Instant Star
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
program which aired from September 2004 to June 2008. The series starred Alexz Johnson
Alexz Johnson
Alexzandra Spencer "Alexz" Johnson is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Her debut album Voodoo was independently released on March 30, 2010....
as adolescent
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
music competition winner Jude Harrison. The show chronicles Harrison's experience in the recording industry whilst focusing upon character development.
Linda Schuyler
Linda Schuyler
Linda Schuyler, CM is a Canadian television producer involved in the creation of the Degrassi series and Instant Star series of teen programs...
and Stephen Stohn
Stephen Stohn
John Stephen Stohn is a Canadian-based, American-born entertainment lawyer and television producer. He is the president of Epitome Pictures Inc., and is executive producer of the teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation and Instant Star , and most recently the television movie Degrassi Goes...
of Epitome Pictures produced the show. The program began to air on CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
prior to being picked up by Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
-owned teen network channel The N, now TeenNick
TeenNick
TeenNick, formerly The N, is an American television network aimed at the teenage market. TeenNick is owned by the MTV Networks subsidiary, Viacom. The channel was originally known as The N from its April 1, 2002 launch until September 28, 2009....
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The show became the second most popular program on The N with Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
, a Canadian show also produced by Schuyler and Stohn, ranking as most popular.
In 2005, after its first season, Instant Star was nominated for three Gemini Award
Gemini Award
The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
s in the category of Best Children's or Youth Fiction Program or Series. Nominations included: (1) Best Series; (2) Best Performance (Jude Harrison); and (3) Best Direction (Graeme Campbell
Graeme Campbell (director)
Graeme Neil Campbell is an award-winning film director, writer and editor.- Life and career :Campbell was born in Montreal, Quebec to William and Thelma Campbell. His body of work lies mostly in films made for television as well as mini-series', although he has transitioned into episodic...
). The show won the award for Best Direction for the episode You Can't Always Get What You Want.
On August 28, 2007, the show received three more Gemini Award nominations in the category of Best Children's or Youth Program or series. Alexz Johnson was again nominated for Best Performance (for the episode, "I Fought the Law"), and there were two more nominations for Best Direction - Graeme Campbell
Graeme Campbell (director)
Graeme Neil Campbell is an award-winning film director, writer and editor.- Life and career :Campbell was born in Montreal, Quebec to William and Thelma Campbell. His body of work lies mostly in films made for television as well as mini-series', although he has transitioned into episodic...
(for "I Fought the Law"), and Pat Williams (for "Personality Crisis").
Four seasons of the show (each with 13 episodes) were produced. CTV and The N both pulled funding following the fourth season, and the execs chose to end the show. The show was originally intended to conclude after its 5th season. Upset fans started a petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
. The 4th and final season of the show concluded on June 26, 2008, in the US. Reruns continue on CTV in a Saturday morning time slot.
Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Alexz Johnson Alexz Johnson Alexzandra Spencer "Alexz" Johnson is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Her debut album Voodoo was independently released on March 30, 2010.... |
Jude Harrison |
| Tim Rozon Tim Rozon Timothy James "Tim" Rozon is a Canadian actor born in Montreal. He is most noted for playing the role of Tommy Quincy on the CTV teen drama, Instant Star. Tim Rozon currently resides in Montreal where he co-owns a restaurant called Garde Manger.-Filmography:-External links:*... |
Tom "Tommy Q" Quincy |
| Laura Vandervoort Laura Vandervoort Laura Dianne Vandervoort is a Canadian actress known for her roles as Kara Zor-El in the television series Smallville, Sadie Harrison in the television series Instant Star and Lisa in the television series V.... |
Sadie Harrison |
| Kristopher Turner Kristopher Turner Kristopher Turner is a Canadian actor. Most noted for his role as Jamie Andrews on the CTV teen drama Instant Star.-Early life:... |
Jamie Andrews |
| Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds is an English music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock... |
Stuart Harrison |
| Wes Williams | Darius Mills |
| Mark Taylor Mark Taylor (actor) Mark Taylor is a Canadian actor. Taylor is predominately known for his roles as Romeo in Student Bodies, and Kwest in Instant Star... |
Kwest |
| Tyler Kyte Tyler Kyte Jonathan Tyler "Ty" Kyte is a Canadian actor and musician. He began his acting career with commercials and performing in the Musical Tommy in Toronto. Kyte was made famous amongst Canadian youth as a correspondent on the Canadian TV series Popular Mechanics for Kids alongside fellow Canadians... |
Vincent Spiederman |
| Season | Actor | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barbara Mamabolo Barbara Mamabolo Barbara Mamabolo is a Canadian actress. Since 1998, she has amassed an extensive list of theatre and television credits. She was born in Toronto, Ontario.... |
Katarina "Kat" Benton |
| Andrea Lui | E.J. Li | |
| Ian Blackwood Ian Blackwood Ian Blackwood is a Canadian musician and actor, best known for his front man duties in Toronto based Rock Band The Artist Life and for playing Kyle Bateman on the CTV teen hit Instant Star.... |
Kyle Bateman | |
| Jane Sowerby | Victoria Harrison | |
| Katrina Matthews | Eden Taylor | |
| Tyler Kyte Tyler Kyte Jonathan Tyler "Ty" Kyte is a Canadian actor and musician. He began his acting career with commercials and performing in the Musical Tommy in Toronto. Kyte was made famous amongst Canadian youth as a correspondent on the Canadian TV series Popular Mechanics for Kids alongside fellow Canadians... |
Vincent Spiederman | |
| Matthew Brown | Shay Mills | |
| Miku Graham | Portia Mills | |
| Tracy Waterhouse | Georgia Bevans | |
| Christopher Gaudet | Wally Robbins | |
| 2 | Christopher Gaudet | Wally Robbins |
| Ian Blackwood Ian Blackwood Ian Blackwood is a Canadian musician and actor, best known for his front man duties in Toronto based Rock Band The Artist Life and for playing Kyle Bateman on the CTV teen hit Instant Star.... |
Kyle Bateman | |
| Jane Sowerby | Victoria Harrison | |
| Miku Graham | Portia Mills | |
| Nicholas Rose | Mason Fox | |
| Vincent Walsh | Liam Fenway | |
| Tyler Kyte Tyler Kyte Jonathan Tyler "Ty" Kyte is a Canadian actor and musician. He began his acting career with commercials and performing in the Musical Tommy in Toronto. Kyte was made famous amongst Canadian youth as a correspondent on the Canadian TV series Popular Mechanics for Kids alongside fellow Canadians... |
Vincent Spiederman | |
| Zoie Palmer Zoie Palmer Zoie Palmer is a Canadian actress. She currently appears in the television series Lost Girl, in which she plays a human doctor by the name of Dr Lauren Lewis... |
Patsy Sewer | |
| 3 | Christopher Gaudet | Wally Robbins |
| Cory Lee Cory Lee Cory Lee is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actress. She is most noted for playing the role of Karma in the television series Instant Star, and Miss Oh on Degrassi.- Early life :... |
Karma | |
| Ian Blackwood Ian Blackwood Ian Blackwood is a Canadian musician and actor, best known for his front man duties in Toronto based Rock Band The Artist Life and for playing Kyle Bateman on the CTV teen hit Instant Star.... |
Kyle Bateman | |
| Miku Graham | Portia Mills | |
| Tyler Kyte Tyler Kyte Jonathan Tyler "Ty" Kyte is a Canadian actor and musician. He began his acting career with commercials and performing in the Musical Tommy in Toronto. Kyte was made famous amongst Canadian youth as a correspondent on the Canadian TV series Popular Mechanics for Kids alongside fellow Canadians... |
Vincent Spiederman | |
| Craig Warnock | Paegan Smith | |
| Zoie Palmer | Patsy Sewer | |
| 4 | Cassie Steele Cassie Steele Cassandra Rae "Cassie" Steele is a Canadian actress and singer-songwriter best known for portraying Manny Santos on Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Life and career:... |
Blu |
| Christopher Gaudet | Wally Robbins | |
