3/20/2023 0 Comments Starstruck castI am not going to name names, but at least three performers in the opening show deliver woefully flat notes (they only have to sing one-third of a song each! They’ve had all week to practise! Why are they still rubbish?) and a couple of them are quite noticeably out of time. The problem here is that a lot of the singers aren’t actually very good, so to hear the judges outrageously praise them rings utterly, dreadfully hollow. They give each of the three teams effusive, breathless compliments, then at the end of the show the members of one team sing off against each other and the best performer goes into some abstract, distant “final”. ![]() They clap above their head while standing up inelegantly in an outfit that is not designed to be stood up in, and hold their temples in sheer astonishment after hearing half of one opening note. ![]() Between them, they do all the TV judging tics and tropes they are meant to do – they put both palms flat on the table and lean forward, mouthing: “OH MY GOD!” to another judge. To judge the performances, ITV has assembled one of the strangest and most erratic judging panels I’ve ever seen on TV (we were warned when Amanda Holden started judging Britain’s Got Talent that this would happen to judging panels, but we refused to listen): Beverley Knight, an immaculately styled Jason Manford, Sheridan Smith and Queen singer Adam Lambert. Team Freddie: Joe, Rob and Michael perform. There is something very mildly interesting about watching three singers try to perform a cohesive song while also trying to outshine each other at the same time – fans of the Kitty Brucknell series of The X Factor will recognise this delightful energy from the group songs that used to open the show – but that’s where the entertainment begins and ends. Here is the format of Starstruck: instead of letting one singer trot out and do a celebrity tribute act, three complete strangers come out and sing the same song together at once – so three Freddie Mercurys might sing I Want to Break Free, line-by-line or three Ariana Grandes might squabble over a rendition of One Last Time. This is the first time since writing this column that I am going to actively ask for danger money. Is it just the presence of Olly Murs as the host that is doing this, or is there something even more ghoulish and hollow baked into the very format of it? The only way to find out, sadly, is to make me watch an entire hour of it so you don’t have to. It’s an over-glossy mashup of Stars in Their Eyes and The X Factor, which is very, very bad in a way that makes my soul feel quite empty and my mind quite blank. This photograph must not be syndicated to any other company, publication or website, or permanently archived, without the express written permission of ITV Picture Desk.D o we really deserve good TV? It’s a question I have been mulling over since being subjected to Starstruck (Saturday, 8.30pm), ITV’s bombastic new panel show designed for five or so million people to eat a takeaway to. ![]() This photograph must not be manipulated in a manner which alters the visual appearance of the person photographed deemed detrimental or inappropriate by ITV plc Picture Desk. Once made available by ITV plc Picture Desk, this photograph can be reproduced once only up until the transmission date and no reproduction fee will be charged. This photograph is (C) Remarkable TV/ITV Plc and can only be reproduced for editorial purposes directly in connection with the programme or event mentioned above, or ITV plc. This image and the information contained herein is strictly embargoed until 00.01 Monday 7th February 2022 From Remarkable TV Starstruck on ITV and ITV Hub Pictured: Adam Lambert, Sheridan Smith, Olly Murs, Beverley Knight and Jason Manford.
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