The One: Making a Music Star is an American reality television series that aired in July 2006 on ABC in the United States, and CBC Television in Canada. The show was hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos, the host of CBC's The Hour. It was advertised as being superior to American Idol and Rock Star with the twist that contestants "live together in a fully functioning music academy", with their actions documented similar to the Big Brother format.
Reportedly one of the most expensive summer series in the history of the ABC network,Canadian version of The One still possible: CBC executive, CBC.ca, July 28, 2006 its first episode, on July 18, 2006, scored the lowest audience for a premiere episode on a major American television network at that time. Subsequent episodes had even fewer viewers. The series was cancelled after two weeks (four episodes) with the final results undecided on July 27, 2006. The show's website proclaimed "there are no plans for additional episodes".Official website, accessed July 27, 2006 (Defunct)
Overview The One is an adaptation of the Operación Triunfo/Star Academy format owned by Endemol, and was produced by Endemol USA, the producers of Big Brother, Fear Factor, Deal or No Deal, and other reality shows. Star Academy was in fact developed in 2001, around the same time as the original Pop Idol, although the format took much longer to appear in North America. Nonetheless, American Idols established popularity has contributed to The One being perceived by some viewers and critics as a ripoff of the Idol franchise.
CBC personality Stroumboulopoulos hosted the American series – his selection brought added attention from the Canadian media following the debate over the CBC's decision to air the series. The judges were songwriter Kara DioGuardi, industry veteran Mark Hudson, and former record executive Andre Harrell. The show's executive producer was Fear Factor producer Matt Kunitz. DioGuardi would later become a judge on American Idol, starting with that program's eighth season in 2009.
In promotions leading up to the show's premiere, ABC called The One "the show Fox doesn't want you to see" or "where Idol has never gone", because the contestants would always be competing, even when the stage isn't set, and grudges, rivalries, and breakdowns can develop. In fact, the viewers at home only chose who the bottom 3 are; the judges then saved one, and then the remaining contestants get to vote off a contestant between the other two.
In Canada, The One was promoted by CBC as the must-see event of the summer. Ads for The One ran for several weeks before the show premiered.
The series was initially scheduled to air Tuesday nights from 9:30 to 11:00 p.m. ET/PT (performance), and Wednesday nights from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. (results), from July 18 to September 6.'Idol' knockoff to bump Mansbridge, The Globe and Mail, June 21, 2006 Prior to the premiere, performance episodes were expanded to two hours starting at 9:00 p.m. ET. At the last minute, the airing of the first results show was changed to 10:00 p.m. ET. A planned further change for the Tuesday episodes, to the 8:30 to 10:00 p.m. ET timeslot, became moot following the show's cancellation.ABC press release, July 25, 2006
Viewers in the United States voted through telephone, text messaging or on the Internet. Canadian viewers were required to vote over the Internet only.
Contestants This was the first version of the Operación Triunfo / Star Academy format to not be completed before the end of the corresponding season. Press reports suggested that the producers would be obliged to name a winner at some point, as The One was a contest, with a recording contract as its grand prize.Grim reality for 'One', Josef Adalian, Daily Variety, July 28, 2006 However, assuming a winner was chosen, it is unlikely that either the selection process or the actual identity of the winner will ever be released.
Contestants are listed in alphabetical order by last name, in format: name, age, hometown.List of contestants, CBC.ca, accessed July 22, 2006
Contestant Age Hometown Notes Nick Brownell 21 Sandusky, Ohio Later appeared on Can You Duet with Jeremiah Richey Austin Carroll 23 Memphis, Tennessee Michael Cole 22 Winston-Salem, North Carolina Caitlin Evanson 27 Seattle, Washington Later went on to sing and play fiddle for Taylor Swift Scotty Granger 19 New Orleans, Louisiana Brother of NBA All Star Danny Granger, background singer/keyboard player for Jordin Sparks Later appeared on Platinum Hit and placed third Adam McInnis 25 Jackson, New Jersey Jackie Mendez 23 Miami, Florida Made Hollywood on American Idol 2009 (Season 8) Syesha Mercado 19 Sarasota, Florida Later placed third on American Idol 2008 Jeremiah Richey 25 Waxahachie, Texas Later appeared on Can You Duet with Nick Brownell
Eliminated contestants Contestant Age Hometown Eliminated Jadyn Maria 21 Nashville, Tennessee Week 1 Aubrey Collins 18 Littleton, Colorado Week 2
Viewer and critical response
At the time of its premiere, according to overnight ratings from Nielsen Media Research, the first episode of The One was the lowest-rated series premiere in ABC history, and the second-worst such episode in the history of American broadcast television,A bomb of an ABC premiere? It's 'The One', Scott Collins, Los Angeles Times, July 20, 2006 scoring only 3.2 million total viewers (1.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic), and fifth place in its timeslot.'The One', ABC's newest reality bomb, Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine, July 19, 2006 In Canada, the premiere of The One on CBC had 236,000 viewers, which trailed far behind Canadian Idol on CTV and Rock Star: Supernova on Global, each scoring around one million viewers.Canadian Idol Tops Competitive Tuesday, CTV press release, July 19, 2006
The next night's results episode fared even worse in the U.S. ratings, sinking to a 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic. The re-run of night 1's episode (which preceded the results show) plunged to an embarrassingly low 0.6 average in the vital demo ratings. The poor performance of the show helped ABC measure its lowest-rated night in the network's history (among 18-49s), finishing tied for sixth place.From bad to worse for ABC's The One , Toni Fitzgerald, Media Life Magazine, July 20, 2006 The series was ultimately cancelled after a second week of poor results.
