What are the chances of two teens from a city of 60,000 landing on a nationally-televised reality show? Bookmakers would give it pretty low odds.
But two young singing sensations from St. Albert have beaten the odds and are competing as semi-finalists in season six of YTV's The Next Star.
Yasmeen Najmeddine, 14, and Alex Zaichkovski, 15, were two of 5,000-plus young hopefuls who auditioned from coast-to-coast for a chance to appear on the career-boosting television series.
Twelve hopefuls received a coveted “golden ticket” and one wild card will be added to the 12-week reality series that launched Monday, July 15.
During auditions, judges Keshia Chante, Tara Oram and Mark Spicoluk were looking for the “total package.” Exactly how the numbers are whittled down to 13 is a still a secret.
“To be a pop star you have to have a fantastic voice and a unique look. We were looking for something that resonates with the audience – the voice, the looks, the personality, the stage presence, the confidence. When a person walks into a room or on stage with confidence, they command our attention,” says Next Star executive producer Marc Kell Whitehead.
At the moment the two Paul Kane High School students are incommunicado and unavailable for interviews. However family and friends were happy to chat about the duo and their auditions in Calgary last May.
Zaichkovski studied piano for three years from the age of seven before begging to quit. In junior high he started to play bass guitar and singing naturally evolved. But it was Lorne Akins' pop and rock program that influenced his choices.
“It took off for him. He worked with the same kids, the same age and it really inspired him,” says mother Janet Tonin, a music teacher at Brander Gardens Elementary.
“You don't have to tell him to do his homework. He's always writing.”
A friend encouraged Zaichkovski to tryout for the auditions, and he picked Ed Sheeran's Lego House as the song to perform.
“He really had a good time with the auditions. He met some people he knew in the lineup and had fun. When he came out, he felt pretty good about things. He enjoys sharing music. He's not a person who suffers from nerves and he handles it well for a kid his age,” Tonin said.
Similarly, Najmeddine has only been on the circuit for a few years, yet her profile is higher.
She has sung in a nationally-acclaimed United Way video and at a benefit concert for orphans with Muslim R&B superstar Maher Zain.
When Najmeddine was invited to sing at Justin Trudeau's Liberal Victory Fund Campaign this past March, she did not know who the politician was, explains her mother Rima.
“We gave her the history of Pierre and Justin Trudeau and she was humbled and honoured to get the opportunity to meet him,” Rima said.
Najmeddine auditioned last season for Next Star but was rejected. After a good one-day cry, she refocused her approach to improving both her voice and stage presence.
“She put it together. She knew what she needed to do,” Rima said.
With her father Sam, she embarked on a road trip to Calgary for a second try and auditioned Justin Bieber's As Long As You Love Me.
Although Najmeddine wrote her first song, Thankful, at age 10, she is still a typical teen who loves shopping, scary movies, the West Edmonton Mall rollercoaster, camping and baseball.
In The Next Star's upcoming weeks, the lucky 13 will be reduced to six. At that point, the aspiring stars will be put through various challenges with the help of a team of professionals.
A winner will be announced in a live telecast in September based on fan voting. He or she wins a two-song record deal, $5,000 in gift cards, a shopping spree, a guitar and swag.
“What comes out of this are some fantastic memories and what it takes to be a pop star,” Whitehead said. “It's not as simple as what is presented by the media, but it's very exciting and worthwhile for them.”
The next three episodes will deal with auditions in eastern Canada. Najmeddine and Zaichkovski will once again appear in episode four on Monday, Aug. 5 at 7 p.m.
