Young Star Search
Encyclopedia
The Young Star Search is a kids' talent radio competition based in Northern Ireland
and is the current holder of the New York Festival Gold Award for best global radio station promotion. It was also nominated two years running at the UK Arqiva Radio Awards. Most recently the competition aired on Belfast CityBeat
from 2007 -2010 and invited applications from kids aged 8–16 from across Ireland
and in 2010 'Young Adults' aged 17–25.
Young Star Search was developed by Northern Ireland radio presenter Stuart Robinson
for Castle FM
in 2002 based in Carrickfergus
, the competition also ran on Bangor FM
from 2004, before completely moving to Belfast CityBeat
in 2007. Stuart Robinson
hosted the show while judges included record producer Micky Modelle
.
Due to Robinson's sudden defection in late 2010 from Belfast Citybeat
to rivals Cool FM
/ Downtown Radio
the contest was cancelled in 2011. It is still unclear when the contest will return and to what station it will broadcast on.
The competition held auditions in April of each year, preceded by weekly heats in different areas of Northern Ireland between May and July. The semi-final and final, featuring regional winners was staged in Belfast's main shopping centre, Castle Court in August.
Young Star Search, is the biggest talent search for young people in Northern Ireland and boosted over 1,000 entries.
, the tour seen the Young Star (junior) winner from that year headline a group of young singers to perform at Christmas events around Northern Ireland, including the Belfast City Council Christmas Light Switch On. (senior winner performs solo on tour)
In 2007, Rachael Stewart was joined by five other finalists, however in 2008, separate auditions were staged to find fellow band members form Rachel Pearson.
2007 Group members:
(Song Performed - Happy Xmas War Is Over)
2008 Group members:
(Song Performed - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree)
Runners-up
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and is the current holder of the New York Festival Gold Award for best global radio station promotion. It was also nominated two years running at the UK Arqiva Radio Awards. Most recently the competition aired on Belfast CityBeat
Belfast CityBeat
Belfast CityBeat is a two-time Arqiva 'Station Of The Year' and multi-Sony Award winning Northern Irish radio station. It broadcasts to Greater Belfast on 96.7 MHz FM and on DAB Digital Radio across all of Northern Ireland. From 5 April 2007, Citybeat became available on 102.5FM for North Belfast,...
from 2007 -2010 and invited applications from kids aged 8–16 from across Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and in 2010 'Young Adults' aged 17–25.
Young Star Search was developed by Northern Ireland radio presenter Stuart Robinson
Stuart Robinson
Stuart Robinson is a Northern Ireland broadcaster with Cool FM and Downtown Radio, he had previously been a founding member and the longest running presenter on rival station Belfast CityBeat since 1996 before his defection in 2010.He has won and been nominated for a number top industry awards, he...
for Castle FM
Castle FM
Castle FM is a short-term radio station based in Carrickfergus, County AntrimThe radio station transmitted twice annually between 1998-2005 and after a six year break will return in July 2011....
in 2002 based in Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus , known locally and colloquially as "Carrick", is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,201 at the 2001 Census and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th century king...
, the competition also ran on Bangor FM
Bangor FM
Bangor FM, is based in Bangor, County Down and is a short-term radio station in Northern Ireland.The radio station transmits usually annually from the heart of Bangor and broadcasts a mixture of music, news and information for a potential audience of over 80,000 adults in the North Down area.Bangor...
from 2004, before completely moving to Belfast CityBeat
Belfast CityBeat
Belfast CityBeat is a two-time Arqiva 'Station Of The Year' and multi-Sony Award winning Northern Irish radio station. It broadcasts to Greater Belfast on 96.7 MHz FM and on DAB Digital Radio across all of Northern Ireland. From 5 April 2007, Citybeat became available on 102.5FM for North Belfast,...
in 2007. Stuart Robinson
Stuart Robinson
Stuart Robinson is a Northern Ireland broadcaster with Cool FM and Downtown Radio, he had previously been a founding member and the longest running presenter on rival station Belfast CityBeat since 1996 before his defection in 2010.He has won and been nominated for a number top industry awards, he...
hosted the show while judges included record producer Micky Modelle
Micky Modelle
Micky Modelle is a Disc jockey and Record producer from Ireland, born in 1972.-Career:He came in to the media spotlight in 2006, when he had he had a top ten hit with Flemish singer Jessy, Dancing in the Dark was originally released by Jessy in 2004 in Belgium. However after meeting jessy, he...
