''Stars in Their Eyes'' is a

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...

talent show, based on the original British version. It was hosted by Simon Barnett.

2008 season

The finalists were:

Episode 1 (22 April 2008)

Episode 2 (29 April 2008)

Episode 3 (6 May 2008)

Episode 4 (13 May 2008)

Episode 5 (20 May 2008)

Episode 6 (27 May 2008)

Episode 7 (3 June 2008)

Episode 8 (10 June 2008)

Episode 9 (17 June 2008)

2009 season

The finalists were:

Episode 1 (28 April 2009)

Episode 2 (5 May 2009)

Episode 3 (12 May 2009)

Episode 4 (19 May 2009)

Episode 5 (26 May 2009)

Episode 6 (2 June 2009)

Episode 7 (9 June 2009)

Episode 8 (16 June 2009)

Episode 9 (23 June 2009)

Reception

'' Taranaki Daily News'' television critic Gordon Brown wrote, "Unusually, Mrs Brown and I agreed on several key findings. We both thought Simon was an excellent host. We both thought that generally the singers were somewhat less than excellent and, most significantly, we felt the wrong person won." ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'' criticised the show, stating, "Aside from the cheap set, the naff format, the wince-making band, the unconvincing impersonations, the boring songs, there's nothing much else wrong - except Barnett. He needs to broaden his vocab, which ranges from the afore-mentioned brilliant to stunning, legendary, unreal, unbelievable. Those words do not match the reality." In a negative review, Nick Ward of '' The Nelson Mail'' said, "Perhaps naively, I keep expecting this show to unearth a few potential Susan Boyles - ordinary Kiwis who've had a good night or two at karaoke and let their friends and workmates talk them into going on TV. Instead, a parade of professional and semi-professional musicians belt out their favourites after a quick dash through TVNZ's makeup department. ... Host Simon Barnett's gushingly positive assessments ('Stunning!', 'Extraordinary!', 'You took me back to my form two social!') are as unconvincing as his arguments in favour of the divinely-sanctioned clouting of children."

References

{{Authority control Singing talent shows 2008 New Zealand television series debuts 2009 New Zealand television series endings New Zealand reality television series New Zealand music television series English-language television shows TVNZ 1 original programming