You're a Star

The inaugural contest took place from 2002–03. Raidió Teilifís Éireann, being the Irish member of the European Broadcasting Union, decided that the winner of You're a Star would be sent to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest for the foreseeable proceeding years. The show was hosted by Ray D'Arcy. The Talent spotter, Phil Coulter and Kerry Katona served as judges. In the final, the public voted for their winner: Mickey Joe Harte, a musician and singer-songwriter from Lifford in County Donegal. He entered Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "We've Got the World", finishing in eleventh position. At the time this was considered one of the poorest results achieved by Ireland, who are the Eurovision Song Contest's most successful country with seven wins.[1] "We've Got the World" reached number one on the Irish Singles Chart, where it remained for five weeks and went on to become the best-selling single of 2003. However, Mickey Harte's most recent album only peaked at number 53.

You're a Star returned for a 2003/2004 season. Ray D'arcy returned for his second season as host. The judges of the show differed from season one. Chris Doran from Waterford won the competition. In the final of Eurovision Song Contest 2004 Chris Doran finished in 22nd position with seven points awarded by the United Kingdom. Onstage monitoring for the artist on the night, combined with a lack of experience may have caused tuning issues, which were not manifest during the auditions. As a result, Ireland did not qualify automatically for the 2005 Eurovision final. The song "If My World Stopped Turning" reached number 1 in the Irish Singles Chart, but Doran was, however, unable to sustain a successful music career in Ireland. His most recent song failed to crack the top twenty.

The format of the show was changed for the 2004/2005 season, to try to ensure that Ireland chose an act with more appeal across Europe. The show was no longer limited to solo singer-performers; bands under the size of six people could now enter. The final was held on 6 March 2005. Donna and Joseph McCaul, a brother-and-sister act from Westmeath won the contest. The Jades, a band from Wexford, finished in second position. The Henry Girls from Donegal finished in third position. Bringing up the rear of The Henry Girls, Ian Barrett, a (then 16-year-old) soloist from Wicklow finished fourth, with a version of "We Didn't Start the Fire".

In the semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest 2005, Donna and Joe sang "Love?" (pronounced "love question mark"), written by Karl Broderick. The act failed to qualify for the final. They also suffered the embarrassment of becoming the first You're a Star winner not to reach the number 1 position in Ireland, beaten by Akon with his song "Lonely". Their last song, released in June 2006, peaked at number 10. They later appeared on The Podge and Rodge Show, only for the hosts to poke fun at their attempt in the Eurovision. A clip was shown of them performing, when Rodge afterwards asked, "I wonder why they didn't win?!", and subsequently laughed hysterically. The McCauls sporadically resurface now and again, such as in 2008 when they appeared on RTÉ television show Fáilte Towers.[2] After this series, Ray D'Arcy stepped down as the host of the competition.

On 16 September 2005, RTÉ confirmed that the show would return for a fourth series. However, unlike the previous three seasons, the 2005/06 prize was not the opportunity to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest. Instead, it was a recording contract with the record labels Universal Music Ireland and Polydor UK (international distribution) and €10,000 worth of musical/audio equipment from Roland Ireland. The live shows began on 1 January when the final contestants were chosen. These included Marilyn Bane who came third, The Sullivan Brothers who came second and Lucia Evans from Galway who won the competition and the recording contract. Her first and last song "Bruised but not broken" only peaked at number 5 in the Irish Singles Chart, making her the first You're a Star winner not to reach the top three. The song lasted three weeks in the top ten before a rapid fall from the top fifty.

On 19 August 2006, RTÉ confirmed that You're a Star would return for a fifth series. The tour venues were The Hill Grove Hotel in Monaghan, The Helix and the RDS in Dublin, The Mill Street Arena in Cork and The Lodge Hotel Conference Centre in Galway. Brian Ormond hosted the audition phase and Keith Duffy hosted the live shows. Unlike in earlier series, there was no wild card show. Out of 7,000 auditionees, only 82 made it through to the workshop round. Out of these, 40 went through to the knock-out round until the final 12 were chosen. Shockingly, early favourite the very talented and charismatic Paul James, was eliminated in week 1. Much public outrage followed.

The finalists were :

• Alan Kavanagh
• Andrew Bennett
• Brian Clarke
• David O'Connor
• 21 Demands (Now known as Kodaline)
• Scuba Dice
• Ian White
• Laurie Smyth
• Maeve O'Donovan
• Richie McCoy
• Shane Downey
• Susan O'Neill

The prize that year was a recording contract with Universal Music, a publishing contract with Sony ATV Publishing, €10,000 worth of musical equipment from Roland Ireland and a cash price. Linda Martin, Brendan O'Connor and Thomas Black returned as the judges. Every week a guest act would appear on the series. These included Tony Hatch (who tutored the acts on one of the weeks), Sophie Ellis Baxter, The Blzzards, Shayne Ward and McFly among others. Brian McFadden appeared one week as a guest judge.

On Sunday 3 March 2007, David O'Connor, 21 Demands, Maeve O'Donovan and Scuba Dice released their own singles through digital7 downloads on the RTÉ website. They all made it into the top 20 in the Irish charts with 21 Demands coming in at number 1 on the chart followed by David O'Connor. The songs released were "Give Me a Minute" (by 21 Demands), "The Winner Takes It All" (by David O'Connor), "Landslide" (by Maeve O'Donovan), "Holiday" (by Scuba Dice). 21 Demands became the first act in Irish chart history to score a number 1 single on downloads alone.

The week prior to the finale a huge advertising campaign was launched with TV ads, a poster campaign on billboards and buses and a radio campaign. The finale was held over two nights on Saturday-Sunday 16–17 March 2007. Shayne Ward and Louis Walsh were there to announce the winner. Louis Walsh said that 21 Demands had a great future with the right management. Brendan O'Connor said it would be a crime if 21 Demands did not win. Linda and Thomas agreed. Despite the comments, former jockey David O'Connor was crowned the winner. The finale pulled an average viewer ship rating of over 500,000, down almost 20% on the previous year.

On 23 November 2007, You're a Star returned for a sixth series. This was also the last series. That year the prize was €10,000 worth of music equipment plus €50,000 in cash. The final 15 were announced on 13 January 2008. The contestants were:

• Black Daisy
• Catherine Harding
• Conan Lyndsay
• Deirdre Archbold
• Fauve Chapman
• Leann Constant
• Leanne Moore
• Mairead O'Dowd
• Mike McNamara
• Pat Fitzgibbon
• Peter Karpenia
• Robyn Kavanagh
• Rosie Howic
• Sacha Murphy
• Sharon Condon

On 20 January 2008, eight of the finalists sang live in a smaller hall in the Helix. They were Leanne Constant, Pat Fitzgibbon, Mairead O'Dowd, Robyn Kavanagh, Mike McNamara, Catherine Harding, Rosie Howick and Fauve Chapman. Out of these performers, two would be eliminated from the competition. The one with the lowest votes would be kicked out straight away, while the next lowest two would have to perform in a sing off, with the judges having the deciding vote. On 9 March 2008, four contestants remained, including – Deirdre Archbold, Sharon Condon, Robyn Kavanagh and Leanne Moore. Leanne Moore was the eventual winner of the sixth series, beating Robyn Kavanagh (who came second) and Deirdre Archbold in the final on 16 March 2008.[4]

In the Summer of 2005, eight Irish celebrities enrolled in a You're a Star Style competition. However, their objective was not to become an international singing sensations, but to raise money for a charity of their choice.

• Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
• The All Ireland Talent Show
• Popstars
• Fame: The Musical

• Official website