.
Due to Robinson's sudden defection in late 2010 from Belfast Citybeat
Belfast CityBeat
Belfast CityBeat is a two-time Arqiva 'Station Of The Year' and multi-Sony Award winning Northern Irish radio station. It broadcasts to Greater Belfast on 96.7 MHz FM and on DAB Digital Radio across all of Northern Ireland. From 5 April 2007, Citybeat became available on 102.5FM for North Belfast,...
to rivals Cool FM
Cool FM
97.4 Cool FM is a commercial radio station, based in Newtownards, Northern Ireland, owned and operated by Bauer Radio and part of the Big City Network. The station began broadcasting in 1990 when its parent station Downtown Radio ceased simulcasting and split its AM and FM frequencies into two...
/ Downtown Radio
Downtown Radio
Downtown Radio is an Adult Contemporary music radio station based in Newtownards, County Down, that serves all of Northern Ireland using a network of FM and AM transmitters.- History :...
the contest was cancelled in 2011. It is still unclear when the contest will return and to what station it will broadcast on.
The competition held auditions in April of each year, preceded by weekly heats in different areas of Northern Ireland between May and July. The semi-final and final, featuring regional winners was staged in Belfast's main shopping centre, Castle Court in August.
Young Star Search, is the biggest talent search for young people in Northern Ireland and boosted over 1,000 entries.
Young Star Christmas Tour
The Young Star Christmas Tour was a spinoff from Young Star Search which run in 2007 and 2008 on Belfast CityBeatBelfast CityBeat
Belfast CityBeat is a two-time Arqiva 'Station Of The Year' and multi-Sony Award winning Northern Irish radio station. It broadcasts to Greater Belfast on 96.7 MHz FM and on DAB Digital Radio across all of Northern Ireland. From 5 April 2007, Citybeat became available on 102.5FM for North Belfast,...
, the tour seen the Young Star (junior) winner from that year headline a group of young singers to perform at Christmas events around Northern Ireland, including the Belfast City Council Christmas Light Switch On. (senior winner performs solo on tour)
In 2007, Rachael Stewart was joined by five other finalists, however in 2008, separate auditions were staged to find fellow band members form Rachel Pearson.
2007 Group members:
- Rachael Stewart
- Jordan Richmond
- John Gillen
- Deborah Morrison
- Zoe Skillen
- Rhian Gourley
(Song Performed - Happy Xmas War Is Over)
2008 Group members:
- Rachel Pearson
- Rhian Gourley
(Song Performed - Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree)
Notable judges
| YEARS JUDGED | JUDGE | BACKGROUND |
|---|---|---|
| 2002–2005 | Keith Semple | ITV's Popstars Group - One True Voice One True Voice One True Voice were a British boyband created on the ITV television series Popstars: The Rivals, which also produced girl group Girls Aloud. The band was created by the public, who voted for their favourite hopefuls each week... |
| 2003–2004 | Maurice Jay Maurice Jay Maurice Jay is a radio and television personality in Northern Ireland. He is currently the Programme Controller for a Belfast radio station that is part of the UTV Media group. Jay played lead roles in over 100 UK-wide performances of West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein... |
U105 U105 U105 is a Belfast based radio station, providing a mix of music and speech as well as hourly news bulletins. It is owned by UTV Radio and was launched at 6am on Monday 14 November 2005.... Programme Controller |
| 2003–2008 | Tina Calder | Sunday Life showbiz journalist |
| 2004–2009 | Robin Elliot | NVTV & Citybeat Radio Presenter |
