| Genre: | Reality |
| Creator: | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
| Presenter: | Amanda Holden |
| Judges: | Andrew Lloyd Webber Melanie C Jason Donovan Dawn French David Grindrod |
| Composer: | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Series: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 12 |
| Executive Producer: | Peter Davey |
| Location: | Various cities (auditions) Osea Island (Superstar Island) The Fountain Studios (live shows) |
| Runtime: | 60–90 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Company: | ITV Studios |
| Channel: | ITV |
| Related: | How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? (2006) Any Dream Will Do (2007) I'd Do Anything (2008) Over the Rainbow (2010) |
Superstar is a UK talent search, looking for the lead role in a production of the 1971 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. The series started on 7 July 2012 on ITV and was presented by Amanda Holden.
In the final, on 25 July 2012, 31-year-old Ben Forster was chosen as Jesus to perform the role in the UK arena tour starting in September 2012.[1] 24-year-old Rory Taylor came in second place.
The series was presented by Amanda Holden. The Panel consisted of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jason Donovan, Dawn French and Melanie C. David Grindrod and Will Burton led the casting team, with Yvie Burnett serving as the vocal coach.
The Nationwide auditions began in March 2012 visiting London, Dublin, Belfast, Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff. The judges are Andrew Lloyd Webber, Melanie C, Jason Donovan and David Grindrod. Host Amanda Holden was on hand for the auditionees.[2]
Grindrod judged the nationwide auditions and was joined by Donovan and Melanie C at the 'Callback' round held at the O2 Academy in Brixton, London. Over 100 contestants were invited to the 'Callback' round in London. Lloyd Webber watched all the performances from a balcony at the side of the stage.
The final 41 contestants are invited to 'Superstar Island' (Osea Island in Essex) for a week of training. Jonathan Ansell is a notable contestant who failed to pass this stage of the show.[3]
The final 30 contestants were invited to Lloyd Webber's villa in Majorca. After 10 were eliminated on arrival, the remaining contestants performed again in front of Lloyd Webber.
The next day, the contestants travelled back to Great Britain via coach (with the journey taking 25 hours) and performed a final time in front of the panel, with an accompanying band onstage, for a place in the live shows.
The Live show stages of the search were judged by Melanie C, Jason Donovan, Dawn French and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The live shows were broadcast live from Fountain Studios in Wembley and took place over nine nights (excluding Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 July). The final was held on 25 July 2012.
The contestants perform on the first live show with the results of the public vote announced during the following night's show. The two contestants with the lowest votes competed in the Sing-Off to stay in the competition. After the performance, Lloyd Webber then decided which potential Jesus to keep in the contest. The saved Jesuses could be seen on the "Stairway to Heaven". The eliminated Jesus(es) then "walks into the light" and leaves the stage.
| Finalist | Age* | From | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afnan Iftikhar | 23 | North Shields | Eliminated 1st on Night 1 | |
| Dirk Johnson | 24 | Scotland | Eliminated 2nd on Night 2 | |
| Tim Prottey-Jones | 32 | Birmingham | Eliminated 3rd on Night 4 | |
| Niall Sheehy | 31 | County Wicklow | Eliminated 4th on Night 5 | |
| Jon Moses | 37 | York | Eliminated 5th on Night 6 | |
| Jeff Anderson | 21 | Belfast | Eliminated 6th on Night 6 | |
| Nathan James | 23 | Reading | Eliminated 7th on Night 7 | |
| David Hunter | 27 | Warrington | Eliminated 8th on Night 8 | |
| Roger Wright | 41 | London | Eliminated 9th on Night 9 | |
| Rory Taylor | 24 | Wirral | Runner-up | |
| Ben Forster | 31 | Sunderland | Winner |
* at time of competition
| - | Contestant was in the bottom two and who was saved after the sing off | |
| - | Contestant was eliminated after the sing off | |
| - | Contestant who received the most public votes |
| Contestant | Night 1 | Night 2 | Night 3 | Night 5 | Night 6 | Night 7 | Night 8 | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night 3 | Night 4 | ||||||||
| Ben Forster | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner (night 9) |
| Rory Taylor | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Runner-up (night 9) |
| Roger Wright | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom three | Bottom two | Safe | Eliminated (night 9) |
| David Hunter | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Bottom two | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 8) |
| Nathan James | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 7) | |