| Cory Lee Cory Lee Cory Lee is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actress. She is most noted for playing the role of Karma in the television series Instant Star, and Miss Oh on Degrassi.- Early life :... |
Karma | |
| Ian Blackwood Ian Blackwood Ian Blackwood is a Canadian musician and actor, best known for his front man duties in Toronto based Rock Band The Artist Life and for playing Kyle Bateman on the CTV teen hit Instant Star.... |
Kyle Bateman | |
| Kyle Riabko Kyle Riabko Kyle Riabko is a Canadian pop singer, guitarist, and actor who was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He resides in New York City.... |
Milo | |
| Tatiana Maslany Tatiana Maslany -Acting career:Maslany is one of the stars of the Canadian TV series 2030 CE and is best known in her role as the character Ghost in Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed... |
Zeppelin | |
| Tyler Kyte Tyler Kyte Jonathan Tyler "Ty" Kyte is a Canadian actor and musician. He began his acting career with commercials and performing in the Musical Tommy in Toronto. Kyte was made famous amongst Canadian youth as a correspondent on the Canadian TV series Popular Mechanics for Kids alongside fellow Canadians... |
Vincent Spiederman | |
| Craig Warnock | Paegan Smith | |
| Kristin Fairlie Kristin Fairlie Kristin Fairlie is an actress and was a child actress. She was the voice of Little Bear on Little Bear. In 1998 she won a Young Artist of Hollywood Award for Best Ensemble for her lead role in the Showtime original movie The Sweetest Gift. Past Winners include Jena Malone and Leonardo DiCaprio... |
Megan |
| Actor | Character | Season | Episode number | Episode name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stacey Farber Stacey Farber Stacey Anne Farber is a Canadian actress who is best known for playing Eleanor "Ellie" Nash in seasons 2 through 7 of the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation.... |
Herself | 2 | 8 | Personality Crisis |
| Aubrey Graham Drake (entertainer) Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation.... |
Himself | 2 | 8 | Personality Crisis |
| Christopher Ralph Christopher Ralph Christopher Ralph is a Canadian actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Tobias in the 1998 TV series Animorphs.-Acting Roles:* Animorphs - Tobias * Gossip - Bill... |
Chaz Blackburn | 1 | 11 | All Apologies |
| 2 | 5 | Viciousness | ||
| Corey Sevier Corey Sevier Corey Daniel Sevier is a Canadian actor. He is perhaps best known for his role on the Fox television series North Shore as Gabriel McKay or as Timmy Cabot on the television series Lassie from the late 1990s.-Life and career:... |
Hunter | 3 | 8 | 18 Part 1 |
| 10 | Nowhere To Run | |||
| 11 | Celebrity Skin | |||
| Jordan Todosey Jordan Todosey Jordan Todosey is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles in Life with Derek and Degrassi.Todosey has had many roles, however the female-to-male transgender character, Adam Torres, in the Degrassi franchise has been her most noted... |
Helen | 2 | 10 | Problem Child |
| John Ralston John Ralston (actor) John Ralston is a Canadian actor.Ralston's most notable roles are George Venturi on Life with Derek and Mr. Avenir on Strange Days at Blake Holsey High. Although John Ralston was born in Chatham, New Brunswick , he grew up in Fredericton and St. Andrews, New Brunswick... |
Don | 2 | 4 | Miss World |
| 2 | 5 | Viciousness | ||
| 2 | 7 | Stranger In The House | ||
| 2 | 11 | Mother's Little Helper | ||
| Shawn Singleton Shawn Singleton Shawn Singleton is a Canadian actor and musician. His television roles have included the series Lord Have Mercy!, The Line, Doomstown and Instant Star, as well as guest appearances in Flashpoint and Da Kink in My Hair... |
T-Bone | 1 | 5 | You Can't Always Get What You Want |
| 1 | 7 | I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend | ||
| 2 | 2 | No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn: Part 2 | ||
| Season | Winner | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jude Harrison | Eden Taylor |
| 2 | Mason Fox | |
| 3 | Karma | Bobby |
| 4 | Milo Keegan | Kadijah |
Series plot
In each episode of the show, Jude Harrison must deal with the problems and challenges of both her musical career and her personal life, as one weaves into the other. She also faces dilemmas and choices in her relationships, dividing her feelings between the loves in her life, while also recording with G-Major Records. These people are important to her music - the one thread that ties her life together. Her best moments are when she is working with others in creating and performing her music. In addition to her music and her loves, there is much else going on in her personal life and in the lives of those around her.Music
- Other article: Instant Star soundtracksInstant Star soundtracksThis article is about the series of soundtracks for the television show Instant Star. The albums shown below were released from 2005 to 2009.The majority of songs performed for all of the albums were by Alexz Johnson. The first two albums contain only songs sung by Johnson, but starting from Songs...