| 2007 | Shaun Rogerson | The X Factor The X Factor (UK) The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date... Contestant |
| 2007–2008 | Gerard McCarthy Gerard McCarthy Gerard McCarthy is an actor, best known to television viewers for his award-winning performance as Kris Fisher on the British soap opera Hollyoaks from 2006 to 2010, to theatres-goers for his performances on the West End and at Shakespeare's Globe, and to film geeks for his role in Belonging to... |
Hollyoaks Hollyoaks Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill... actor |
| 2007 | Dana Dana Rosemary Scallon Dana Rosemary Scallon , known in her singing career simply as Dana, is an Irish singer and former Member of the European Parliament .... |
Eurovision Song Contest Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition... winner |
| 2007 | Bel's Boys Bel's Boys Bel's Boys refers to a pop/rock band based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and also to a children's television program which the band feature in.-The band:... |
CITV CITV CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00... |
| 2008 | Rachel Tucker Rachel Tucker Rachel Tucker is a Northern Irish singer and actress who competed as one of the finalists in the BBC talent show-themed television series I'd Do Anything in 2008... |
I'd Do Anything finalist |
| 2008 | Niamh Perry Niamh Perry Niamh Perry is an Irish singer and actress who competed as one of the finalists in the BBC talent show-themed television series I'd Do Anything in 2008 and is currently portraying Fleck in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Love Never Dies.-Background:Born in Bangor, County Down, Perry attended Our... |
I'd Do Anything Finalist |
| 2008 | Tabby Callaghan Tabby Callaghan Trevor John "Tabby" Callaghan is an Irish musician. He finished third in the first series of The X Factor in 2004.- Early career :... |
X Factor Finalist |
| 2008 - today | Mickey Modelle | Music producer / DJ |
| 2008 | Jessy Jessy De Smet Jessy De Smet, whose stage name is just Jessy , is a Belgian dance music singer who had several gold records in the late 1990s and 2000s.- With The Mackenzie :*"I Am Free"*"Arpegia "*"Love" / "You Got To Get Up"... |
Singer |
| 2008 | Brian Kennedy Brian Kennedy (singer) Brian Edward Patrick Kennedy is an Irish singer-songwriter and author, known for his ballads, and has represented Ireland at Eurovision 2006. He is the younger brother of musician Bap Kennedy.-Personal life:... |
Singer |
| 2009 | Geraldine Hughes | Actress |
| 2009 | Emma Fitzpatrick | Sunday Life Sunday Life The Sunday Life is a Sunday newspaper in Northern Ireland and has been published since October 23, 1988. It is the sister paper of The Belfast Telegraph and is owned by Independent News & Media.... |
| 2010 - today | John Kearns John Kearns John H. Kearns was an English professional footballer born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, who played as a fullback. He made nearly 200 appearances in the Football League playing for Birmingham, Aston Villa and Bristol City... |
MTV MTV MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs.... presenter |
| 2010 - today | Amy Ryan Amy Ryan Amy Ryan is an American actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance in Gone Baby Gone and is also known for her roles in the HBO series The Wire, playing Port Authority Officer Beadie Russell; In Treatment, playing psychiatrist Adele Brousse; and The... |
Belfast Telegraph |
Past winners
| YEAR | LOCATION | JUNIOR WINNER | SENIOR WINNER | YOUNG ADULT WINNER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 (Summer) | Carrickfergus | Darcy McLean | Natalie Brown | |
