Star Academy

There are many versions of the show, each country having its own slight variations, but the basic concept remains the same: contestants live in a boarding-school called "The Academy", managed by a director, and various teachers coach them in several artistic disciplines. The participants are filmed with cameras throughout the day and night (an idea borrowed from another of Endemol's major reality shows Big Brother). Once a week, the contestants have to face a prime time show, where they sing the song they've prepared during the week before, as well as recapping their trials and tribulations at The Academy from the past week. The live show will often feature special guest stars, with whom some of the contestants have the opportunity to sing. Based on the judges' verdicts and viewer voting, the weakest contestant is dropped. The eventual winner is awarded a record deal and usually some amount of money.

Location of different versions of Star Academy

  Own version

  Joint version

The public entity RTVE participated with Gestmusic, a Spanish branch of Endemol, in the development of a music program in 2001. The objective was to promote three musical careers and to find the new representative of Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest. After carrying out a series of auditions for thousands of people throughout Spain, on October 22, 2001, the first Operación Triunfo season began airing on Spanish television channel, La 1. A total of 16 contestants were candidates for the prize. Although production company Gestmusic created the format, Star Academy first premiered in France on October 20, 2001, two days before Operación Triunfo began airing in Spain.[1]

Star Academy has reached markets as different as India, the Arab World and the United States, becoming the first Spanish format ever acquired by these countries. This show is similar to the Idols franchise, but different in that it also shows the contestants' lives together in the "Academy" where they are trained; American Idol shows nothing of the contestants' personalities or relationships with each other. Star Academy is in essence a singing competition, where the lowest vote-receiver each week must leave the show, ending finally when only one person remains.

In 2009, the Georgian local version of the show was cancelled mid-season as a result of their Academy building collapsing. Two on-site technical staff members died in the collapse in the early morning of 26 April 2009.[2][3] Several contestants were brought to hospital following the disaster, but none of them were in danger.[4] Rustavi 2 subsequently axed the series.

In 2011, most Star Academy series outside of Africa and the Middle East were phased out in favor of another musical competition format from Endemol, The Voice. In Europe, many of the series were cancelled as a result of lower ratings and high production costs. In 2017, the series was revived in Spain after six years of absence and Russia after an absence of ten years. Although the Spanish series became a ratings success, the Russian revival became a ratings flop and was not renewed in 2018.

During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Spain was the only country in the world that was producing a season of the show. The contestants were aware of the developments with regards to the pandemic,[5] which led to the show being eventually paused for several months with the contestants sent home.[6]

There were more than 30 franchises of Star Academy all around the world, with 103 winners. As of 2020, only the Spanish version is still in production. The French-Canadian adaptation (based on the French version) returned in winter 2021.[7]

