The WB's Superstar USA was a television show that spoofed the popular show American Idol. Essentially that show's polar opposite, it featured excrutiatingly untalented singers who were the unknowing victims of a practical joke. Hosted by Brian McFayden (Ryan Seacrest's double), people first audition before three judges (the sarcastic Briggs, who also produces the show and could be considered the "Simon" of the show; rapper Tone Loc, the show's answer to Randy Jackson; and singer Vitamin C, put into Paula Abdul's role) in four cities across the United States. Finalists were chosen based on the lie that they were the most likely to be able to parlay their win into a successful recording contact based on talent. However, the audition process vetted the good singers. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jamie Foss is a singer and actress from Erskine, Minnesota. ... Mario Rodgers was the runner-up on the WBs Superstar USA, a reality TV show that was looking for the worst singers while convincing the contestants that they were actually good. ... The WB Television Network is a television network in the United States, founded as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ... American Idol: The Search for a Superstar, commonly known as simply American Idol, is an American television show. ... American radio and TV personality Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974 in Dunwoody, Georgia) is an American radio and television personality, most famous as the host of the reality-television talent-search series American Idol. ... Simon Philip Cowell (born October 7, 1959 in Barnet, London) is an British artist and repertoire (A&R) executive for BMG, but is best known as a judge on the television programs Pop Idol, American Idol, and The X Factor, where he is notorious for his unsparingly harsh and occasionally... Tone Loc (born Anthony Terrell Smith on March 3, 1966) is an American hip hop artist turned actor, most well-known for his 1989 hit singles Wild Thing and Funky Cold Medina. He is also known for his deep, gravelly, almost hoarse voice. ... Randall Matthew Jackson (born on June 23, 1956 Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is an American musician and record producer, now best known to the general public for being a judge on the television show American Idol. ... Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick (born July 20, 1972 in Old Bridge, New Jersey) is an American pop music artist, dancer and actress, better known by her stage name, Vitamin C. Her hits include Smile, As Long As Youre Loving Me, Graduation (Friends Forever) (which reached #38 on the Billboard Hot... Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American dancer, choreographer, singer, and television personality. ...

Said finalists were subjected to insulting makeovers where they were encouraged to emulate pop stars whom they looked nothing like. They would then be given false and insincere encouragement by the celebrity "judges" despite the fact that their new looks were unsuitable facsimiles of real celebrities. For example, an effeminate homosexual male contestant who was very short, overweight and Hawaiian was told he resembled Justin Timberlake. Contestants would then be falsely encouraged and praised by the judges as well as vocal coaches; particularly they would be encouraged to try and stretch their vocal range far beyond what they could actually reach. Contestants with particularly inflated egos, such as the emphatic cheerleader Nina "Diva", were heavily encouraged to speak highly of themselves to the camera.

Eventually the contest was "won" by a singer named Jamie Foss, a buxom young blonde girl who could barely carry a tune. Throughout the competition she was constantly mocked by judges (to her face) with thinly veiled references to the largeness of her breasts. She was awarded $50,000 in cash and a $50,000 budget to produce a record, which has not yet surfaced. She has not been heard of since. The truth was revealed to her on stage in front of the audience she had just humiliated herself by singing for.

One producer worried that the live audience members would not be able to respectfully compose themselves during the final performances, deceived the audience by falsely informing them that the singers were all terminally ill young people, who were having a wish fulfilled by a charitable organization. The LA Times reported the organization named by the producer was the Make a Wish Foundation, which later received an apology from the WB. In an interview with USA Today, executive producer Mike Fleiss straightened out the details: "First of all, it was me. But I did not say 'Make-A-Wish.' I said, 'Who's heard of the One Wish Foundation?' and people raised their hands. There is no One Wish Foundation. It was a prank on top of a prank. It was the only way to get it to work." The Los Angeles Times (also L.A. Times) is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the Western United States. ... The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a non-profit organisation that grants wishes to children with life threatening illnesses. ... USA Today is a national American newspaper published by the Gannett Corporation. ...

See also

• William Hung
• American Idol

William Hung on American Idol William Hung (孔慶翔, Pinyin: Kǒng Qìngxiáng, Cantonese Yale Hung Hing Cheung, born January 13, 1983) is a Chinese American college student who gained fame and notoriety in early 2004 as a result of his audition performance of Ricky Martins hit song She... American Idol: The Search for a Superstar, commonly known as simply American Idol, is an American television show. ...

References

• Oldenburg, Ann. (May 17, 2004). "Can't sing or dance? Give 'Superstar' a shot". USA Today, p. 3D. Read