Fame: The Musical (Irish TV series)


Fame: The Musical is a singing and dance contest in Ireland, produced by Screentime ShinAwiL for RTÉ. The audition and Fame Bootcamp stages were filmed around Ireland and in London.
The shows aim was to find actors for the parts of "Nick" and "Serena" for the highly successful stage production of Fame.
On 13 June 2010 it was announced that Ben Morris would play the part of Nick and Jessica Cervi would play the part of Serena in the Irish tour of Fame.

Personnel

;Judges:
JudgeNote
Robert C KellyProducer of Fame seeking an actor & actress to play Nick & Serena
Erica GimpelPresent for the live shows only. Starred in the subsequent TV series
Simon DelaneyIrish television and theatre director
Jacinta WhyteJudge for the auditions and final only. Vocal coach Live Show 6

;Host
'''Derek Mooney'''

The Show

Results summary

'''Colour key:'''

Episode 1

Judges Robert C Kelly, Simon Delaney and Jacinta Whyte travel around Ireland looking for the next "Nick" and "Serena". 53 were chosen to go on to the Fame Bootcamp.

Episode 2

A group of young singers, actors and dancers attend The Fame Bootcamp. The three judges choose 12 to go forward for the live shows. Stuart Pollock, Ben Morris, Michael Joseph, Conleth Kane, Drew Millar and Séan Carey will battle it out for the role of "Nick", while Jessica Cervi, Philomena Fitzpatrick, Sarah O'Connor, Caoimhe Garvey, Hollie O'Donoghue and Susan Hall will audition for the role of "Serena". Susan Hall turn down the opportunity to audition for the role at the last minute leaving the 6th and final contestant to be revealed on the night of the first Live show.

Live Show 1

Erica Gimpel replaced Jacinta Whyte and joined Simon and Robert for the live shows as a judge at the Helix. As Susan Hall dropped out in episode 2 the judges choose Róisín Magee to replace her.
  • Theme: Songs from musicals
  • Group performances: Fame and Starmaker
PerformerOrderSongMusicalResult
Róisín Magee1"Maybe This Time"CabaretSafe
Stuart Pollock2Lady's ChoiceHairspraySafe
Drew Millar3Empty Chairs and Empty TableLes MisérablesEliminated
Jessica Cervi4I Can Hear The BellsHairspraySafe
Ben Morris5Who I'd BeShrek the MusicalSafe
Sarah O'Connor6Don't Rain on My ParadeFunny GirlBottom two

;Judges' vote to save
  • Gimpel: Sarah O'Connor - thought that Sarah had performed better
  • Delaney: Drew Millar - avoided being parochial
  • Kelly: Sarah O'Connor - thought it would be unfair to keep Drew in a competition that he couldn't win.

Live Show 2

Michael Joseph, Conleth Kane, Séan Carey, Philomena Fitzpatrick, Caoimhe Garvey and Hollie O'Donoghue all take to the stage for the first time.
  • Theme: Songs from musicals
  • Group performances: Fame and Starmaker
PerformerOrderSongMusicalResult
Conleth Kane1The Winner Takes It AllMamma Mia!Bottom two
Caoimhe Garvey2Let's Hear It for the BoyFootlooseSafe
Hollie O'Donoghue3AstonishingLittle WomenSafe
Séan Carey4Ain't That a Kick in the Head?Fools Rush InSafe
Michael Joseph5SomewhereWest Side StorySafe
Philomena Fitzpatrick6The Diva's Lament Monty Python's SpamalotEliminated

;Judges' vote to save
  • Kelly: Conleth Kane - based it on the whole rehearsals and live shows but ultimately on the final duet
  • Gimpel: Conleth Kane - already stated she had had issues with Philomena's pitching
  • Delaney; Conleth Kane - based it on the final duet

Live Show 3

PerformerOrderSongResult
Hollie O'Donoghue1Never Forget YouSafe
Sarah O'Connor2Chasing CarsBottom two
Michael Joseph3Viva la VidaSafe
Stuart Pollock4ShineEliminated
Séan Carey5Fight for this LoveSafe
Caoimhe Garvey6Put Your Records OnSafe
Conleth Kane7Broken StringsSafe
Jessica Cervi8Cry Me OutSafe
Ben Morris9BreakevenSafe
Róisín Magee10Rain on Your ParadeSafe

  • As the results were called out by Derek Mooney mistakenly saved Stuart only to have stop the show the let the audience know that he had made a mistake and that Conleth had been saved by the public vote.
;Judges' vote to save
  • Kelly: Stuart Pollock - gave no reason
  • Gimpel: Sarah O'Conner - gave no reason
  • Delaney: Sarah O'Conner - gave no reason