  Franchise with a currently airing season

  Franchise awaiting confirmation

  Franchise with an unknown status

  Franchise with an upcoming season

  Franchise no longer in production

Region	Local name	Channel	Winner	Main Presenters
African Countries[8]	Project Fame Website	M-Net DStv (Live) The Africa Channel (Broadcast in 2008)	Season 1, 2004: Lindiwe Alam	James Alexander Vusi Twala
Albania	Star Academy Albania - Akademia e Yjeve[9]	Televizioni Klan	Season 1, 2006: ? Season 2, 2007: Ajkuna Anxhaku Season 3, 2008: Iris Hoxha Season 4, 2009: Elhaida Dani Season 5, 2010: Albi Xhepa	Zana Çela
Arab Maghreb[10]	Star Academy Maghreb Website	Nessma TV	Season 1, 2007: Hajar Adnane	Nabila El Kilani
Arab world[11]	Star Academy Arabia Website Website Website	LBCI CBC (starting season 9)	Season 1, 2003–2004: Mohamed Attia Season 2, 2004–2005: Hisham Abdulrahman Season 3, 2005–2006: Joseph Attieh Season 4, 2006–2007: Shatha Hassoun Season 5, 2008: Nader Guirat Season 6, 2009: Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Season 7, 2010: Nassif Zeytoun Season 8, 2011: Nessma Alaa Mahgoub Season 9, 2013–2014: Mahmoud Mohey Season 10, 2014: Mohamed Chahine Season 11, 2015–2016: Marwan Youssef	Hilda Khalife
Argentina	Operación Triunfo Website Website Website	Telefe Canal 4 DirecTV (Live) (Season 4)	Season 1, 2003: Claudio Basso Season 2, 2004–2005: José García Season 3, 2005–2006: Benjamín Rosales Season 4, 2009: Cristian Manuel Soloa Season 5, 2012–2013: F.A.N.S.[12]	Alejandro Wiebe, "Marley" (Season 1–4) Germán Paoloski (Season 5)
Belgium	Star Academy (Dutch) Website Website	Kanaal Twee	Season 1, 2005: Katerine Avgoustakis	Walter Grootaers
	Star Academy (French) Website	RTL-TVI	Season 1, 2002: Mélanie Martin's	Virginie Efira & Frédéric Hebrays
Bolivia	La Fábrica de Estrellas - Star Academy Website	Red Unitel	Season 1, 2016: David Soliz Season 2, 2016: Vania Taborga	Anabel Angus Angélica Mérida
Brazil	Fama Website Website	Rede Globo SKY (Live)	Season 1, 2002: Vanessa Jackson Season 2, 2003: Marcus Vinícius Season 3, 2004: Tiago Silva Season 4, 2005: Fabio Souza	Angélica Ksyvickis (Season 1–4) Toni Garrido (Season 1-2)
Bulgaria	Star Academy Website	Nova Television Nova+ (Live) CableTel (Live)	Season 1, 2005: Marin Yonchev	Maria Ilieva
Canada	Star Académie[7][13] Website	TVA	Season 1, 2003: Wilfred Le Bouthillier Season 2, 2004: Stéphanie Lapointe Season 3, 2005: Marc-André Fortin Season 4, 2009: Maxime Landry Season 5, 2012: Jean-Marc Couture Season 6, 2021: William Cloutier Season 7, 2022: Krystel Mongeau[14][15]	Julie Snyder (Season 1–5) Patrice Michaud (Season 6)[16],[17] Marc Dupré (Season 7)[18]
Chile	Operación Triunfo Website	Mega	Season 1, 2003: Mónica Rodríguez[19]	Álvaro Escobar
East Africa[20]	Tusker Project Fame Website Website	M-Net (Africa) (Season 1) NTV (Season 1) Citizen TV (Season 2–5) RTNB (Season 5) Channel 10 (Season 1) StarTV (Season 2–3, 5) TBC (Season 4) UBC (Season 1, 4) WBS (Season 2–3) NTV (Season 5) Rwanda TV (Season 3–5) SSTV (Season 4) Channel 146 (Season 5)	Season 1, 2006: Valerie Kimani Season 2, 2008: Esther Nabaasa Mugizi Season 3, 2009: Alpha Rwirangira Season 4, 2010: Davis Hillary Ntare Season 5, 2012: Ruth Matete	Gaetano Kagwa (Season 1) Fumnilayo Raimi (Season 2) Mich Egwang (Season 3–5) Sheila Mwanyigah (Season 3–5)
	Tusker All-Stars (All-Stars Format)		Season 1, 2011: Davis Ntare, Peter Msechu & Alpha Rwirangira	Gaetano Kagwa Eve D'Souza
France	Star Academy Website Website Website	TF1 (Season 1–8, 10-) NRJ 12 (Season 9)	Season 1, 2001–2002: Jenifer Bartoli Season 2, 2002: Nolwenn Leroy Season 3, 2003: Élodie Frégé Season 4, 2004: Grégory Lemarchal Season 5, 2005: Magalie Vaé Season 6, 2006: Cyril Cinélu Season 7, 2007–2008: Quentin Mosimann Season 8, 2008: Mickels Réa Season 9, 2012–2013: Laurène Bourvon Season 10, 2022: Anisha Jo Anyjaine Season 11, 2023-2024 : Upcoming Season	Nikos Aliagas (Season 1–8, 10-) Mathieu Delormeau (Season 9) Tonya Kinzinger (Season 9)
