Popstars Live

Popstars Live was an Australian talent quest television program similar to Australian Idol that aired on the Seven Network in early 2004. It also spawned a spin-off single and album that made the ARIA charts in April that year. The show itself was an evolution of the original Popstars series which aired between 2000 and 2002 on Seven. It was the first appearance of Dean Podmore on a nationally syndicated television show.

Popstars Live premiered on the Seven Network in February 2004. It was scheduled to run for 16 weeks and was originally slated to air on Sunday and Wednesday nights. During its short run Popstars Live had a troubled history, with two key personnel, Christine Anu and John Paul Young, leaving the program in April 2004 while others have publicly expressed their own concerns about the show. The show was also a ratings failure.

Popstars Live was based on the original Popstars, a reality television program that was broadcast on the Seven Network between 2000 and 2002. The aim of that program was to select members for a pop group or a pop singer and follow the process of recording a single and/or album and the subsequent promotion of the record made by the artists.

The Australian series saw the creation of three acts which enjoyed initial success:

While the 2000 series of Popstars was one of the most popular programs on Australian television in that year, its popularity steadily declined in later seasons. In 2003, the Seven Network rested the concept. However, the success of Australian Idol, a show that became the most popular program on Australian television that year, soon led to the Seven Network revisiting the Popstars format.

Record sales for Idol contestants also played a role in the resurrection of Popstars with Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian releasing an album Just as I Am that went six times platinum in Australia and runner up Shannon Noll's That's What I'm Talking About striking up sales of five times platinum. Hoping to emulate the success of BMG Records, which had signed on Sebastian and Noll, Universal Music quickly signed up for the new series.

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