Christian 'American Idol' Prepares to Air

By Kevin P. Donovan, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The Christian reality TV show “Gifted” will air this week on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).

Commonly compared with “American Idol,” the show will feature 16,000 contestants, 8 finalists, 3 judges, and 1 winner.

The two-hour prime time TBN television special, which will launch Friday, culminates months of nationwide searching to find and present the brightest new talent in Christian music, according to a media release.

According to the release, those tuning in that evening "will share the excitement of ’reality based TV’ with the nationwide viewing audience witnessing one contestant being awarded the top prize of a major recording contract with the EMI Christian Music Group."

For the debut telecast itself, the field of more than 16,000 contestants will be already narrowed for viewers to the eight top finalists, whose performances range from praise & worship, gospel and contemporary Christian music’s top hits of today.

Brian Littrell, member of the multi-platinum selling pop group Backstreet Boys and award-winning Christian solo artist, will host the show. He commented that most popular singers such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Whitney Houston started in gospel music, and he expects plenty of interest from America's churches.

Judges chosen to sit on the panel for the competition include Michael Sweet, lead singer of legendary Christian rock band Stryper; Eddie DeGarmo, founding member of multi-award winning Christian duo DeGarmo & Key and now president of EMI CMG Publishing; and Andrae Crouch, multi-Grammy and Dove Award winning artist.

According to the media release, national auditions for the Gifted talent competition were held over a year long period in churches situation in major markets throughout the United States.

“Unique to the competition was the emphasis to create a nationwide talent search for Christian solo artists with a desire to display the gifts that God gave them and to give back that gift by sharing with the world through their music the message of hope in Christ," it added.

The television special will be followed by a Feb. 20 release of Gifted, Season One on CD/DVD from EMI/Sparrow Records. In addition to the CD featuring performances by the eight top finalists on the telecast, the companion three-hour DVD will contain the entire two hour televised special with bonus behind the scenes, “all access” content.