Each episode of the series features a new song performed by Alexz Johnson. Usually, the song is about something that occurs in the episode. However, in some episodes, there is no direct explanation to the lyrics; sometimes it's just a song. Some episodes can feature more than one song, but there is only one song per episode that is to be featured on the soundtrack for that season. For instance, there are 13 episodes per season, which means there are 13 main songs. One of the songs, "Perfect," was written by Canadian synth pop artist Lights.
Alexz Johnson has done the vocals on the first and second soundtracks, while even co-writing some of the songs with her brother Brendan. For the third and fourth soundtracks, Alexz wasn't featured for all of the songs because of the release of her debut album and conflicts with prior record labels.
Just before the broadcast of the second season on The N, viewers had a chance to see Alexz Johnson
Alexz Johnson
Alexzandra Spencer "Alexz" Johnson is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Her debut album Voodoo was independently released on March 30, 2010....
in concert in a show called "Instant Star: Backstage Pass," singing two of the songs from each season of the show and accompanied by her band from the show, Spiederman Mind Explosion.
Broadcasters
Instant Star was broadcast in over 120 countries.| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Australia | Nickelodeon Nickelodeon Australia Nickelodeon is the Australian counterpart of the Nickelodeon network in the United States. It is operated by a joint venture of XYZnetworks and MTV Networks Australia.-History:... |
| Austria | ORF ORF ORF may refer to:* ORF , the Austrian public service broadcaster.* Open reading frame, a portion of the genome.* The IATA airport code for Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk, Virginia.* ORF format , Olympus raw image file format.... |
| Belgium | Ketnet |
| Brazil | Multishow, Boomerang Boomerang (Latin American TV channel) Boomerang Latin America is a 24-hour cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a unit of Time Warner broadcasting in all Latin America. Initially it was focused on classical series and shows, as the Latin American version of Boomerang from the United States. In 2006, it... |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | FTV |
| Bulgaria | NovaTV |
| Canada | CTV CTV television network CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival... |
| MuchMusic MuchMusic MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:... |
|
| Estonia | TV3 |
| Finland | Sub Sub Sub may refer to:* Submarine* Submarine sandwich* Subscription* Substitute * Substitute teacher* Subtitle * Bottom , also called "sub" * Subwoofer loudspeaker* Sub... |
| France | FillesTV |
| Virgin 17 Virgin 17 Virgin 17 was a French music video and tv show television network owned by the MCM Group, a subsidiary of Lagardère Active. It was available through digital terrestrial television in France, "TNT".... |
|
| Germany | VIVA |
| Hungary | Viasat3 |
| Israel | Arutz HaYeladim Arutz HaYeladim Arutz HaYeladim is an Israeli kids cable television channel. It was one of the first cable channels in Israel with Arutz HaMishpaha, Arutz Hasratim and Arutz Hasport.-History:... |
| Italy | Italia 1 Italia 1 Italia 1 is an Italian commercial television channel on the Mediaset network. It is oriented especially at young people.Italia 1 was launched in January 1982 and, originally, was owned by Rusconi; after a few months, however, due to the aggressive dumping practices of Silvio Berlusconi's rival... |
| Latvia | TV3 TV3 Latvia TV3 Latvia is a television channel targeted at a Latvian language audience owned by Modern Times Group . It was launched in 1998, but did not receive a terrestrial license until 2001... |