Georgia	ვარსკვლავების აკადემია Varskvlavebis Akademia Website	Rustavi 2	Season 1, 2008: Dito Lagvilava Season 2, 2009: Cancelled[21]	Sopho Khalvashi Giorgi Qorqia
Germany	Fame Academy Website	RTL II Tele 5 MTV2 Pop	Season 1, 2003–2004: Become One[22]	Nova Meierhenrich
Greece /  Cyprus	Fame Story Website	ANT1	Season 1, 2002: Notis Christodoulou Season 2, 2004: Kalomira Season 3, 2004–2005: Pericles Stergianoudes Season 4, 2006: Leonidas Balafas	Natalia Germanou (1) Andreas Mikroutsikos (2) Tatiana Stefanidou (3) Sophia Aliberti (4)
		Star Channel Omega TV	Season 5, 2023: Upcoming season	Nikos Koklonis
	Star Academy - Super Star Academy Website	Epsilon TV Plus Channel Cyprus	Season 1, 2017: Christina Ksirokosta	Menios Fourthiotis
Hungary	Star Academy Magyaroszág Website	TV2	Season 1, 2016: Renáta Szőcs	Majka Nóra Ördög
India	Fame Gurukul Website	SET India	Season 1, 2005: Qazi Touqeer & Ruprekha Banerjee	Mandira Bedi (Season 1-Celebrity) Manav Gohil (Season 1-Celebrity) Sophie Choudry (Season 2) Shilpa Sakhlani (Season 2)
	Celebrity Fame Gurukul (Celebrity Format) Website		Season 1, 2005: Amit Sareen
	Fame X Chal Udiye Website	SAB TV	Season 2, 2006–2007: Rehan Khan
Israel	Star Academy ישראל	Reshet 13	Season 1, 2023: Upcoming season[23]	Noa Kirel
Italy	Operazione Trionfo Website	Italia 1	Season 1, 2002: Bruno Cuomo	Miguel Bosé
	Star Academy Website	Rai 2	Season 1, 2011: Cancelled[24]	Francesco Facchinetti
Kazakhstan	Жұлдыздар фабрикасы Juldizdar Fabrikasi Website	TV7	Season 1, 2011: Alisher Egemberdiev	Adil Liyan
Mexico	Operación Triunfo Website	Televisa (Live)	Season 1, 2002: Darina Márquez	Jaime Camil
Mongolia	Оддын академи Oddin akademi	Edutainment TV	Season 1, 2017: The Wasabies[12]
Netherlands	Star Maker Website	Yorin	Season 1, 2001: K-otic[25]	Gijs Staverman
	Star Academy Website		Season 2, 2002: Cancelled[26]	Danny Rook
Peru	Operación Triunfo Website	América Televisión	Season 1, 2012: Mayra Alejandra Goñi	Gisela Valcárcel
Philippines	Pinoy Dream Academy Website	ABS-CBN Studio 23	Season 1, 2006: Yeng Constantino Season 2, 2008: Laarni Lozada	Nikki Gil (Season 1–2) Toni Gonzaga (Season 1–2) Bianca Gonzalez (Season 1) Sam Milby (Season 1) Roxanne Barcelo (Season 1) Billy Crawford (Season 2)
	Pinoy Dream Academy: Little Dreamers (Kids Format)		Season 1, 2008: Philip Nolasco
Poland	Fabryka Gwiazd Website	Polsat	Season 1, 2008: Martyna Melosik	Maciej Rock
Portugal[27]	Academia de Estrelas Website Website	TVI	Season 1, 2002–03: Mané Crestejo	Teresa Guilherme
	Academia de Famosos (Celebrity Format) Website Website		Season 1, 2003: Romana	Paulo Pires Fernanda Serrano
	Operação Triunfo Website Website Website	RTP	Season 1, 2003: Sofia Barbosa Season 2, 2003–04: Sofia Vitória Season 3, 2007–08: Vânia Fernandes Season 4, 2010–11: Jorge Roque	Catarina Furtado (Seasons 1–2) Sílvia Alberto (Seasons 3–4)
Romania	Star Factory Website	Prima TV	Season 1, 2003–2004: Alex Velea	Laura Iordache Virgil Ianțu
	Fabrica de Staruri Website Website	Prime TV 2 Plus TVR1	Season 1, 2008–2009: Alexandru Manciu Season 2, 2010: Alexandru Belenki Season 3, 2012: Alexandru Mataev	Andreea Raicu (Season 1) Dan Negru (Season 2) Marius Vizante (Season 3)
Spain	Operación Triunfo Website Website Website	TVE (Seasons 1–3, 9–11) Telecinco (Seasons 4–8) Amazon Prime Video[28] (Season 12–)	Season 1, 2001–2002: Rosa López Season 2, 2002–2003: Ainhoa Cantalapiedra Season 3, 2003–2004: Vicente Seguí Season 4, 2005: Sergio Rivero Season 5, 2006–2007: Lorena Gómez Season 6, 2008: Virginia Maestro Season 7, 2009: Mario Álvarez Season 8, 2011: Nahuel Sachak Season 9, 2017–2018: Amaia Romero Season 10, 2018: Famous Oberogo Season 11, 2020: Nía Correia Season 12, 2023–2024: Upcoming season	Carlos Lozano (Season 1–3) Jesús Vázquez (Season 4–7) Pilar Rubio (Season 8) Roberto Leal (Season 9–11) Chenoa (Season 12–)[29]
