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| American Juniors | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre |
|
| Created by | Simon Fuller |
| Directed by | Bruce Gowers |
| Presented by | |
| Judges | |
| Opening theme | "One Step Closer" byS Club Juniors |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 17 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox |
| Release | June 3 (2003-06-03) – August 19, 2003 (2003-08-19) |
American Juniors is an Americanreality television singing competition series that was broadcast for one season from June 3 to August 19, 2003, onFox. The series was aspin-off ofAmerican Idol, but with younger contestants. The show had the same production team asAmerican Idol: it was created bySimon Fuller and19 Entertainment along withFremantleMedia, directed byBruce Gowers, and produced byNigel Lythgoe andKen Warwick.
UnlikeAmerican Idol, the goal of the competition was not to find a single winner, but rather to create a singing group of five of the contestants. In this way,American Juniors more closely resembled theBritish seriesS Club Search, which had produced the groupS Club Juniors.
The show spawned the singing group American Juniors, consisting of Taylor Thompson, Tori Thompson, Chauncey Matthews,Lucy Hale, and Danielle White. The group disbanded in 2005, after their self-titled studio album generated lackluster sales.
The show was filmed inLos Angeles.
Two thousand young people auditioned for the show. A selected group of kids and their parents were flown to Hollywood to participate in "Hollywood Week", during which the field was narrowed to 20 performers who would move on to the live episodes.
In each of two live "Top 20" semifinals, half of the remaining contestants competed for 5 positions in the Top 10, as determined by the votes of viewers. The results were aired the following evening.
| Contestant | Song (Original artist) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Morgan Burke | "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (Frankie Lymon andThe Teenagers) | Top 5 |
| Kara Lieberman | "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (Olivia Newton-John) | Eliminated |
| Kristinia DeBarge | "Reflection" (Christina Aguilera) | Eliminated |
| AJ Melendez | "Isn't She Lovely?" (Stevie Wonder) | Top 5 |
| Grace Leer | "To Sir with Love" (Lulu) | Eliminated |
| Danielle White | "Colors of the Wind" (Vanessa L. Williams) | Top 5 |
| Chauncey Matthews | "A Whole New World" (Peabo Bryson andRegina Belle) | Top 5(most votes) |
| Julie Dubela | "Rainy Days and Mondays" (The Carpenters) | Eliminated |
| Tyler Foehr | "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (The Police) | Eliminated |
| Katelyn Tarver | "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (Marvin Gaye andTammi Terrell) | Top 5 |
Results
| Contestant | Song (Original artist) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Jordan McCoy | "Stupid Cupid" (Connie Francis) | Top 5 |
| Lucy Hale | "Get Here" (Brenda Russell) | Top 5 |
| Quinton Caruthers | "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (Stevie Wonder) | Eliminated |
| Lauren Klena | "L-O-V-E" (Nat King Cole) | Eliminated |
| Chantel Kohl | "Open Arms" (Journey) | Top 5 |
| Brennan Hillard | "That Thing You Do" (The Wonders) | Eliminated |
| Mercedes Ruiz | "Can't Fight the Moonlight" (LeAnn Rimes) | Eliminated |
| Taylor Thompson | "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" (Betty Everett) | Top 5 |
| Canyon Grove | "You've Got a Friend" (Carole King) | Eliminated |
| Tori Thompson | "Let 'Er Rip" (Dixie Chicks) | Top 5(most votes) |
Results
Theme: Songs of 1969[citation needed]
| Contestant | Song (Original artist) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| AJ Melendez | "My Cherie Amour" (Stevie Wonder) | Returned |
| Katelyn Tarver | "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" (Dionne Warwick) | Returned |
| Jordan McCoy | "More Today Than Yesterday" (Spiral Starecase) | Returned |
| Chantel Kohl | "You've Made Me So Very Happy" (Blood, Sweat & Tears) | Top 2 |
| Chauncey Matthews | "This Guy's in Love With You" (Herb Alpert) | Returned |
| Morgan Burke | "Build Me Up Buttercup" (The Foundations) | Returned |
| Lucy Hale | "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" (Diana Ross & The Supremes andThe Temptations) | Returned |
| Tori Thompson | "Bad Moon Rising" (Creedence Clearwater Revival) | Top 3 |
| Danielle White | "Good Morning Starshine" (Hair stage musical) | Returned |
| Taylor Thompson | "Proud Mary" (Creedence Clearwater Revival) | 1st(voted into the group) |
Results
Results
Results
Results
Results
American Juniors became one of the highest-rated television shows of the summer season, with approximately 11.9 million viewers on June 3, though the numbers dropped 40% toward the end of July. Nonetheless, the producers were satisfied of the strong teen demographic. A second season was planned for fall 2003, later postponed to the summer afterthe third season ofAmerican Idol, then called off.[1]
Upon completion of the competition, the American Juniors group consisted of Taylor and Tori Thompson, Chauncey Matthews,Lucy Hale and Danielle White. The group made a brief appearance on the December 2003 TV specialAn American Idol Christmas. Their debut albumAmerican Juniors was released on October 6, 2004. The group disbanded in 2005, after having received relatively little publicity.
Almost 20 years after the TV series,Lucy Hale is now the most widely known contestant fromAmerican Juniors, having acted in a number of films and television shows, most notably the seriesPretty Little Liars from 2010 to 2017. She returned to her musical roots in 2014, with the release of the country albumRoad Between onDisney Music Group's "Nashville" label.
Katelyn Tarver released her debut solo album,Wonderful Crazy, in 2005. From 2010 to 2013, she playedJo Taylor in the Nickelodeon TV seriesBig Time Rush. She has continued to act and release music. In 2019, she appeared on NBC'sSongland.[2]
Kristinia DeBarge, although not finalist, managed to have a relatively successful career, releasing her first album entitledExposed in July 2009, and a couple of albums and singles more, as well as participating as an actress in some television series and movies.
Jordan McCoy was signed toDiddy's label,Bad Boy Records, having only released demos. She was part of the late-2000s revival of the defunct girl group,Dream (also formed by Diddy).
In 2011, Tori and Taylor Thompson resurfaced on NBC'sThe Voice as a singing duo. They were selected and coached byCee Lo Green but were voted off in the first live show.
In 2020,American Juniors semifinalist Grace Leer auditioned for season 18 ofAmerican Idol. She made it toHollywood after singing "Crowded Table" byThe Highwomen.[3] She eventually was eliminated at the Top 11.
