| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Country: | France |
| Network: | M6 |
À la recherche de la nouvelle star (Looking for the new Star) is a reality television show based on the popular British show Pop Idol. The show is a contest to determine the best young singer in La Francophonie. It was hosted by Benjamin Castaldi. The Belgian singer Jonatan Cerrada won over Thierry Amiel with 50.4% of the total votes, and went on to represent France at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest, with "À chaque pas".
After the first season the show was renamed Nouvelle Star.
The inaugural season of À la Recherche de la Nouvelle Star had seven audition cities to find the best talent not only in France, but also Belgium and Canada:
Toulouse (8 February)
Lyon (14 February)
Marseille (18 February)
Rennes (22 February)
Paris (28 February)
Brussels, Belgium (7 March)
Montreal, Canada (14 March)
(ages stated at time of contest)
| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Voted Off | Liveshow Theme | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonatan Cerrada | 17 | Liège, Belgium | Winner | Grand Finale | |
| Thierry Amiel | 20 | Marseille | 10 July 2003 | ||
| Jean Sébastien Lavoie | 24 | Montreal, Canada | 3 July 2003 | Hommage | |
| Alexis Juliard | 21 | Paris | 26 June 2003 | Le voyage | |
| Laetizia Alberti | 20 | Corsica | 19 June 2003 | Années 2000 | |
| Yoann Kelyann | 19 | Mont-de-Marsan | 12 June 2003 | Funky hits | |
| Jonathan Hassen-Ali | 20 | Givors | 5 June 2003 | Pop Hits | |
| Cindie Bruzzi | 16 | 29 May 2003 | Film Hits | ||
| Priscilla | 16 | 22 May 2003 | My Birth Year | ||
| Gabrielle Ducomble | 22 | Liège, Belgium | 15 May 2003 | Contestant's Choice |
| Artist | Song (original artists) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexis Juliard | "Hello" (Lionel Richie) | Advanced | |
| Florent | "Je n'ai que mon âme" (Natasha St. Pier) | Eliminated | |
| Gabrielle Ducomble | "L'Air du vent" (Laura Mayne) | Advanced | |
| Jordane | "Vivre la vie" (Kelly Joyce) | Eliminated | |
| Julie | "La solitudine" (Laura Pausini) | Eliminated | |
| Paco | "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (Elton John) | Eliminated | |
| Pauline | "Tu planes sur moi" (Native) | Eliminated | |
| Priscilla | "Respect" (Aretha Franklin) | Eliminated | |
| Shawn | "Jusqu'au bout" (David Charvet) | Eliminated | |
| Yoann Kelyann | "Rêver" (Mylène Farmer) | Advanced |
| Artist | Song (original artists) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catherine | "S'il suffisait d'aimer" (Celine Dion) | Eliminated | |
| Cindie Bruzzi | "Dans un autre monde" (Celine Dion) | Advanced | |
| David | "Mon frère" (Maxime Le Forestier) | Eliminated | |
| Diane | "En attendant ses pas" (Celine Dion) | Eliminated | |
| Jean Sébastien Lavoie | "Quand les hommes vivront d'amour" (Raymond Lévesque) | Advanced | |
| Jonatan Cerrada | "I Want You Back" (The Jackson 5) | Advanced | |
| Laure-Anne | "Evidemment" (France Gall) | Eliminated | |
| Nabyl | "Sacrifice" (Elton John) | Eliminated | |
| Priscilla | "Humana" (Lara Fabian) | Eliminated | |
| Sébastien | "On va s'aimer" (Gilbert Montagné) | Eliminated |
| Artist | Song (original artists) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diyas | "Chère amie" (Marc Lavoine) | Eliminated | |
| Isabelle | "Stop!" (Sam Brown) | Eliminated | |
| Jonathan Hassen-Ali | "My Girl" (The Temptations) | Advanced | |
| Kallagnani | "On My Own" (Frances Ruffelle) | Eliminated | |
| Laetizia Alberti | "Manhattan-Kaboul" (Renaud & Axelle Red) | Advanced | |
| Pascal | "One Moment in Time" (Whitney Houston) | Eliminated | |
| Sandie | "J'y crois encore" (Lara Fabian) | Eliminated | |
| Thierry Amiel | "Je suis malade" (Serge Lama) | Advanced | |
| Veronique | "On se retrouvera" (Francis Lalanne) | Eliminated | |
| Xavier | "Hymne à l'amour" (Johnny Hallyday) | Eliminated |
Theme: Contestant's Choice
| Artist | Song (original artists) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexis Juliard | "When a Man Loves a Woman" (Percy Sledge) | Safe | |
| Cindie Bruzzi | "La vie fait ce qu'elle veut" (Julie Zenatti) | Bottom two | |
| Gabrielle Ducomble | "Saving All My Love for You" (Whitney Houston) | Eliminated | |
| Jean Sébastien Lavoie | "Les uns contre les autres" (Fabienne Thibeault) | Safe | |
| Jonatan Cerrada | "Je voulais te dire que je t'attends" (Michel Jonasz) | Safe | |
| Jonathan Hassen-Ali | "The World's Greatest" (R. Kelly) | Safe | |
| Laetizia Alberti | "Be My Baby" (Vanessa Paradis) | Safe | |
| Priscilla | "I Will Always Love You" (Whitney Houston) | Safe | |
| Thierry Amiel | "L'aigle noir" (Barbara) | Safe | |
| Yoann Kelyann | "La fan de sa vie" (Zazie) | Bottom three |
Theme: My Birth Year
| Artist | Song (original artists) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexis Juliard | "Can You Feel It" (The Jacksons) | Bottom two | |
| Cindie Bruzzi | "Ella, elle l'a" (France Gall) | Bottom three | |
| Jean Sébastien Lavoie | "We Are the Champions" (Queen) | Safe | |
| Jonatan Cerrada | "Je marche seul" (Jean-Jacques Goldman) | Safe | |
| Jonathan Hassen-Ali | "Do I Do" (Stevie Wonder) | Safe | |
| Laetizia Alberti | "Diego libre dans sa tête" (France Gall) | Safe | |
| Priscilla | "Kiss" (Prince) | Eliminated | |
| Thierry Amiel | "Mon fils ma bataille" (Daniel Balavoine) | Safe | |
| Yoann Kelyann | "Vivre ou survivre" (Daniel Balavoine) | Safe |
Theme: Film Hits
| Artist | Song (original artists) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexis Juliard | "On se retrouvera" (Francis Lalanne) | Safe | |
| Cindie Bruzzi | "Hot Stuff" (Donna Summer) | Eliminated | |
| Jean Sébastien Lavoie | "Calling You" (Jevetta Steele) | Safe | |
| Jonatan Cerrada | "Une histoire d'amour" (Mireille Mathieu) | Safe | |
| Jonathan Hassen-Ali | "Pauvres diables" (Julio Iglesias) | Bottom two | |
| Laetizia Alberti | "T'en a pas" (Elsa Lunghini) | Safe | |
| Thierry Amiel | "All by Myself" (Eric Carmen) | Bottom three | |
| Yoann Kelyann | "Beautiful Stranger" (Madonna) | Safe |
Theme: Pop Hits
| Artist | Song (original artists) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexis Juliard | "Killing Me Softly" (The Fugees) | Bottom two | |
| Jean Sébastien Lavoie | "Chanter pour ceux qui sont loin de chez eux" (Michel Berger) | Safe | |
| Jonatan Cerrada | "Les trois cloches" (Edith Piaf) | Safe | |
| Jonathan Hassen-Ali | "Your Song" (Elton John) | Eliminated | |
| Laetizia Alberti | "Eternal Flame" (The Bangles) | Safe | |
| Thierry Amiel | "La vie ne m'apprend rien" (Daniel Balavoine) | Safe | |
| Yoann Kelyann | "Pas toi" (Jean-Jacques Goldman) | Bottom three |
Theme: Funky Hits
| Artist | Song (original artists) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexis Juliard | "Je l'aime à mourir" (Francis Cabrel) | Safe | |
| Jean Sébastien Lavoie | "Le chanteur" (Daniel Balavoine) | Safe | |
| Jonatan Cerrada | "Le coup de soleil" (Richard Cocciante) | Safe | |
| Laetizia Alberti | "Marcia Baila" (Rita Mitsouko) | Bottom two | |
| Thierry Amiel | "Quand on n'a que l'amour" (Jacques Brel) | Safe | |
| Yoann Kelyann | "Sur la route" (Gérald de Palmas) | Eliminated |
Theme: Années 2000
| Artist | Song (original artists) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexis Juliard | "Tu es mon autre" (Lara Fabian & Maurane) | Bottom two | |
| Jean Sébastien Lavoie | "Entre nous" (Chimène Badi) | Safe | |
| Jonatan Cerrada | "Suerté" (Shakira) | Safe | |
| Laetizia Alberti | "Que tu reviennes" (Patrick Fiori) | Eliminated | |
| Thierry Amiel | "En apesanteur" (Calogero) | Safe |
Theme: Le Voyage
| Artist | First song (original artists) | Second song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexis Juliard | "Belle-Île-en-Mer, Marie-Galante" (Laurent Voulzy) | "Hotel California" (Eagles) | Eliminated | |
| Jean Sébastien Lavoie | "Allumer le feu" (Johnny Hallyday) | "Unchained Melody" (The Righteous Brothers) | Safe | |
| Jonatan Cerrada | "Emmenez-moi" (Charles Aznavour) | "Lettre à France" (Michel Polnareff) | Bottom two | |
| Thierry Amiel | "Aller plus haut" (Tina Arena) | "Amsterdam" (Jacques Brel) | Safe |
Theme: Hommage
| Artist | First song (original artists) | Second song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Sébastien Lavoie | "Doucement" (Liane Foly) | "Tu ne m'as pas laissé le temps" (David Hallyday) | Eliminated | |
| Jonatan Cerrada | "Alors regarde" (Patrick Bruel) | "Vivre pour le meilleur" (Johnny Hallyday) | Safe | |
| Thierry Amiel | "Casser la voix" (Patrick Bruel) | "Fan" (Pascal Obispo) | Safe |
| Artist | First song | Second song | Third song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonatan Cerrada | "Je voulais te dire que je t'attends" | "Ma liberté de penser" | "The Show Must Go On" | Winner | |
| Thierry Amiel | "Avec le temps" | "Je ne suis pas un héros" | "Les mots bleus" | Runner-up |