Russia	Фабрика звёзд Fabrika zvyozd Website	Channel One	Season 1, 2002: Pasha Artemyev[30] Season 2, 2003: Polina Gagarina Season 3, 2003: Nikita Malinin Season 4, 2004: Irina Dubtsova Season 5, 2004: Victoria Dayneko Season 6, 2006: Dmitry Koldun Season 7, 2007: Anastasiya Prikhodko	Yana Churikova
	Фабрика звёзд. Возвращение Fabrika Zvyozd. Vozvrachtcheniè (All-Stars Format) Website		Season 1, 2011: Victoria Dayneko
	Фабрика звёзд. Россия-Украина Fabrika Zvyozd. Rossiya-Ukrayina (All-Stars Format) Website Website	Channel One Novyi Kanal	Season 1, 2012: Russia	Yana Churikova Dmitry Shepelyov
	Новая Фабрика звёзд Novaya Fabrika zvyozd Website	Muz-TV	Season 1, 2017: Guzel Hasanova	Ksenia Sobchak
	Новая Фабрика звёзд Novaya Fabrika zvyozd	TNT	Season 2, 2024: Upcoming season	TBA
Turkey	Akademi Türkiye Website	ATV	Season 1, 2004: Barış Akarsu	Öykü Serter
	Anadolu Rüzgarı Website	TGRT	Season 2, 2005: Nesil
	Star Akademi Türkiye Website	Kanal 1	Season 3, 2008: Bahadır Sağlam
	Star Akademi Website	Star TV	Season 4, 2011: Giray Songül
Ukraine	Фабрика зірок Fabrika Zirok Website	Novyi Kanal	Season 1, 2007–2008: Olga Tsibulska & Alexander Bodyansky Season 2, 2008: Vladimir Dantes & Vadim Oleynik Season 3, 2009: Stas Shurins Season 4, 2011: Yulia Rudneva	Andriy Domansky (Season 1, 3) Dmitry Shepelev (Season 2) Vasilisa Frolova (Season 1) Masha Efrosinina (Season 3) Oleksandr Pedan (Season 4) Erika (Season 4)
	Фабрика Суперфiнал Fabrika Superfinal (All-Stars Format)		Season 1, 2010: Oleksiy Matias	Masha Efrosinina
United Kingdom	Fame Academy Website	BBC One BBC Three	Season 1, 2002: David Sneddon Season 2, 2003: Alex Parks	Cat Deeley Patrick Kielty
	Comic Relief Does Fame Academy (Celebrity Format)		Season 1, 2003: Will Mellor Season 2, 2005: Edith Bowman Season 3, 2007: Tara Palmer-Tomkinson	Cat Deeley (Seasons 1–2) Patrick Kielty (Seasons 1–3) Claudia Winkleman (Season 3)
	Fame Academy Bursary		Season 1, 2003: Vishal Gopal Season 2, 2003: Shona Kipling Season 3, 2003: Daniel Allinson Season 4, 2003: Daniel Powell Season 5, 2003: David Rimbault	—
United States	The One: Making a Music Star Website Website	ABC CBC	Season 1, 2006: Cancelled[31]	George Stroumboulopoulos
Vietnam	Star Academy: Ngôi nhà âm nhạc Website	HTV	Season 1, 2012: Phạm Quốc Huy	Yến Trang Tuấn Tú
	Star Academy Vietnam: Học viện ngôi sao Website	VTV	Season 1, 2014: Hoà Nguyễn (Hoà Minzy) Season 2, 2015: Nguyễn Ngọc Thảo Nhi	Dustin Nguyễn Tú Linh
West Africa[32]	Project Fame West Africa Website	TV3 (Season 1–3) Metro TV (Season 4–present) Clare TV (Season 1–3, 5–present) SKY TV (Season 4) AIT (Season 1–5) GET TV (Season 5–present) MiTV NTA Nigerzie ONTV Silverbird SoundCity ABC TV (Season 1–3) SLBC (Season 4–5)	Season 1, 2008: Iyanya Mbuk Season 2, 2009: Mike Anyasodo Season 3, 2010: Chidinma Ekile Season 4, 2011: Monica Ogah Season 5, 2012: Ayobami Ayoola Season 6, 2013: Olawale Ayodele Season 7, 2014: Geoffrey Oji Season 8, 2015: Jeffery Akor Season 9, 2016: Okiemute Ighorodje	Dare Art Alade (Season 1) Funlola Raimi (Season 1) Joseph Benjamin (Season 2-9) Adaora Oleh (Season 2–6) Bolanle Olukanni (Season 7-9)
Western Balkans[33]	Операција триумф Operacija Trijumf Website Website Website Website	B92 Nova TV TV In FTV/RTRS A1 TV	Season 1, 2008–2009: Adnan Babajić	Ana Mihajlovski Nikolina Pišek Milan Kalinić Maca Marinković

• Mexico: Aperración al Triunfo
• France: StarLoose Academy, Vedette de Star
• Greece: Super Star Academy

• List of television show franchises
• La Academia
• American Idol
• Australian Idol
• Making the Band

Notes: