Desafio de Estrellas


Desafío de Estrellas is a Mexican musical show produced and distributed by TV Azteca, the second most important network in the country. The format of the Desafío is similar to American Idol with contestants eliminated every week and a grand finale with the top contestants competing to win the first place prize. TV Azteca has, until 2006, produced two versions of the program, one in 2003 and the other in 2006. The 2003 version consisted only of former contestants of La Academia, another TV Azteca-produced show which had already garnished two seasons and, in the process, taken away rating from Televisa, the prime network of the country. The 2006 version, on the other hand, consisted of both former contestants of La Academia, as well as other artists produced by TV Azteca in the middle and late '90s, later in 2009 a third season took place with former contestns of the six seasons of la academia.

All the Desafíos de Estrellas

SeasonWinnerRunner-Up2nd. Runner-UpOther FinalistsOther Contestants Number of Contestants
Season 1YahirNadiaMyriamErika & EstrellaElisa,Mauricio,Gisela,Karla,Marvin,Fabricio,Alejandro,Wendolee,J.Antonio,VíctorJ;
Azeneth,Alejandra,Andrea,Ana Lucía,Adrián,Enrique;
Ma.Inés, Víctor, Freddy, Manuel, Rosalía, Marco, Héctor, M. Ángel, Laura, Toñita, Raúl		32
Season 2ToñitaErasmoRaúlAranza, Carlos & AdriánRosalia,Cecilia,Cesar;
Melissa,Sylvia,Paula;
Marco,Manuel,J.Antonio;
Aline,Leticia,Dulce,Claudia,Tony;
J.Luis, Edgar, Yuridia, Luis, Erika, Benjamín, Estrella, Nadia, Jose Joel, Ale Ley, M. Ángel, Cynthia		32
Season 3FabiolaMyriamSamuelTravieso & NadiaLa Posta, Los Sandoval, Tinieblas, Tachidito, Beraka 5, Los de la mochila Azul, Las Güeras,

Shanik/Christian, Vanessa Cato, Rigo Tovar Jr., Colette, Toñita, Edgar/Erasmo, Iván/Héctor/Gerardo/Matías, IQ, G6, Rosalía/Freddy/Marco,

Aline,Atala,Las Reinas,Ivonne M;
Cynthia/Jorge,Jose Joel/Marysol;
M.Ángel, Luis A., Juan Rivera		32

''Desafío de Estrellas'' 2003

The 2003 version of the Desafío de Estrellas was announced right after the end of the second generation of La Academia. The 32 contestants which made up both generations would go on head-to-head to see what generation would get the best place. This expected competition was non-existent, as the participants of the 2nd generation were eliminated swiftly. Of the top 10 singers chosen by the public, only 1 had come out of the second generation, Erika, who would go on to become the fourth place of the competition. With a total of 15 concerts and above good ratings, TV Azteca confirmed its strong hold on the Mexican public.

Contestants

Concerts

The finale, which was broadcast live from Monterrey, Nuevo León, was a clear display of the full potential of the network, which garnished better results than the program in the competing network, the Mexican version of Big Brother. The rating was far superior for the Desafío and caused major changes in Televisa.
At the end, after singing songs from their albums, as well as new, classic Latin songs, Yahir took the night and beat out Myriam, the public's clear favorite, who was also ousted by Nadia, winner of the second place.

''Desafío de Estrellas'' 2006

Some time after the end of the 4th version of La Academia, and in order to compete with Televisa's highly successful Cantando por un sueño, TV Azteca announced the production of a new version of the Desafío. This time, however, not only would the competition be between former Academia singers, but also with artists released in the late 90s by the network. The 2006 version of the Desafío was less successful than the first, mostly because of the competition and high ratings of Cantando por un Sueño of Televisa. To increase ratings and, therefore, revenues, the network tried implementing new mechanics into the show. For example, in every show the judges were to choose "the best singer of the night", who would win 30,000 pesos, also, for six concerts the judges were to choose one singer who would be a participant of a grand concert in the Metropolitan, one of the most important auditoriums in the country.
Controversy arose after the judges eliminated Yuridia, the clear favorite to win, because she did not appear in Concert 8. Several sources of the Mexican media and some shows, especially from Televisa, claimed the producers planned the whole thing to improve ratings for the show. Bad rumors about the Desafío also arose when Jolette, controversial former Academia participant, claimed Cynthia, attractive Desafío participant, was being supported by one of the producers, who prevented her elimination from the competition.

Contestants

Concerts

Throughout 25 concerts, the first one airing on January 8, 2006, 32 contestants competed to become one of the 6 finalists who would compete for a grand prize of three million peson. In these concerts, three participants were chosen three times as the best singer of the night, Adrián, Aranza, and Erasmo Catarino. Also, six participants were chosen for a major concert in The Metropolitan, an important auditorium in Mexico City: Erasmo Catarino, Cynthia, Estrella, Miguel Ángel, Aranza and Raúl.
The Desafío de Estrellas finale took place on June 25, 2006 with the final five participants competing to win the grand prize: Antonia Salazar , who did not make it to the finale on La Academia 1 or the Desafío 2003,Erasmo Catarino, winner of La Academia 4, Raúl, who did not make it to the finale on La Academia 1 or the Desafío 2003, Carlos, La Academia 3 winner, Adrián, third place in La Academia 4 and Aranza, the only non-Academia participant left in the competition.
After singing two songs each, and after a close competition between the six finalists, the results were revealed:
This Desafío finale was not as successful as that of the 2003 version because of the competition with the rival channel's show, Cantando por un Sueño...Reyes de La Cancion .
The Third Desafío de Estrellas has been announced to premiere on April 19, 2009 Rafael Araneda From La Academia Ultima Generación will host the third edition the show will be called "El Gran Desafío."

El Gran Desafío de Estrellas

The 2009 version of the Desafío de Estrellas was producer by Eva Borja and counts with 50 artist

Concerts

The next table shows only contestants from la academia
NameOriginal SeriesEliminated
Fabiola RodasLa Academia 6
MyriamLa Academia 1
SamuelLa Academia 5
NadiaLa Academia 1
Luis ArmandoLa Academia 6
Miguel AngelLa Academia 1
CynthiaLa Academia 4
ErikaLa Academia 2
EstrellaLa Academia 1
Maria FernandaLa Academia 6
ValeriaLa Academia 6
Alex GarzaLa Academia 6
FatimaLa Academia 6
JackieLa Academia 6
PerlaLa Academia 6
MarcoLa Academia 4
FredyLa Academia 2
Rosalia LeonLa Academia 2
Matias ArandaLa Academia 6
Hector SilvaLa Academia 6
Ivan EstradaLa Academia 6
GerardoLa Academia 6
ToñitaLa Academia 1
ErasmoLa Academia 4
Edgar GuerreroLa Academia 4
ColetteLa Academia 5
Raul SandovalLa Academia 1
Erick SandovalLa Academia 9*
Cesar RoblesLa Academia 3
YazminLa Academia 5
VinceLa Academia 5
Adrian VarelaLa Academia 4
SilviaLa Academia 4

Colette, Atala, Travieso, Juan Rivera, Toñita, Erasmo, Cynthia, Jorge, G6, Luis Armando, Ivone Montero, Las Reinas, Raúl Sandoval, La Posta and others were the original cast, but during the concert seven, eight new contestestants were added – some like Myriam, Nadia, Fabiola, Banda Mix, Miguel Ángel, Aline Hernández.