank and Kipner respectively...
, and Grammy nominated Steve DuBerry
Steve DuBerry
Steve DuBerry is a British Grammy Award nominated songwriter and record producer, co-writer of Tina Turner's "I Don't Wanna Fight"...
who wrote Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
's hit "I Don't Wanna Fight
I Don't Wanna Fight
"I Don't Wanna Fight" is a song written by the British singer Lulu, her brother Billy Lawrie and Steve DuBerry and was first offered to singer Sade, who sent it on to Tina Turner. Turner recorded it in 1993 as part of the soundtrack for her autobiographical film, What's Love Got to Do with It...
" (plus hits for Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, Simon Webbe
Simon Webbe
Simon Solomon Webbe is an English singer-songwriter, actor and music manager. He is best known as a member of the British boyband Blue.-2001–2005: Early Career And Blue:...
, Liberty X
Liberty X
Liberty X were a British pop vocal group formed by the five contestants eliminated from the final ten qualifiers from the 2001 ITV show Popstars. The group consisted of Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Michelle Heaton, Kelli Young and Jessica Taylor...
). Headteacher Richard Park was also never far away, and managed to keep order for most of the series.
As well as the dramas of singing for survival, there were dramas among the contestants too. David and Ainslie were claimed to be rivals for most of the series. Katie almost got thrown out of the Academy as a punishment for damaging equipment during a waterfight she instigated. Camilla and Lemar got closer and closer, until on the night when all of the contestants returned to the house, they kissed in one of the bedrooms. Sinéad and Malachi were also very close, but a relationship failed to materialise once they left the Academy.
Each week, the teachers were given the task of putting three of the students on 'probation,' where they would be forced to sing for their survival the following Friday, with one of the 3 being saved by the public. The final 2 performers fate was then left to the other students, who would decide who stayed and who left the Academy for good.
Results and elimination
- Indicates the winning contestant
- Indicates the contestant who was eliminated from the competition
- Indicates the contestant who was the Grade A student for the week
- Indicates a contestant who was safe, and was neither the Grade A student or facing probation
- Indicates a contestant who faced probation, but was saved by the public vote.
- Indicates a contestant who faced probation, but was saved by their fellow students
- Indicates a contestant who was unable to perform at the live show
- Indicates a contestant who was not eliminated from the show, but had to withdraw due to illness
- Indicates that the contestant had been eliminated from the show, and was no longer competing at the academy.
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 The Final |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Sneddon | Not In Competition |
Safe | Probation Public Vote |
Safe | Grade A Student |
Safe | Probation Public Vote |
Safe | Probation Public Vote |
Safe | Winner | |
| Sinéad Quinn | Safe | Safe | Safe | Grade A Student |
Safe | Grade A Student |
Safe | Probation Public Vote |
Probation Public Vote |
Safe | Runner Up | |
| Lemar Obika | Safe | Grade A Student |
Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Probation Public Vote |
Eliminated | Eliminated (Week 10) |
|
| Ainslie Henderson | Safe | Safe | Grade A Student |
Safe | Safe | Safe | Probation Students Vote |
Probation Public Vote |
Eliminated | Eliminated (Week 9) |
||
| Malachi Cush | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Probation Students Vote |
Probation Public Vote |
Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (Week 8) |
|||
| Katie Lewis | Safe | Probation Students Vote |
Probation Students Vote |
Probation Students Vote |
Probation Public Vote |
Probation Students Vote |
Eliminated | Eliminated (Week 7) |
||||
| Nigel Wilson | Probation Public Vote |
Safe | Safe | Probation Public Vote |
Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (Week 6) |
|||||
| Marli Buck | Grade A Student |
Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (Week 5) |
||||||
| Pippa Fulton | Probation Students Vote |
Probation Public Vote |
Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (Week 4) |
|||||||
| Camilla Beeput | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (Week 3) |
||||||||
| Chris Manning | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (Week 2) |
|||||||||
| Naomi Roper | Awarded bye due to illness |
Withdrew (Week 2) |
||||||||||
| Ashley House | Eliminated | Eliminated (Week 1) |
||||||||||
| Notes | Note 1 Note 2 |
Note 3 | Note 4 Note 5 |
Note 6 | Note 7 | Note 8 | ||||||
| Probation | Ashley Nigel Pippa |
Chris Katie Pippa |
Camilla David Katie |
Katie Nigel Pippa |
Katie Malachi Marli |
Katie Malachi Nigel |
Ainslie David Katie |
Ainslie Malachi Sinéad |
Ainslie David Lemar Sinéad |
No probation | ||
| Eliminated | Ashley House | Chris Manning | Camilla Beeput | Pippa Fulton | Marli Buck | Nigel Wilson | Katie Lewis | Malachi Cush | Ainslie Henderson | Lemar Obika | Sinéad Quinn | |
| David Sneddon | ||||||||||||
Notes:
- Note 1: In the launch show, the public were given the chance to choose the 12th finalist from David Sneddon, Paul MacDonald and Sinéad Quinn. Sinéad won the vote and joined the academy.