According to CBC executive Kirstine Layfield, in terms of resources and money, The One "had the most backing from ABC than any summer show has ever had (sic)."
Canadian ratings have dipped as low as 150,000CTV press release as quoted in How low can you go? , blog post by Antonia Zerbisias, July 26, 2006 – not necessarily out of step with the CBC's usual summer ratings, although much lower than the broadcaster's stated expectations for primetime audiences, in the one-million range.Layfield defends new direction at CBC, Etan Vlessing, Playback, March 20, 2006
The CBC initially insisted that despite the cancellation, a planned Canadian version may still go ahead, citing the success of the format in Quebec (Star Académie) and Britain (the BBC's Fame Academy). The network confirmed that the show will not air in fall 2006Canadian version of The One will not appear this fall, CBC.ca, August 15, 2006 – in fact, the show had never been given a fall timeslotCBC Television Fall 2006 schedule, published June 2006 – but the show was "still under development."
Critical response was limited but generally negative. The Hollywood Reporter'''s Ray Richmond called the series "clearly derivative and opportunistic" with the judges' comments "awkward and forced.""One" heck of a mess, Ray Richmond, The Hollywood Reporter (via Reuters), July 20, 2006
A 2018 retrospective article on the site TV by the Numbers noted that The One was one of several music-related flops ABC had attempted in the 21st century and that The One in particular represented a "nadir" among them, even as shows several years later would have lower ratings. The article also noted that, in general, "ABC is terrible at music shows" and had yet to have a successful show in the genre before buying the rights to American Idol that year.
In January 2025, Endemol Shine North America head Sharon Levy told Deadline Hollywood that the company was in the process of pitching a new iteration of the Star Academy format to potential outlets.
CBC simulcast controversy In Canada, The One garnered most of its attention for a reason that had little to do with the show's content: CBC Television aired the U.S. series, usually in simulcast, marking the first simulcast of an American primetime network series on that network in several years, and in some cases bumping the network's flagship newscast The National to another timeslot.
Some speculated that the U.S. simulcast was a condition of the CBC's rights to produce a Canadian English version during the 2006–07 season. The network would not confirm this, although it noted that it wanted to build an audience for the Canadian versionReality show bumps CBC's The National , 680News.com, June 21, 2006 and would rather air both than have a Canadian version on CBC competing with the American series on a rival Canadian network.CBC to air two of 'One', Tamara Tillson, Daily Variety, June 14, 2006 Both editions of The One were part of a wider strategy by the network to increase its viewership, which has steadily decreased since funding cutbacks made to the public broadcaster in the early 1990s.CBC fall lineup leans heavily on reality shows, CBC.ca, June 15, 2006 (revised July 10, 2006)
Because of ABC's scheduling, and because most episodes of The One aired live, The National was moved from its usual time slot of 10:00 p.m. on days when The One aired to 11:00 p.m. in the Eastern Time Zone (after The One), and to 9:00 p.m. in the Atlantic Time Zone (prior to The One). All other regions maintained The National at 10:00 p.m. In Manitoba and portions of Northwestern Ontario which also observe Central Time, The One concluded prior to The National's regular airtime. In other western provinces, The One aired, on tape delay, prior to its airing on corresponding "local" ABC affiliates, leaving The National untouched.
The two shows were only expected to conflict on Tuesday nights, although the timeslot change for the first Wednesday results show caused another conflict.
The airing of the program on CBC was seen as controversial not only because of the time shifting, but because it appears to contradict the corporation's mission as a public broadcaster that explains Canada to Canadians, which led to CBC Television dropping all primetime U.S. network series in the late 1990s. Lobby group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting described the move as "shocking and surprising" and says the decision also contradicts CBC president Robert Rabinovitch's fall 2005 claim that "we don't do reality television".CBC bumps The National for US reality TV Show: Friends shocked and surprised , Friends of Canadian Broadcasting press release, June 20, 2006 Actors' union ACTRA called the decision a "sell-out".Canadian actors group opposed to bumping The National on CBC , Canadian Press (via Canada.com), June 21, 2006 And in an acceptance speech for an award from the Canadian Journalism Foundation, read by his wife at a ceremony held during the debacle, former CBC anchor Knowlton Nash said, "If the CBC really wants reality TV, let people get the reality of what's happening in the world by turning on The National at 10 p.m. every night," construed by most as an indictment of the One decision.Nash slams CBC while accepting award, CBC.ca, June 23, 2006