Live Show 4

PerformerOrderSongMusicalResult
Michael Joseph1CabaretCabaratSafe
Róisín Magee2I Cain't Say NoOklahoma!Safe
Conleth Kane3Some Enchanted EveningSouth PacificSafe
Hollie O'Donoghue4Wherever He Ain'tMack & MabelEliminated
Caoimhe Garvey5There's Gotta Be Something Better Than ThisSweet CharitySafe
Ben Morris6If I Loved YouCarouselBottom two
Sarah O'Conner7My Funny ValentineBabes in ArmsSafe
Séan Carey8Miracle of MiraclesFiddler on the RoofSafe
Jessica Cervi9Can't Help Lovin' Dat ManShow BoatSafe

;Judges' vote to save
  • Gimpel: Ben Morris - stated that Ben "put his heart on the stage"
  • Delaney: Ben Morris - stated that it was a difficult choice
  • Kelly: was not required to vote as the judges reached a majority verdict but commended both contestants.

Live Show 5

PerformerOrderSongResult
Conleth Kane1Dancin' FoolBottom two
Jessica Cervi2At LastSafe
Caoimhe Garvey3SwayEliminated
Michael Joseph4Secret LoveSafe
Sarah O'Connor5Nobody Does It Like MeSafe
Séan Carey6The Lady Is a TrampSafe
Róisín Magee7Life is Just a Bowl of CherriesSafe
Ben Morris8Cry Me a RiverSafe

;Judges' vote to save
  • Delaney : Conleth Kane - gave no reason
  • Kelly : Conleth Kane - gave no reason
  • Gimpel: was not required to vote as the verdict was already declared but said that Caoimhe could hold her head high for getting this far

Live Show 6

  • Theme: Judges Choice
  • Group performance: Starmaker
  • Vocal coach: Jancinta Whyte.
PerformerOrderSongIntroduced byResult
Séan Carey1FootlooseSimonSafe
Ben Morris2HomeEricaSafe
Róisín Magee3As Long as He Needs MeRobertSafe
Conleth Kane4MariaEricaEliminated
Sarah O'Connor5Defying GravitySimonBottom two
Jessica Cervi6When You Got It, Flaunt ItEricaSafe
Michael Joseph7The Impossible DreamRobertSafe

;Judges' vote to save
  • Gimpel: Sarah O'Connor - said Conleth grew right throughout the series
  • Kelly: Conleth Kane - said he had always praised both Conleth and Sarah
  • Delaney: Sarah O'Connor - stated it was "an impossible choice" and there was nothing between them

Semi-final

PerformerOrderSongResult
Ben Morris1Somebody to LoveSafe
Róisín Magee2Out Here on My OwnEliminated
Michael Joseph3Come What MayEliminated
Sarah O'Connor4MemorySafe
Jessica Cervi5And I Am Telling You I'm Not GoingSafe
Séan Carey6This is the MomentSafe

  • Two acts were eliminated from the semi-final and for the first time in the series, there was no final duet. The three remaining girls were brought out first and Róisín Magee was voted out by public vote. Then the three remaining boys were brought out and Michael Joseph was voted out by the public. After the announcements, Róisín and Michael bid farewell by leading a group performance of "Starmaker".

Final

PerformerFirst SongSecond songResult
Sarah O'ConnorDon't Rain on My Parade Suddenly, Seymour Runner-Up
Ben MorrisCan You Feel the Love Tonight Cry Me a River Nick
Jessica CerviYou're the One that I Want At Last Serena
Séan CareyFight for this Love Smile Runner-Up

  • All the finalists returned to the stage and Derek Mooney announced Ben & Jessica as the winners of the parts of Nick & Serena respectively. Ben & Jessica then closed the series with a performance of Let's Play A Love Scene.

Reception

The Evening Herald gave the show 3 out of 5 stars stating "The show has been criticised for putting the vote to the public, hence turning what should be a talent contest into a popularity contest. However, there's no doubt that the biggest voices in the competition made it to the final last night. Yes, it was cheesy and over-sentimental, but Fame: The Musical was the type of show that many tuned into in spite of themselves".
Audience figures were below that of previous RTÉ reality talent shows, however the final was watched by over 500,000 viewers.

Finalists

Twelve contestants made it through the audition rounds and performed during the live shows.

The Boys

FinalistAge*FromStatus
Ben Morris23Tallaght, DublinNick
Séan Carey18Dunshaughlin, County MeathRunner-up
Michael Joseph26WaterfordThird Place
Conleth Kane26Lurgan, County ArmaghEliminated
Stuart Pollock20Rathgar, DublinEliminated
Drew Millar22Glasgow, ScotlandEliminated

* at the start of the series

The Girls

FinalistAge*FromStatus
Jessica Cervi19East Wall, DublinSerena
Sarah O'Connor20Lucan, DublinRunner-up
Róisín Magee24Newry, County DownThird Place
Caoimhe Garvey19Tralee, County KerryEliminated
Hollie O'Donoghue21LimerickEliminated
Philomena Fitzpatrick22Ballybrack, DublinEliminated
Susan HallWithdrew

* at the start of the series