Spotlight TV

From Spotlight
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Spotlight TV
Stv2.jpg
Press Release Photo For The 2017 Season
Background information
Type: Broadcast Television Network
Branding: Spotlight TV
Founded: 2010
Headquarters: 10 Universal City Plaza, Los Angeles
Picture Format: 1080i (HDTV)

480i (SDTV)

Current Programming: The Wendy Williams Show, Sixteen, The Roundtable, Guriella Concert
Official Website: SpotlightTV.com

Spotlight TV is the official television network for Spotlight. Formed in 2010, the channel has been home to various programming including Spotlight Idol for its entire three-season run, The Voice and the short-lived X. In 2014, the network began a 5-year partnership with Wendy Williams for her daily syndicated talk show The Wendy Williams Show, its current longest running program.

History[edit | edit source]

Spotlight TV began in the first quarter of 2010 with its first program Ellen. Shortly after, the show began production on what would become its flagship show Spotlight Idol. In 2013, ratings from the network were recorded for the first time during Idol's final season.

Spotlight Idol And Other Singing Competitions[edit | edit source]

In mid-2010, Spotlight Idol premiered its first season with the winner being rocker Kenneth Rose. Idol became a ratings winner and would become the network's signature programming block. In 2011, the second season concluded with Vanessa Lee as the winner. Spotlight Idol became a controversial topic soon after when Lee chose to quit the Industry only a short time after her win. This led to Idol's production team changing the contract clauses of all contestants who make it to the Top 12. After a short hiatus, Spotlight Idol returned for its third season with Lauren Drew winning first place. Drew became the only Spotlight Idol winner to have a release history after the show.

Notable Spotlight Idol Contestants[edit | edit source]

Spotlight Idol became notable for having contestants leading high-profile careers without actually having won during their time on the show. Idol's first season produced the rock band MomentuM fronted by David London and boy band Adrenaline Rush. The former went on to become the biggest rock band in the Industry since signing to Intuition Records in 2010 under the direction of former CEO Tom Ford. Likewise, Adrenaline Rush joined Ford's label and went on to forge a successful career after releasing the LPs "Wanted" and "Like We Never Met" in 2010 and 2013 respectively. Season 3 alumnus Noah Gray and Inferno placed within the top 5 before becoming household names almost immediately after their season wrapped. Gray's first album Innuendo was the best selling album of 2013 while Inferno released two successful albums and a slew of sold-out tours beginning in 2013.

X[edit | edit source]

Hoping to mirror the success of the network's flagship show, a competing production company began development of "X", a singing-compeititon show that featured faster paced audition rounds. The show was originally planned to run the course of the summer months of 2013, however, after several delays on the live rounds, Spotlight TV abruptly decided to cancel the show. X is infamously known as the shortest-runnining program on Spotlight TV.

The Voice[edit | edit source]

After both Spotlight Idol and X ended their runs, the producers behind Spotlight Idol began production on the first season of "The Voice". The series took place from mid-2014 to mid-2015, taking almost a year in its first season alone. The show featured a new judging format, incorporating "coaches" who mentored their team of contestants in hopes of becoming the winning coach alongside the crowned winner. The first season featured a star-studded line-up of judges including R&B singer Dreke, pop singer Myri, pop singer Riley Oakridge (who also served as one of the executive producers) and Carson, the lead singer of girl group 4Usion. On March 27, 2015 Team Dreke's CeCe Arias was crowned as the winner of the show. The live finale featured performances from Classica, Jacob and SeVyn, Blake Labine, Inferno, Barbie (who would later be announced as a coach for the second season), Carson and a video premiere of "The Rise And Fall" from Myri.

Notable "The Voice" Alumni[edit | edit source]

The Voice also featured its own set of notable contestants who were signed after the show. Runner-Ups Damien (Team Dreke), Tam'ra Yano (Team Riley), and Marmalade (Team Carson) signed record contracts with League Entertainment, [FME]] and Soda Pop Records immediately after their contracts with "The Voice" released them as free agents. Two years after the show, only fourth-placed contestant Marmalade has debuted music, notably their debut single New York, Paris, London. The trio were nominated for a iHeartRadio Music Award for the song at the show's 2015 ceremony.

Outside of the top 4, contestants Lindsey Blank and Classica have possibly the biggest success stories. Blank signed with RED in early 2015 months after being eliminated from Team Riley in August 2014. The singer went on to release "Mirror" and her debut album "Form" that same year. Classica, were eliminated during the third and final night of the blind auditions without having placed on any of the coaches' teams. Months later, the duo made an appearance on Spotlight On Air performing a cover of Jacob's "Fall, Break, Melt". It was then announced the siblings had signed a lucrative contact with Glory Entertainment. Classic later went on to release their debut single "10 Out Of 10" and the parent album "Barefooted Youth". Both Blank and Classica tied for the win of Best New Artist at the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards.

The Voice Season 2 & The Failed Relaunch Of Spotlight Idol[edit | edit source]

On July 29, 2014, after a highly-publized health scare, Riley Oakridge announced his departure from the The Voice as coach and producer. Oakridge continued his coaching duties for the first season until its finale in March of 2015. The Voice was renewed for a second season. During a live elimination in July 2014, Marcus Ladera was announced as a coach for the upcoming season, directly replacing Oakridge. On August 4, 2014 Carter of Adrenaline Rush signed on as a coach joining Ladera on the new panel, replacing Carson who expressed her wish to coach a future season further down the road. The Voice said about Carter's addition, "Carter has been in this industry for a long time now. He started out on a show just like this one and is doing big things as a part of Adrenaline Rush. He could really give great advice and coaching tips to anyone trying to break into the industry. He also will be a great outlet for any type of group trying to audition for this show. We are lucky to have him!" On August 11, 2014, Jenna B was revealed as the third new coach. The superstar singer reportedly approached The Voice offering her services. Executive producer and FME President Demetrius Short told press, "We obviously said yes. Jenna is a super star and she will create and mentor an amazing team of individuals next season. We are ready for #TeamJenna!" Finally, on August 13, 2014 after much speculation, both Myri and Dreke announced their departure from the show with Barbie being announced as the fourth and final judge.

After a long hiatus during the first season, it was announced on December 3rd that The Voice would return to filming on December 12th. After the live finale aired in March of 2015, season 2 immediately began production with auditions being held nationwide. However, weeks later during the show's initial premiere week, production ceased and season 2 was canceled abruptly in favor of the return of a fourth and final season of Spotlight Idol.

On February 8, 2016, Spotlight Idol announced its return for one final season of a singing competition show for Spotlight TV. Ryan Seacrest returned to hosting duties with a new panel of judges being scouted for. Auditions were held until March 10th. However, due to another untimely Industry blackout, the final season never officially began production.

In May 2017, newly-appointed Spotlight TV execs announced plans for a new singing competition show to premiere sometime during the fall of 2018. Aaron Reynolds revealed in a press release, "We have such a strong history with these type of shows, so we will consider developing a new format when we begin to introduce new blocks of programming. Our wish is hopefully after the industry's makes it to one successful year without hiccups we will look into returning the network to its live show roots."

Talk Shows[edit | edit source]

The Wendy Williams Show[edit | edit source]

On July 26, 2014, radio personality Wendy Williams announced her self-named talk show, The Wendy Williams Show was green-lit for an eight episode test run beginning on July 29. The show's very first episode featured famed celebrity blogger Perez Hilton and Stereo Theory member Ryan. The premiere became the third-highest rated premiere, only beaten by The Voice series premiere and Spotlight Idol's third season. The show became notable for talking extensively about Spotlight TV's other flagship show "The Voice". Many media outlets, like Entertainment Weekly, viewed this strategy as a brilliantly executed promotional play to favor both shows. EW editor Alan Matthews said in his review of the show, "Williams' Hot Topics are heavily centered around The Voice and its exaggerated drama. Although an obvious marketing ploy, the idea must have come down from Spotlight Television honchos in order to guarantee both shows viewers. It's underhandedly brilliant."

The first official season premiered on February 10, 2015 to almost double the number of viewers from its test run. After the first season of The Voice wrapped, Williams moved her focus in Hot Topics to more music related drama and Twitter controversies. The program quickly became the network's new flagship show and a Industry staple. Over the course of the Industry halts, Williams show continued to air brand new episodes. Jonathan Davis of TIME magazine praised the hostess' endurance and longevity in 2016 saying, "Wendy's ability to find the most relevant of Hot Topics even during the most fragile times in the Industry is a testimony to her star power." In October 2016, Williams' third season premiered. by this time, the show had already become Spotlight TV's longest-running program in history. In May 2017, Spotlight TV announced they had renewed the talk show through 2018 for season four and five.

The Roundtable[edit | edit source]

On October 3, 2016, the backdoor pilot of The Roundtable premiered in place of Williams' program. The show featured former Industry artists including Nicole Robinson, Veronica and Valerie of Ladies First, Shenelle Jenkins and Aurora Bryant. The surprise show brought in a moderate number of viewers who stayed until the end of the first airing. In early 2017, it was announced on The Wendy Williams Show that The Roundtable had been greenlit for a full season order run beginning in May 2017. Unlike Williams' experimental test run, The Roundtable will begin with a first official season. Spotlight TV execs said of the new talk show joining its line of programming, "We are very excited for Wendy's sister show The Roundtable and believe both will be a staple during the industry's summer 2017 revival. Since the end of Ellen, we had been searching for a talk show that provided a open and safe space and reached beyond celebrity gossip. We are also elated to be working with former artists who can provide vivid insight on their experiences and connect to audiences in a way like no talk show has before."

List Of Current Programming[edit | edit source]

The Wendy Williams Show (2014 - Present)

WIN: Who Is Next (2014 - 2015, 2017)

Guriella Concert (2017)

The Roundtable (2017)

The Jenna B Show (Revival TBD)

LFMG Songwriting Series (TBD)

Upcoming Specials[edit | edit source]

The iHeartRadio Music Festival (Summer 2017)

The Sixth Annual Grammy Awards (TBD 2017)

List of Former Programming[edit | edit source]

Ellen

The Jenna B Show

Spotlight Idol (2010 - 2012, 2016)

Spotlight On Air (2012 - 2016)

X (2013)

The Voice (2014 - 2015)

Thalia's Way (2015)

Award Shows[edit | edit source]

The First Annual Grammy Awards

The Second Annual Grammy Awards

The Third Annual Grammy Awards

The Fourth Annual Grammy Awards (2013)

The Fifth Annual Grammy Awards (2015)

The 2013 Arena Awards (2013)

2014 iHeartRadio Music Awards

2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards

Concerts And Other Specials[edit | edit source]

Blake Labine 1Night Only Concert

Making The Video: Michael James

Jenna B: My Five Worst Moments

Lost & Found Music Group 2015/2016 Upfront

2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards Nomination Concert

Introducing...Nicole Persaud