Star Academy (Arabia)
Star Academy (Arabia)
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Star Academy (Arabia)

Star Academy Arab World or Star Academy Arabia, is an Arab world televised talent show, which aired from 19 December 2003, to 29 January 2016. The show features a group of young male and female candidates who are selected from a pan-Arab pool of more than 3,000 and sequestered for four months in "The Academy," a four-story building in Lebanon, where they live, train, and compete against one another every week. The show became an instant success and every episode a much-watched event across the Arab world.

The show was adapted from a French show of the same name and produced by Dutch company Endemol, Vanilla Productions & PAC Ltd. Star Academy Arab World is based on the Spanish format Operación Triunfo.

The show centers around the 16 candidates who compete in weekly talent competitions, singing, dancing, and acting during on-stage performances. At the end of every week, one contestant is kicked off by a public vote by the viewers.

One of the show's highlights are the guest appearances of some of the Arab world's most important singers and performers such as Najwa Karam, Angham, Haifa Wahbe, Assala Nasri, Ehab Tawfik, Elissa, Myriam Fares, Nawal Al-Zoghbi, Abdallah Al Rowaished, Wael Kfoury, Latifa, Carole Samaha, Sherine, Saad Lamjarred and many more. The show has also been successful for its reinvention and continuous changes, just as, starting from the third season, the show witnessed guests from international superstars such as Julio Iglesias, Anggun, Karl Wolf, Tina Arena and Chris De Burgh.

Based in Adma, a city north of Beirut, Lebanon, the show is aired for 4 months on the Egyptian TV station CBC and on the Lebanese terrestrial channel LBC and is hosted by Hilda Khalife. The show follows 16 candidates through their weeks living in "The Academy," training with "teachers," and performing their talents in live on-stage shows. While many choose to sing, talents are not restricted to vocal performances; acting and dancing are also common talents.

The show takes on a few different formats depending on the day of the week. Every day, there is a one-hour "access" show that goes over the day's important and exciting events. On Friday, there is a live performance show where the candidates compete against each other, sometimes alongside famous domestic and international stars, and are voted off one by one. In addition, viewers can tune into "The Academy" 24/7 by watching LBC Reality, a dedicated satellite station.

The concept of the show is training the students in several disciplines: singing, acting, sports, vocalizing, theatre expression, dancing, and musical culture. Then, each Monday, the three weakest students are nominated. The nomination is done by the teaching staff after the candidates undergo an evaluation test the day before Sunday. On Friday, a special live show called "Prime" is broadcast. During the prime show, the candidates perform and sing either by themselves or with guest artists. The three nominated candidates' initial voting is through the public, done by either phone calls or text messages. The one with the highest percentage of votes returns. The two remaining candidates are then voted on by their fellow candidates, and the one with the most votes remains. The other candidate has to leave the academy immediately. When the overall number of candidates is reduced, the nomination by the professors comes down to two students. At this point, it's completely up to the public to vote who is in and who is out, as the remaining candidates do not vote.

The show proved to be immensely popular. As both the LBC and CBC stations provide satellite connections to more than two dozen Arab countries and also to Arab communities throughout the world, it became one of the most popular shows in the Arab-speaking world. In Saudi Arabia in particular, Star Academy was a media event so popular that its broadcasts achieved record ratings, emptied streets in major cities like Jedda, animated debates, inspired Mosque sermons, and widely distracted students from focusing on final exams in May 2004. (Al-Humaydan, 2005) CBC And LBCI, the networks airing the show, reaped huge profits from the show but have been unable to replicate the show's success with other reality shows.

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