| Jeff Anderson | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 6) | ||
| Jon Moses | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 6) | ||
| Niall Sheehy | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 5) | |||
| Tim Prottey-Jones | Safe | Bottom two | Bottom two | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 4) | ||||
| Dirk Johnson | Bottom two | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 2) | ||||||
| Afnan Iftikhar | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 1) | |||||||
| Order | Song (artist) | Result (Night 2) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Hunter | 1 | "Forget You" (Cee Lo Green) | Safe | |
| Dirk Johnson | 2 | "Make You Feel My Love" (Bob Dylan) | Bottom two | |
| Nathan James | 3 | "Sign Your Name" " (Terence Trent D'Arby) | Safe | |
| Ben Forster | 4 | "Somebody That I Used to Know" (Gotye) | Safe | |
| Niall Sheehy | 5 | "Stay" (Hurts) | Safe | |
| Tim Prottey-Jones | 6 | "Stone Cold Sober" " (Paloma Faith) | Safe | |
| Roger Wright | 7 | "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (Procol Harum) | Safe | |
| Jon Moses | 8 | "Since U Been Gone" (Kelly Clarkson) | Safe | |
| Afnan Iftikhar | 9 | "Next to Me" (Emeli Sande) | Bottom two | |
| Jeff Anderson | 10 | "Red" (Daniel Merriweather) | Safe | |
| Rory Taylor | 11 | "Are You Gonna Go My Way" (Lenny Kravitz) | Safe |
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Afnan Iftikhar | "Memory" from Cats | Eliminated |
| Dirk Johnson | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
| Order | Song (artist) | Result (Night 3) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Forster | 1 | "She Said" (Plan B) | Safe | |
| Tim Prottey-Jones | 2 | "The First Cut Is the Deepest" (Cat Stevens) | Bottom two | |
| Rory Taylor | 3 | "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" (Kelly Clarkson) | Safe | |
| Nathan James | 4 | "Dedication to My Ex" (Lloyd ft. André 3000 & Lil Wayne) | Safe | |
| Roger Wright | 5 | "Part of Me" (Katy Perry) | Safe | |
| Dirk Johnson | 6 | "Titanium" (Sia) | Bottom two | |
| Jeff Anderson | 7 | "Mr Brightside" (The Killers) | Safe | |
| Niall Sheehy | 8 | "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" (The Script) | Safe | |
| Jon Moses | 9 | "I Can't Make You Love Me" (Bonnie Raitt) | Safe | |
| David Hunter | 10 | "Nothing's Real But Love" (Rebecca Ferguson) | Safe |
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Dirk Johnson | "Hurt" | Eliminated |
| Tim Prottey-Jones | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
| Order | Song (artist) | Result (Night 4) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Wright | 1 | "More Than Words"(Extreme) | Safe | |
| Nathan James | 2 | "To Be With You"(Mr. Big) | Safe | |
| Rory Taylor | 3 | "Dakota"(Stereophonics) | Safe | |
| Jon Moses | 4 | "I Want To Know What Love Is"(Foreigner) | Safe | |
| David Hunter | 5 | "You've Got The Love" (The Source feat Candi Staton) | Bottom two | |
| Ben Forster | 6 | "Everybody Hurts"(R.E.M.) | Safe | |
| Tim Prottey-Jones | 7 | "Time Is Running Out"(Muse) | Bottom two | |
| Jeff Anderson | 8 | "How You Remind Me"(Nickelback) | Safe | |
| Niall Sheehy | 9 | "Dirty Diana" (Michael Jackson) | Safe |
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| David Hunter | "The Long and Winding Road" | Saved by Lloyd Webber (Night 5) |
| Tim Prottey-Jones | Eliminated (Night 5) |
Before the performance, Lloyd Webber decided not to eliminate either of them until he had seen the solo performances they had prepared for the night. They both performed on Night 4 with the elimination at the end of the show.[4]
| Order | Song (artist) | Result (Night 5) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niall Sheehy | 1 | "One" (U2) | Safe | |
| Rory Taylor | 2 | "Roxanne" (The Police) | Safe | |
| David Hunter | 3 | "One Day Like This" (Elbow) | Bottom two (Night 4) | |
| Ben Forster | 4 | "This Love" (Maroon 5) | Safe | |
| Jon Moses | 5 | "I Won't Let You Go" (James Morrison) | Safe | |
| Nathan James | 6 | "How to Save a Life" (The Fray) | Safe | |
| Roger Wright | 7 | "Here I Go Again" (Whitesnake) | Safe | |
| Tim Prottey-Jones | 8 | "Dream On" (Aerosmith) | Eliminated (Night 4) | |
| Jeff Anderson | 9 | "Kiss from a Rose" (Seal) | Safe |
| Order | Song (artist) | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Anderson | 1 | "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (The Rolling Stones) | Safe | |
| David Hunter | 2 | "Nothing Compares 2 U" (Sinéad O'Connor) | Safe | |
| Rory Taylor | 3 | "Fix You" (Coldplay) | Bottom two | |
| Nathan James | 4 | "Ain't No Sunshine" (Bill Withers) | Safe | |
| Ben Forster | 5 | "Fast Car" (Tracy Chapman) | Safe | |
| Niall Sheehy | 6 | "Wherever You Will Go" (The Calling) | Bottom two | |
| Jon Moses | 7 | "Feel" (Robbie Williams) | Safe | |
| Roger Wright | 8 | "Rolling in the Deep" (Adele) | Safe |
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Rory Taylor | "Alone" | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
