American Juniors
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| American Juniors/19 Juniors | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Genre(s) | Pop Garage |
| Years active | 2003–2005 |
| Label(s) | 19 |
| Former members | |
| Lucy Hale Chauncey Matthews Taylor Thompson Tori Thompson Danielle White Katelyn Tarver (2003–2004) Jordan McCoy (2003–2004) Chantel (2003–2004) AJ Melendez (2003) Morgan Burke (2003) Julie Dubela (2003) Quinton Caruthers (2003) Grace Leer (2003) Kara Leiberman (2003) Tyler Foehr (2003) Brennan Hillard (2003) Mercedes Ruiz (2003) Kristinia DeBarge (2003) Lauren Klena (2003) Canyon Grove (2003) Tyron Glascoe (2003) Mariah Stanley (2003) |
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American Juniors also known as 19 Juniors was a reality television series broadcast on the Fox Network as a spin-off of the immensely popular American Idol, created by Simon Fuller and 19 Television, FremantleMedia, directed by Bruce Gowers and produced by Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick. It was very similar to the adult American Idol, much like the British series S Club Search (producing the S Club Juniors) was to British band S Club 7. The first and only season of American Juniors aired in the summer of 2003. It was taped in Hollywood, California.
[edit] Personalities
Around 2,000 children and teenagers auditioned for the show; from these twenty were chosen as contestants. Throughout the season, this number was narrowed down to ten through several rounds of voting. Like American Idol, voting was done by the show's viewers via telephone. Unlike Idol, to prevent hurt feelings, the contestants were voted into the group, as opposed to being voted off the show. Idol host Ryan Seacrest repeated this duty for most of the shows. Idol judges did not appear (other than one satellite hookup with Simon Cowell from the second season of Pop Idol); the principal Juniors judges were Gladys Knight (who also hosted when Seacrest was absent), Deborah Gibson, and Jordan Knight (former member of New Kids on the Block). A number of Idol alumni, such as Ruben Studdard, Christina Christian and Justin Guarini made guest performances
[edit] Ratings and aborted second season
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 edition had been planned for fall 2003, later postponed to the summer after American Idol (Season 3), then called off.
[edit] Following the show
The American Juniors made a brief appearance on the December 2003 American Idol Christmas special, An American Idol Christmas. Their debut album America Juniors was released on October 26, 2004 after a year's delay from its original scheduled date. Probably the most successful teenagers from the show are Julie Dubela (who failed to make the final ten), Jordan McCoy and Katelyn Tarver who both made the final ten but failed to reach the final five.
All three of them have since to gone on in their singing career with Tarver and McCoy both releasing albums while Dubela making several TV appearances including appearing on the kids TV show Endurance.
Dubela auditioned for the seventh season of American Idol when they traveled to Miami, Florida. She reunited with former Juniors host Ryan Seacrest and sang and danced to the Juniors theme song, One Step Closer. When she introduced herself to the judges, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul told her they had liked American Juniors but Simon Cowell sarcastically added "Yes, that was a really good show wasn't it?". After her performance, they were not as kind to her, calling her precocious and telling her to become an actress. After she unhappily left, the show played part of her Juniors performance (Rainy Days and Mondays).
Lucy Hale has had acting success since the band broke up, guesting on the TV series How I Met Your Mother and with a regular role on the 2007 version of Bionic Woman.
The American Juniors group disbanded in 2005. The members seem to be pursuing individual efforts and there is little publicity about them as a group. The show website became inactive in April 2005, but the music website remains intact as an archive. In May 2005, the Thompson sisters' website announced they were now out on their own.
Radio stations that play children's music (e.g, Disney, or digital radio) still occasionally play the music of American Juniors.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Album Cover | Album Information |
|---|---|
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Kids In America |
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American Juniors
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American Juniors
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[edit] Singles
| Album Cover | Album Information |
|---|---|
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"One Step Closer" (Maxi single) |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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