Launch aims for music reality hit
CTV flips talent show on its side, putting the song ahead of the singer
The Launch Debuts Wednesday, CTV
It all starts with the song.
That’s the idea behind The Launch, a new star search series debuting Wednesday on CTV. It’s also the feature that will distinguish it from other TV talent search shows, its producers say.
It may seem to some viewers that the air went out of the talent-show balloon two years ago when American Idol took a bow after 15 seasons. The industry seemed ready to push pause on the genre.
But Idol will not be idle long. It’s coming back in March.
Beating it to the gate is The Launch, which executive producer John Brunton — whose Insight Productions does the Junos and was behind Canadian Idol — says flips the whole format on its head.
“On Idol, you’d only hear the song at the very end,” he says. “This time, the song comes first, and the point of the show is to match the song to the right singer.”
The Launch is the pet project of Bell Media president Randy Lennox. The former Universal Music Canada CEO has been steering the private broadcaster in a rock ’n’ roll direction since arriving in 2015.
“We always say with him, he doesn’t hear ‘no,’ ” says Insight’s Lindsay Cox, one of the showrunners on The Launch.
Lennox has already been making music at Bell. The Toronto native convinced its board of directors to get into live theatre with the stage musical Bat Out of Hell. That led to sold-out runs in London and Toronto.
With The Launch, he’s not just trying to help create a hit reality show, he’s attempting to launch a format that could be — as Idol was — successfully exported around the world.
“International distributors are waiting for something new,” says Jane Rimer, Insight’s chief international business and creative development head, “and they recognize that there’s always an appetite for music.”
Lennox used his music business connections to pull mogul Scott Borchetta — who discovered Taylor Swift — into the project. He’s chief among the celebrity mentors on the series, who also include Shania Twain, Fergie, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe and Boy George.
Landing songwriters as part of the mix was key to this series’ chances. Busbee, who wrote the hit Try for Pink, contributes as does Tedder, who has written for Beyoncé.
The producers screened more than 10,000 hopefuls before narrowing them down to 30 from all over Canada, including Dylan Menzie from Belle River, P.E.I., Chad Price from London, Ont., and the band Havelin from Edmonton.”