TMN RETROSPECTIVE REPORT: TV killed the A&R star – 2000

TMN celebrates two decades in this ever-shifting music industry by taking a look back at the key moments – both triumphant and tumultuous – in the Australian music business.

2000
TV KILLED THE A&R STAR: POPSTARS AND AUSTRALIAN IDOL ENTER

Remember when the idea of a television talent show spawning #1 records seemed like heresy? 2000 seems like a lifetime ago, but when Popstars – the Australian spinoff of the now-global NZ franchise – came to Channel Seven that year and produced the double-Platinum-selling Bardot, a lot of purists saw it as a new low.

Of course, television has long been a springboard for musical success, but watching it unfold from week to week proved either morally bankrupt or addictive – depending on your stance. Other networks and labels saw the success of Popstars and wanted a piece of the pie. Enter Australian Idol in 2003, which lasted eight seasons and produced a number of household names: Ricki-Lee Coulter, Matt Corby, Lisa Mitchell, Stan Walker, Wes Carr, Damien Leith and Jess Mauboy among them. When the highest-selling singles of the decade were revealed at the end of 2010, Idol alumni dominated: Guy Sebastian’s Angels Brought Me Here was the highest-selling, Anthony Callea’s The Prayer sat at #2, and Shannon Noll’s What About Me came in at #5. Two artists from the first season of the show – Joel Turner and Cosima De Vito – landed independently- released #1 singles in 2004, proving the franchise needn’t be a cash cow for the major labels and networks alone. Callea’s The Prayer remains the fastest-selling single in Australian recording history.

Our year on year reports are published courtesy of the Australian Music Industry Quarterly magazine. For your free copy click here.