''Don't Stop Believing'' is a
British television
Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...
talent show
A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...
that aired on
Channel 5 in summer 2010. It was inspired by the musical comedy-drama ''
Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
'', which airs in the United States on the
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
network. The series featured live shows in which musical performance groups competed against each other, with viewers voting on the winner. Solo singers were also sought to join a group to represent the United Kingdom on the American
glee club
A glee club in the United States is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it w ...
circuit. The show was hosted by
Emma Bunton
Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and media personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice. With over 100 million rec ...
, and judged by
Anastacia
Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter and former dancer. Her first two albums '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001) were released in quick succession to major success. Spurred o ...
,
Duncan James
Duncan James (born Duncan Inglis, 7 April 1978) is an English singer and actor. He became widely known in 2001 as a member of the boy band Blue and later for playing Ryan Knight in the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks''.
Early life
James grew u ...
,
Tamzin Outhwaite
Tamzin Maria Outhwaite (; born 5 November 1970) is an English actress, presenter and narrator. Since playing the role of Mel Owen in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', she has starred in a number of theatre and television productions, includ ...
and
Charles "Chucky" Klapow. The programme was shown in simulcast on Irish TV channel
3e and repeated a week later on parent channel
TV3 Ireland
Virgin Media One, also called Virgin One, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland (part of Liberty Global), operated through its subsidiary Virgin Media Television. The channel was known until 30 August 20 ...
. The show was not renewed for a second series due to low ratings.
Development
''Don't Stop Believing'' was produced by
Shine TV
Shine TV is a British media production company and part of Banijay with offices in London and Manchester.
Shine was founded in March 2001 by Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch. The company was 80% owned by Elis ...
and
GroupM Entertainment. Based on the popularity of ''
Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
'' and ''
High School Musical
''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, ...
'' and billed as ''Glee'' meets ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'', the show intended to combine elements of both singing and dancing competitions. Five's controller,
Richard Woolfe Joseph Richard Woolfe (born 14 August 1962) is a senior British broadcast figure. Until recently, Woolfe was the Creative Director of Prime Focus Productions, the UK arm of Prime Focus Group, a role created for him to help spearhead the post-produc ...
, stated: "There's an explosion in musical performance groups and ''Don't Stop Believing'' will tap into that exciting groundswell. This will be the first series to combine both singing and dancing to create an amazing entertainment spectacle which will completely capture the viewers' imagination.". By May 2010, over 3,000 groups had applied to take part in the show via the Five website.
Social networking website
MySpace is the show's online hub, featuring exclusive content including video webchats with the judges, highlights of the show and choreography tutorials. Users are able to purchase tracks from the programme directly through MySpace. Sophie Rouse, director of marketing at MySpace UK, stated: "As a platform dedicated to the discovery of new content, MySpace can add an extra dimension to big events like these, giving fans the opportunity to interact directly with the talent and exclusive content from the show."
Format
Established and new musical performance groups compete in a series of live shows, performing well-known songs in new arrangements. Contestants perform in front of celebrity judges, with viewers voting for the winner. Alongside the main competition, solo singers are invited to join a group to represent the United Kingdom on the American
glee club
A glee club in the United States is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs by trios or quartets. In the late 19th century it w ...
circuit. Auditions are held while the series airs, with new members joining each week.
Judges and host
The show is hosted by
Emma Bunton
Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and media personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice. With over 100 million rec ...
. Five's head of entertainment, Donna Taberer, stated that she was "utterly thrilled" to have Emma as part of the project, deeming her the "perfect host" due to her singing, dancing and presenting experience. Bunton commented: "Like millions of others I'm currently obsessed with musical performance groups so I am beyond excited", telling ''
The Belfast Telegraph
The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant pop ...
'' that she is a "huge fan" of ''Glee''. The show's judges are former ''
EastEnders'' actress
Tamzin Outhwaite
Tamzin Maria Outhwaite (; born 5 November 1970) is an English actress, presenter and narrator. Since playing the role of Mel Owen in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', she has starred in a number of theatre and television productions, includ ...
,
Blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
member
Duncan James
Duncan James (born Duncan Inglis, 7 April 1978) is an English singer and actor. He became widely known in 2001 as a member of the boy band Blue and later for playing Ryan Knight in the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks''.
Early life
James grew u ...
, singer
Anastacia
Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter and former dancer. Her first two albums '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001) were released in quick succession to major success. Spurred o ...
and ''High School Musical'' choreographer
Charles "Chucky" Klapow.
Heats
Heat 1 (18 July 2010)
Heat 2 (25 July 2010)
Heat 3 (1 August 2010)
Heat 4 (8 August 2010)
Heat 5 (15 August 2010)
Heat five also featured repeat performances from the series' five wildcards, hoping to secure a place in the final. This place was won by Swish.
Final (22 August 2010)
Reception
Ratings
The debut episode was watched by 1.46 million viewers; 6.8% of the viewing audience. The second episode was watched by 1.09 million viewers; 4.8% of the viewing audience. It was watched by 587,000 viewers; a 2.4% audience share. The episode was moved from the 7 pm–8.30 pm timeslot to the 8 pm-9.30 pm slot to avoid a scheduling conflict with ''
Cricket on Five'' and was down 51.5% on the channel's average audience share in the slot. Episode three was down 433,000 viewers.
Critical response
Carrie Dunn of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'' described ''Don't Stop Believing'' as "like ''Glee'' without the budget". Dunn felt that Five's "novice status" at producing live shows was evident, "with sound cutting in and out and jagged camera work." She noted, however: "the lack of production polish seemed quite fitting as the contestants were also endearingly amateur.". ''
The Herald'' Graeme Virtue commented: "If, like me, you fell for ''Glee'' despite having a desiccated black fossil where your heart should be, it was most likely because the dementedly life-affirming musical numbers were punctuated by some smart, often prickly drama. However calculated ''Don't Stop Believing'' might be, by focusing wholly on the singin'-and-hoofin' dimension, it still risks reaching dangerous levels of non-cynicism that could irreversibly damage our national psyche in the long-term.". Emma Love of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
'' called the show "bang on the money", praising it for "tapp
nginto ''Glee'' fever" and "pick
ngup on a particular moment in culture with its all-singing, all-dancing groups.". Andrea Mullaney of ''
The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pa ...
'' deemed the series: "a predictable mash-up of the talented and deluded on their own 'journeys' being patronised and sniggered at by a judges who seem like they've just been introduced to each other 30 seconds before filming began.".
Australian adaptation
The
Ten Network
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of fi ...
in Australia had announced that it would produce its own adaptation of the ''Don't Stop Believing'' as part of its line-up for 2011. However, the network disclosed in November 2010 that it had halted all production on the series indefinitely, saying only that it "may return at a later date.".
References
External links
*{{IMDb title, 1717307.
2010 British television series debuts
2010 British television series endings
Channel 5 (British TV channel) reality television shows
English-language television shows
British music television shows
British reality television series
Singing talent shows