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.
Auditions 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)
Finals Finalists (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
Live Show Details Heat 1 (24 April 2003) Artist Song (original artists) ResultAlexis Juliard"Hello" (Lionel Richie)AdvancedFlorent"Je n'ai que mon âme" (Natasha St. Pier)EliminatedGabrielle Ducomble"L'Air du vent" (Laura Mayne)AdvancedJordane"Vivre la vie" (Kelly Joyce)EliminatedJulie"La solitudine" (Laura Pausini)EliminatedPaco"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (Elton John)EliminatedPauline"Tu planes sur moi" (Native)EliminatedPriscilla"Respect" (Aretha Franklin)EliminatedShawn"Jusqu'au bout" (David Charvet)EliminatedYoann Kelyann"Rêver" (Mylène Farmer)Advanced
Heat 2 (1 May 2003) Artist Song (original artists) ResultCatherine"S'il suffisait d'aimer" (Celine Dion)EliminatedCindie Bruzzi"Dans un autre monde" (Celine Dion)AdvancedDavid"Mon frère" (Maxime Le Forestier)EliminatedDiane"En attendant ses pas" (Celine Dion)EliminatedJean Sébastien Lavoie"Quand les hommes vivront d'amour" (Raymond Lévesque)AdvancedJonatan Cerrada"I Want You Back" (The Jackson 5)AdvancedLaure-Anne"Evidemment" (France Gall)EliminatedNabyl"Sacrifice" (Elton John)EliminatedPriscilla"Humana" (Lara Fabian)EliminatedSébastien"On va s'aimer" (Gilbert Montagné)Eliminated
Heat 3 (8 May 2003) Artist Song (original artists) ResultDiyas"Chère amie" (Marc Lavoine)EliminatedIsabelle"Stop!" (Sam Brown)EliminatedJonathan Hassen-Ali"My Girl" (The Temptations)AdvancedKallagnani"On My Own" (Frances Ruffelle)EliminatedLaetizia Alberti"Manhattan-Kaboul" (Renaud & Axelle Red)AdvancedPascal"One Moment in Time" (Whitney Houston)EliminatedSandie"J'y crois encore" (Lara Fabian)EliminatedThierry Amiel"Je suis malade" (Serge Lama)AdvancedVeronique"On se retrouvera" (Francis Lalanne)EliminatedXavier"Hymne à l'amour" (Johnny Hallyday)Eliminated
Live Show 1 (15 May 2003) Theme: Contestant's Choice ArtistSong (original artists)ResultAlexis Juliard"When a Man Loves a Woman" (Percy Sledge)SafeCindie Bruzzi"La vie fait ce qu'elle veut" (Julie Zenatti)Bottom twoGabrielle Ducomble"Saving All My Love for You" (Whitney Houston)EliminatedJean Sébastien Lavoie"Les uns contre les autres" (Fabienne Thibeault)SafeJonatan Cerrada"Je voulais te dire que je t'attends" (Michel Jonasz)SafeJonathan Hassen-Ali"The World's Greatest" (R. Kelly)SafeLaetizia Alberti"Be My Baby" (Vanessa Paradis)SafePriscilla"I Will Always Love You" (Whitney Houston)SafeThierry Amiel"L'aigle noir" (Barbara)SafeYoann Kelyann"La fan de sa vie" (Zazie)Bottom three
Live Show 2 (22 May 2003) Theme: My Birth Year ArtistSong (original artists)ResultAlexis Juliard"Can You Feel It" (The Jacksons)Bottom twoCindie Bruzzi"Ella, elle l'a" (France Gall)Bottom threeJean Sébastien Lavoie"We Are the Champions" (Queen)SafeJonatan Cerrada"Je marche seul" (Jean-Jacques Goldman)SafeJonathan Hassen-Ali"Do I Do" (Stevie Wonder)SafeLaetizia Alberti"Diego libre dans sa tête" (France Gall)SafePriscilla"Kiss" (Prince)EliminatedThierry Amiel"Mon fils ma bataille" (Daniel Balavoine)SafeYoann Kelyann"Vivre ou survivre" (Daniel Balavoine)Safe