- Note 2: Naomi was suffering from illness, and was awarded a one week bye to recover, so did not perform at the first live show.
- Note 3: With Naomi's condition showing no sign of improving, she was forced to leave the Academy midweek. She was replaced by David, who had finished runner-up in the initial public vote.
- Note 4: The Week 6 live show was postponed to Sunday night due to the Children In NeedChildren in NeedChildren in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
broadcast that aired in the shows usual Friday slot. - Note 5: The judges allowed the public to choose the final Grade A student from Ainslie, Lemar and Sinéad. Listeners to The Chris Moyles ShowThe Chris Moyles ShowThe Chris Moyles Show is the current BBC Radio 1 breakfast show in the UK, and has been since Chris Moyles became the station's breakfast show presenter on 5 January 2004. From 2004 to 2007, the show was broadcast 6:55–10:00 am each weekday, but since 15 October 2007 it has started from...
were encouraged to vote for their favourite, who would also earn a special solo performance on the Children In Need broadcast. Sinéad was revealed as the winner, and performed live at the event. - Note 6: Ainslie and Sinéad were both saved by the public. The students had no vote to save this week.
- Note 7: For the first time, all the remaining students faced probation. Ainslie received the fewest public votes, and was eliminated immediately.
- Note 8: In the final, the public vote alone decided who would win the competition. At the first voting freeze, Lemar had the fewest votes, and was sent home. David and Sinéad then competed for the title.
The final
The final was broadcast live as two separate shows. The final three contestants were David, Sinéad and Lemar. In the first half, after votes totalling over 4 million, Lemar was the first to be voted off by the public. Neither of the two remaining finalists, David and Sinéad, had been in the original group of eleven students chosen by the judges at the start of the series.In the second half David sang I Don't Want To Talk About It and Sinéad then sang The First Cut Is The Deepest. Then David and Sinéad sang I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues. After a total of over 6.9 million votes were cast, David won with 3.5 million votes. He then sang what was to become his debut #1 single, Stop Living the Lie, to end the show.
The aftermath
David SneddonDavid Sneddon
David Sneddon is a Scottish musician and singer-songwriter.He has performed on British television, radio and theatre. Sneddon won the first BBC UK series of Fame Academy in 2002...
signed a £1 million record contract with Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
as part of his prize. His debut single "Stop Living the Lie
Stop Living the Lie
Stop Living the Lie was written by musician, singer and songwriter David Sneddon, and was his No 1 debut release single 2003. The single was released on January 13, 2003 and during its first week it charted at number one in the UK singles chart, as well as reaching number seven in Ireland. The...
", entered the UK charts
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
at #1 and remained at the top for two weeks. He is one of only a few artists from reality TV shows to have a number one hit record with a self-written song. He had a further two top twenty hit singles and a top ten album, Seven Years Ten Weeks, (which was recorded with Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's band) and signed a development publishing deal with Universal Music in October 2003. Sneddon signed to major music publisher Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing is a music publishing company co-owned by The Michael Jackson Family Trust and Sony. The organisation was originally founded as Associated TeleVision in 1955 by Lew Grade. In 1957, ATV acquired Pye Records as a wholly owned subsidiary...
in 2009 as a songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
.
Lemar signed a deal with Sony Records, and has since won several BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
as best urban act. Malachi, Ainslie, Lemar, and Sinéad also went on to release hit records.
Ratings of the show were average, but not fantastic. Most of this was blamed on the format being too similar to Pop Idol
Pop Idol
Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
, while fans of the Reality TV element were disappointed by the awkward timings of the highlight shows http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2337903.stm. Despite this, a second series was commissioned for the following year.
Album and tour
An 18 track album featuring songs by all the contestants was released at the end of the series. It sold over 300,000 copies in the first week and reached #2 in the uk compilation charts. Profits from this and the following nationwide tour helped to fund the Fame Academy Bursary.
Fame Academy (Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
) December, 2002
Track Listings
- "With a Little Help From My Friends" - Ainslie & David
- "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - Lemar & Sinéad
- "Fields Of Gold" - Malachi & Marli
- "(Come Up and See Me) Make Me Smile" - Ainslie & Marli
- "Lean On Me" - The Fame Academy Students
- "The Tracks Of My Tears" - Marli
- "Eternal Flame" - Pippa
- "Brown Eyed Girl" - Chris
- "I Can See Clearly Now" - Ashley
- "Genie In A Bottle" - Camilla
- "Perfect" - Katie
- "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" - Nigel
- "Vincent" - Malachi
- "Goodnight Girl" - David
- "Don't Speak" - Sinéad
- "Back To You" - Lemar feat. The Fame Academy Students
- "Keep Me A Secret" - Ainslie
- "Lullaby" - Ainslie, David & Lemar
In April 2003 all 12 students reunited for a 12 date arena tour of the UK, performing live to sell out audiences, with a final concert at Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
. A DVD of their performances, Fame Academy - Live, was released in September 2003.