Fame Academy
The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist and part of the international franchise Star Academy known under various titles in various countries.[1] Although it was viewed by critics as being very similar to the Pop Idol and Popstars series, and was generally classified as an entertainment programme, Fame Academy was presented as a relatively new concept.[2] Fame Academy claimed to emphasise the creative talent of the contestants (called "students" on the show), who were encouraged to write their own songs and music as well as developing their singing technique and performing skills.The programme was filmed as a reality television show in the Big Brother format, with the students being completely cut off from the outside world and were not allowed to leave the "Academy" without supervision.Students performed live on the main weekly shows, individually, in pairs or in groups, singing a selection of cover songs chosen by the production team.The second series, broadcast from July–October 2003 reverted to a more "Pop Idol" style reality format, with little emphasis placed on the education of the students and the main focus being performance and the judges' criticism.It was perceived that this shift occurred due to the disappointing ratings of Fame Academy compared to Pop Idol, which ran over the same period in 2002, even if it was not placed in head-to-head competition.