| Lithuania | Tango TV |
| Malaysia | 8TV 8TV (Malaysia) 8TV is a private Malaysian Chinese television station, previously known as MetroVision Channel 8. Metrovision closed on 1 November 1999. 8TV was officially launched on Thursday, 8 January 2004 as 8TV after being acquired by Media Prima Berhad.... |
| Mexico | MTV Latin America MTV MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs.... (Formerly) Canal 4TV Boomerang Boomerang (Latin American TV channel) Boomerang Latin America is a 24-hour cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a unit of Time Warner broadcasting in all Latin America. Initially it was focused on classical series and shows, as the Latin American version of Boomerang from the United States. In 2006, it... (Current) |
| Morocco | 2M TV 2M TV 2M TV is a Moroccan television service. It was established by the largest Moroccan economic conglomerate, ONA, before being sold to the Moroccan state. It is based in Casablanca... |
| New Zealand | TV2 |
| Norway | TVNorge TVNorge TVNorge is a Norwegian television channel.TVNorge went on the air December 5, 1988 and was the first advertising-supported Norwegian channel. The channel was started with 50 000 NOK... |
| Peru | Boomerang Latin America |
| Poland | ZigZap ZigZap ZigZap can refer to one of the following:* ZigZap , a Polish television station* ZigZap Technologies, a US technology consulting firm... |
| Portugal | MTV Portugal MTV Portugal MTV Portugal is a 24-hour general entertainment channel serving Portugal.The channel was launched on July 1, 2003 replacing MTV Europe within the territory. In its initial stages MTV Portugal shared similar content to MTV Spain and MTV Italy, while also airing programming from MTV US and MTV Europe... |
| Russia | MTV Russia MTV Russia MTV Russia is a Russian language free-to-air 24 hour entertainment and music service seen in 22 million households in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Omsk, Voronezh, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, among other cities.-History:... |
| Serbia | RTS 2 |
| South Africa | GO Go (TV channel) Go was a a TV channel on the DStv satellite network. The channel was broadcast on DStv channel 84. After a channel shuffle by DStv in October 2007, go was moved to channel 123. go was a channel for preteens, teens and twenty-somethings... |
| Spain | MTV Spain MTV Spain MTV España is the Spanish-speaking version of the popular 24-hour music and youth entertainment channel. MTV España is available on digital satellite Pay-TV offer Digital+, IPTV , many cable networks and from September 2010 on digital terrestrial television .-History:* MTV España was launched in... , 8Neox |
| Sweden: | TV2 |
| USA: | The N |
| Ukraine: | K1 |
| Venezuela | Televen Televen Televen is a private Venezuelan national television network headquartered on the Caracas neighborhood of Horizonte. For this reason it's also called Canal de Horizonte. Televen was inaugurated as the ‘’TELEVEN Corporation’’ on July 3 1988 by Omar Camero and Radioven, S.A... |
DVD releases
Funimation EntertainmentFunimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
released the first two seasons on DVD in Region 1 in 2007.
Echo Bridge Home Entertainment acquired the rights to the series in 2010 and subsequently released the final two seasons on DVD, available in the US only.
| DVD Name | Ep# | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Season One | 13 | May 22, 2007 |
| Season Two | 13 | December 4, 2007 |
| Season Three | 13 | January 19, 2010 |
| Season Four | 13 | July 27, 2010 |
External links
- Instant Star On-set photo gallery @ The GATE