| 2002 (Christmas) | Carrickfergus | Darcy McLean | N/A | |
| 2003 (Summer) | Carrickfergus | Sophie Hollran | Michael Callahan | |
| 2003 (Christmas) | Carrickfergus | Cloe Skelton | Casey Wallace | |
| 2004 | Carrickfergus | Emma McBride | Julie Gower | |
| 2004 | Bangor | Devon Crossley | Niomi Stewart | |
| 2005 | Carrickfergus | Gemma Hall | Samantha Gray | |
| 2005 | Newtownabbey | Kirsty Crawford | Megan McConnell | |
| 2005 | Bangor | Hayley McCann | Kathryn Rutherford | |
| 2006 | Carrickfergus | Cherelle Duffrin | Donald Montgomery | |
| 2006 | Bangor | Nicole McGoogin | Tammy Corbett | |
| 2007 | Northern Ireland | Rachael Stewart | Laura May Lenehan | |
| 2008 | Northern Ireland | Rachel Pearson | Caitlin McClurg Caitlin McClurg Caitlin McClurg is an 18-year old singer from Bangor, County Down in Northern Ireland, who won the Belfast CityBeat contest Young Star Search in 2008... |
|
| 2009 | Northern Ireland | Anna Guest | Nicole Campbell | |
| 2010 | Northern Ireland | Emma Lowry | Jessica Hammond Jessica Hammond Jessica Hammond is a singer songwriter. Jessica is the winner of the 2010 Northern Ireland Belfast CityBeat competition Young Star Search. Before winning Young Star Search, Jessica Hammond has been a finalist on the Disney Channel UK talent search My Camp Rock in April 2009... |
Saoirse Hallam |
Other alumni
Other judges- Andy Pugh 2002-2008
- Maurice Taggart 2002-2004
- Fat Tam 2004-2005
- Justin Macartney 2002-2003
- Mark White 2006
- Minty 2007
- Justin McGurk 2007
- Keri Moore 2007
- Seaneen Kane 2007
- Garrett O'Hare 2008
- Natalie Miller 2008
Runners-up
- 2002 Joanne Corrigan
- 2002 Shauna Walker
- 2002 Angela Kennedy
- 2003 Nicole Sloan
- 2003 Laura Gilbert
- 2003 Lauren Dunahoe
- 2003 Sam White
- 2004 Stacey McCalister
- 2004 Seaneen Kane
- 2005 Sarah Hutcheson
- 2005 Becky Steed
- 2005 & 2006 Julianna Edlin
- 2006 Hannah Rose Henning
- 2007 Deborah Morrison
- 2007 Eiblin Stewart
- 2008 Brooklyn Dunseith
- 2008 John Gillen
- 2009 Aoife Kane
- 2009 Leona Hughes
- 2010 Shauna Lillywhite
- 2010 Zoe Skillen
- 2010 Kerry Wilson
Trivia
- Darcy McLean is the only person to have won Young Star twice.
- Julianna Edlin from Carrickfergus has come closest to winning most often without actually winning, finishing 3rd in 2004 and 2nd in both 2005 and 2006.
- Jon Gillen has also finished 4th in 2005, 3rd in 2007 and 2nd in 2008. Zoe Skillen has finished 5th in both 2007 & 2008 and runner-up in 2010
- Casey Wallace,Donald Montgomery, Julie Gower, Megan McConnell and Nicole McGoogin had all previously entered Young Star before winning.
- Rachael Stewart is the most successful Young Star winner in terms of votes, followed by Caitline McClurg and Sophie Hollran.
- Seaneen Kane was previously runner-up of Young Star in 2004 (Bangor) before becoming a judge in 2007.
- In 2008, the senior section had the closest final ever with John Gillen losing by only 30 votes.
- Rhian Gourley featured in the 2007 and 2008 Young Star Christmas Group.
- In 2009 Rachael Stewart (2007 winner) competed again, this time finishing forth.
- In 2009 Rachel Pearson (2008 winner) competed again, this time finishing forth.
- Chantelle Macateer from Dromore has now finished 8th in 2008 and 2009.
- Contestants in 2006 Jonathan Godfrey and Kirsty Kirk met during the contest and later began a relationship which led to them having a son.
External links
- http://www.citybeat.co.uk/goto.php?id=854&pg=YoungStar&sess=+A595742535D54+F1D42131744505D1D1D59435A50+9+6581D1F5E425954465014+64B14165F
- http://archives.tcm.ie/downdemocrat/2007/06/19/story3322.asp