| Niall Sheehy | Eliminated |
| Order | Song (artist) | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Moses | 1 | "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (U2) | Bottom three | |
| Jeff Anderson | 2 | "Whole Lotta Love" (Led Zeppelin) | Bottom three | |
| Roger Wright | 3 | "Feeling Good" (Nina Simone) | Bottom three | |
| Ben Forster | 4 | "Cold As Ice"(Foreigner) | Safe | |
| Rory Taylor | 5 | "Silenced by the Night" (Keane) | Safe | |
| David Hunter | 6 | "Apologize"(OneRepublic) | Safe | |
| Nathan James | 7 | "Sweet Child o' Mine"(Guns N' Roses) | Safe |
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Jon Moses | "Could We Start Again Please?" from Jesus Christ Superstar | Eliminated |
| Jeff Anderson | Eliminated | |
| Roger Wright | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
| Order | Song (artist) | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan James | 1 | "Born This Way" (Lady Gaga) | Bottom two | |
| Roger Wright | 2 | "Handbags and Gladrags" (Rod Stewart) | Bottom two | |
| David Hunter | 3 | "Too Close" (Alex Clare) | Safe | |
| Rory Taylor | 4 | "Under Pressure" (Queen feat David Bowie) | Safe | |
| Ben Forster | 5 | "It Must Have Been Love" (Roxette) | Safe |
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Nathan James | "Love Changes Everything" from Aspects of Love | Eliminated |
| Roger Wright | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
| Order | Song (artist) | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rory Taylor | 1 | "In the Air Tonight" (Phil Collins) | Bottom two | |
| Ben Forster | 2 | "Run"(Snow Patrol) | Safe | |
| Roger Wright | 3 | "Hard to Handle"(Otis Redding) | Safe | |
| David Hunter | 4 | "I Try"(Macy Gray) | Bottom two |
Sing-Off
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| David Hunter | "No Matter What" from Whistle Down the Wind | Eliminated |
| Rory Taylor | Saved by Lloyd Webber |
| Order | Song (artist) | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Forster | 1 | "Who Wants to Live Forever" (Queen) | Winner | |
| Rory Taylor | 2 | "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Aerosmith) | Runner-up | |
| Roger Wright | 3 | "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (George Michael feat Elton John) | Eliminated |
The tour travelled across the country from 21 September until 21 October 2012 and toured in the following venues: London O2 Arena, Glasgow SECC, Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, Manchester Arena, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, National Indoor Arena Birmingham, Belfast Odyssey, The O2 Dublin, Echo Arena Liverpool, Nottingham Capital FM and Motorpoint Arena Sheffield.[5] Joining Forster was comedian Tim Minchin as Judas Iscariot, Melanie C as Mary Magdalene, BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles as King Herod Antipas, Alexander Hanson as Pontius Pilate, Pete Gallagher as Caiaphas, Gerard Bentall as Annas, Michael Pickering as Peter, and Giovanni Spano as Simon Zealotes.
The tour resumed in March 2013 in Australia with Forster, Minchin, and Melanie C reprising their respective roles. Australian TV personality Andrew O'Keefe played the role of King Herod for the Australian leg of the tour, with New Zealand born Jon Stevens (who played Judas in the 1992 Australian arena tour and the 1994 theatre production) playing Pilate.[6] Superstar runner-up Rory Taylor appeared as Simon Zealotes.
The North American tour was to commence on 9 June starting in New Orleans, with stops including Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and more before ending in Philadelphia on 17 August. This leg of the tour was to feature Forster reprising his role as Jesus, Brandon Boyd of rock band Incubus as Judas, Destiny's Child singer Michelle Williams as Mary Magdalene, former 'N Sync singer JC Chasez as Pilate, and former Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd lead singer John Lydon as King Herod.[7] On 30 May 2014, the tour was cancelled, mostly due to poor ticket sales.[8]
Official ratings are supplied by the UK Programme Ratings website, BARB.[9]
| Episode | Air date | Timeslot | Overnight ratings (millions) | Official ratings (millions) | Weekly rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auditions | 7 July | 19:25 | 3.04[10] | 3.03 |
| |
| Superstar Island | 8 July | 20:00 | 3.11[11] | 3.16 |
| |
| The Final 30 | 14 July | 20:00 | 2.89[12] | 2.95 |
| |
| Live show 1 | 15 July | 20:00 | 3.08[13] | 2.99 |
| |
| Live show 2 | 16 July | 21:00 | 2.83[14] | 2.81 |
| |
| Live show 3 | 17 July | 21:00 | 2.37[15] | Under 2.66 | Outside Top 30 | |
| Live show 4 | 18 July | 21:00 | 2.69[16] | 2.67 |
| |
| Live show 5 | 19 July | 21:00 | 2.90[17] | 2.83 |
| |
| Live show 6 | 20 July | 21:00 | 2.64[18] | 2.66 |
| |
| Live show 7 | 23 July | 21:00 | 2.59[19] | 2.49 |
| |
| Semi-final | 24 July | 21:00 | 2.54[20] | 2.54 |
| |
| Final | 25 July | 21:00 | 3.17[21] | 3.11 |
| |
| Series average | 2012 | N/A | 2.82 | 2.82 | N/A |