Star Search winners - famous now

[beaniegal]

I noticed that Star Search was mentioned in the American Idol thread , as coming back on the air. I was wondering what currently popular stars began on Star Search years ago? I remember - Rosie O'Donnell , Aliyah . I know there must be many more. I remember a great young singer named Sam - can not remember his last name. He should have gone far . He had a distinct way of singing ballads and cute too.


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[teraberry]

Brittney Spears was a winner. Justin Timberlake was on too - don't remember if he ever won. Also the comedian Sinbad.

[Jennifer M.]

I remember seeing Sawyer Brown on Star Search, and I think Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, & Justin Timberlake were on at one time too.

[hattielee]

Originally posted by beaniegal
I noticed that Star Search was mentioned in the American Idol thread , as coming back on the air. I was wondering what currently popular stars began on Star Search years ago? I remember - Rosie O'Donnell , Aliyah . I know there must be many more. I remember a great young singer named Sam - can not remember his last name. He should have gone far . He had a distinct way of singing ballads and cute too.


Sam Harris. Great voice. I have great memories of watching Star Search with my Grandfather. He never watched anything but sports on TV, but we got him addicted to Star Search. He loved Sam Harris.
Here's some info on Sam Harris - [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

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[NaomiMarie]

Originally posted by Jennifer M.
I remember seeing Sawyer Brown on Star Search, and I think Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, & Justin Timberlake were on at one time too.

Yep, I remember Sawyer Brown

[NaomiMarie]

Originally posted by hattielee

Sam Harris. Great voice. I have great memories of watching Star Search with my Grandfather. He never watched anything but sports on TV, but we got him addicted to Star Search. He loved Sam Harris.
Here's some info on Sam Harris - [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

THANKS for the link hattielee! WOW, he's STILL got it even after all these years
He's amazingly talented, great to see that he's gone on to bigger and better things

He's still a hottie

Naomi


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[beaniegal]

Thanks posters , for the Sam Harris link . Such a talented singer!

[pooncat]

Man, that brings back some memories..I remember Sam Harris well and that Sawyer Brown was on and keep winning it seemed like forever!

[beffie]

I know of these "Stars":

Tatyana Ali {Fresh Prince of Bel Air/ younger sister AND Singer}

Alanis Morrisette {You oughtta know! }

Sawyer Brown are still recording...



STAR SEARCH IS COMING TO CBS!
Premieres Wednesday, January 8, 8PM ET/PT

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"...STAR SEARCH, a one-hour variety/talent series hosted by Arsenio Hall and inspired by the original "Star Search" television program (1983-1995), which helped launch the careers of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Ray Romano, Sinbad and Martin Lawrence, among others, will be broadcast live twice a week for four weeks, beginning with its premiere, on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8PM ET/PT..."


From: [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

"...TV talent shows have taken some flack over the years for failing to produce lasting stars, but Star Search was a clear exception to this rule. The many talented alumni who got their start on that syndicated stage include Dennis Miller, Sinbad, and Britney Spears. Star Search eventually ended its run, but host Ed McMahon has kept the window open for fresh talent on a new website, [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] ..."


{{{ I can't get the nextbigstar site to come up??? }}}


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[Ttulipss]

Also Tracey Ross....I believe she was a spokesmodel winner who is now on the soap opera Passions. That's all that I could think of off-hand beside the ones already mentioned.

[aprilgail]

Originally posted by Jennifer M.
I remember seeing Sawyer Brown on Star Search

Who in the world is Sawyer Brown??

[NaomiMarie]

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Twenty years ago, Sawyer Brown was the "American Idol" of syndicated television. One of the winners of "Star Search," the band got dozens of offers, instant recognition and a jump on the competition.

The biggest challenge, though, wasn't winning a record deal, it was sustaining it.

"It's a really nice foot in the door," founding member Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard says of the TV talent show win. "But you can't sit back and wait for the phone to ring. You've got to take advantage of the opportunity."


That meant weighing all the offers (including a "Monkees"-like television show that would have meant "we wouldn't have been taken seriously") and deciding what would be the best next move. The band's decision: Put everything into the live performance.

"People would say, 'You need to see this band live,' " Hubbard says. "And that brought energy."

And helped drive record sales. While other bands like Little Texas disappeared, Sawyer Brown survived.

"We're the cockroach," Hubbard says with a laugh. "We refuse to go away. But from the beginning, that's what we wanted to do. We wanted to work hard and not get caught up in the industry stuff."

Hubbard says that's how he, lead vocalist Mark Miller and bandmates Duncan Cameron, Jim Scolten and Joe Smyth have been able to weather country music's many mood swings and still boast hit songs from their albums. Now promoting their 18th release, Sawyer Brown expects the train to keep running for some time. "We still love doing it," Hubbard says. "We're beginning to work on the next CD and, I kid you not, we've got the same level of enthusiasm as we had in 1984. We're waiting to get into the studio and start recording. We still feel like kids."

They'll put an end to it "when we feel like we're beating a dead horse and we can't come up with stuff. We hope we'll have enough sense to go, 'Let's stop this,' but you never know."

To make life interesting, the five have dabbled in outside interests. Miller, for example, spent a year with the Continental Basketball Association's Fort Wayne Fury. Hubbard, more recently, went back to college and got his bachelor's degree from Belmont University with a 4.0 grade point average.

"It took 2 1/2 years eking out the classes," Hubbard admits. "But it was one of the best things I've done. It didn't have anything to do with the music business and it was fun. I'd write term papers on the road" and share school stories with members of the band. That outside stimulation has helped the quintet keep current with life outside Nashville's Music Row.

It also has kept the five in tune with what sells. "Radio has changed. It used to be once you were established in country you had a long, long ride. Now, the ride might be shorter than it used to be," Hubbard says. "Now, it's more like the pop field. Country's very hit-driven."

Sawyer Brown still gets the chart toppers. But Miller and company don't rely on good will to see them through. Their secret weapon -- those live performances -- still have the energy they exhibited in the early '80s. "It's because we still enjoy what we do. We don't get into these big ego battles. We don't let the focus get off the music," Hubbard says.

Before "Star Search," Sawyer Brown went to every record label in Nashville and got one rejection after another. "You need to stand still," one executive told them. "Nobody's wearing a cowboy hat," another said.

"But we weren't about to change," Hubbard says. To jumpstart their career, they decided to enter the talent show and get some tape that they could send to labels. "There was zero pressure on us because we knew we weren't going to get picked." More important, they wanted that videotape. Three days after they performed for the first time, Sawyer Brown got the call to come back.

For the better part of five months, the band squeezed "Star Search" appearances between club gigs. "We didn't grasp the concept of people watching television and, since it had such a weird timeslot in Nashville, no one at home knew much about it." Gradually, though, people started recognizing them on the streets. They'd call out their names and, Hubbard says, "we thought we must know these people. Instead, we had just gotten dropped in their living rooms.

"It's a strange ride," he adds. "When 40 million people see the show, it's hard to imagine that anything really registers."

Once Sawyer Brown was given "Star Search's" top prize, "everything was in the hands of God and fate. It's just a matter of how much you want to work to continue that."

Apparently, the five were determined to see it through. Today, Sawyer Brown has plenty of awards, a comfortable lifestyle and appreciative fans.

"It's still a great life, even if you're not at the pinnacle selling 15 million CDs," Hubbard says. "We're doing what we want to do and we have balance in our lives.

"We get to make music," he adds. "We're blessed."


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