Live Show 3 (29 May 2003) Theme: Film Hits ArtistSong (original artists)ResultAlexis Juliard"On se retrouvera" (Francis Lalanne)SafeCindie Bruzzi"Hot Stuff" (Donna Summer)EliminatedJean Sébastien Lavoie"Calling You" (Jevetta Steele)SafeJonatan Cerrada"Une histoire d'amour" (Mireille Mathieu)SafeJonathan Hassen-Ali"Pauvres diables" (Julio Iglesias)Bottom twoLaetizia Alberti"T'en a pas" (Elsa Lunghini)SafeThierry Amiel"All by Myself" (Eric Carmen)Bottom threeYoann Kelyann"Beautiful Stranger" (Madonna)Safe
Live Show 4 (5 June 2003) Theme: Pop Hits ArtistSong (original artists)ResultAlexis Juliard"Killing Me Softly" (The Fugees)Bottom twoJean Sébastien Lavoie"Chanter pour ceux qui sont loin de chez eux" (Michel Berger)SafeJonatan Cerrada"Les trois cloches" (Edith Piaf)SafeJonathan Hassen-Ali"Your Song" (Elton John)EliminatedLaetizia Alberti"Eternal Flame" (The Bangles)SafeThierry Amiel"La vie ne m'apprend rien" (Daniel Balavoine)SafeYoann Kelyann"Pas toi" (Jean-Jacques Goldman)Bottom three
Live Show 5 (12 June 2003) Theme: Funky Hits ArtistSong (original artists)ResultAlexis Juliard"Je l'aime à mourir" (Francis Cabrel)SafeJean Sébastien Lavoie"Le chanteur" (Daniel Balavoine)SafeJonatan Cerrada"Le coup de soleil" (Richard Cocciante)SafeLaetizia Alberti"Marcia Baila" (Rita Mitsouko)Bottom twoThierry Amiel"Quand on n'a que l'amour" (Jacques Brel)SafeYoann Kelyann"Sur la route" (Gérald de Palmas)Eliminated
Live Show 6 (19 June 2003) Theme: Années 2000 ArtistSong (original artists)ResultAlexis Juliard"Tu es mon autre" (Lara Fabian & Maurane)Bottom twoJean Sébastien Lavoie"Entre nous" (Chimène Badi)SafeJonatan Cerrada"Suerté" (Shakira)SafeLaetizia Alberti"Que tu reviennes" (Patrick Fiori)EliminatedThierry Amiel"En apesanteur" (Calogero)Safe
Live Show 7 (26 June 2003) Theme: Le Voyage ArtistFirst song (original artists)Second songResultAlexis Juliard"Belle-Île-en-Mer, Marie-Galante" (Laurent Voulzy)"Hotel California" (Eagles)EliminatedJean Sébastien Lavoie"Allumer le feu" (Johnny Hallyday)"Unchained Melody" (The Righteous Brothers)SafeJonatan Cerrada"Emmenez-moi" (Charles Aznavour)"Lettre à France" (Michel Polnareff)Bottom twoThierry Amiel"Aller plus haut" (Tina Arena)"Amsterdam" (Jacques Brel)Safe
Live Show 8: Semi-final (3 July 2003) Theme: Hommage ArtistFirst song (original artists)Second songResultJean Sébastien Lavoie"Doucement" (Liane Foly)"Tu ne m'as pas laissé le temps" (David Hallyday)EliminatedJonatan Cerrada"Alors regarde" (Patrick Bruel)"Vivre pour le meilleur" (Johnny Hallyday)SafeThierry Amiel"Casser la voix" (Patrick Bruel)"Fan" (Pascal Obispo)Safe
Live final (10 July 2003) ArtistFirst songSecond songThird songResultJonatan Cerrada"Je voulais te dire que je t'attends""Ma liberté de penser""The Show Must Go On"WinnerThierry Amiel"Avec le temps""Je ne suis pas un héros""Les mots bleus"Runner-up
References
External links Official Site (French) Unofficial site