Telemundo has kicked off its quest to find Latinos across the U.S. and Puerto Rico who truly wish to become the artist.
Casting kicked off April 8 for Yo Soy El Artista, a musical competition and primetime weekend series set to premiere on Telemundo this fall.
Interested participants may apply at a special Telemundo microsite -- yosoyelartista.com. Show producers are holding casting sessions in May in Puerto Rico and in Miami, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and New York.
Yo Soy El Artista is set to air as a 13-episode, two-hour reality series based on “an original concept” from Spain’s Reset TV that sees managing director and executive producer Toni Cruz and José Maria Mainat overseeing the program’s joint development, production and distribution with Telemundo. The venture was announced on the opening day of the recent NATPE confab in Miami Beach.
“We are delighted to kick off the casting process for El Artista,” said Cruz, who is credited with helping develop Spain’s Operación Triunfo -- an American Idol-themed series that proved to be a tremendous success across Latin America and Iberia. “Our goal is to produce [a show that embraces] an innovative concept of talent reality competition that would contribute to bringing a different way of watching Spanish-language television, moving forward. To be the ultimate artist, it takes more than great singing ability or dance skills. We are looking for a performer with a full range of ability, star quality, appeal and showmanship."
Reset TV launched in 2012, when Cruz and Mainat decided to launch their own production company following a quarter-century of leadership at Gestmusic Endemol in Spain.
Cruz’s relationship with Telemundo dates to 2009, when a co-production agreement was forged between the network and Endemol España. The deal allowed for the Spanish adaptation of Telemundo telenovelas, including Dame Chocolate and El Cuerpo del Deseo.
The 2009 agreement called for Telemundo to adapt non-scripted, reality-type shows to the U.S. market. Among the shows noted at the time was Mira Quién Baila -- the Spanish-speaking world’s version of Dancing With the Stars. However, Mira Quién Baila enjoyed a four-season run on Univision before its January cancellation -- a little-reported act that came amid rumors of strife between participants and judges.
In related news, Univision is conducting open auditions for its own reality singing competition, Va Por Ti. Scheduled for a fall rollout, Va Por Ti will give one lucky Latino the chance to begin a career as a Latin recording star.
Auditions began in Pasadena, Calif., on April 5, at a Sheraton hotel, and on April 12 shifted to the studios of Univision’s KXTN in Houston. Upcoming auditions will be conducted in New York, Chicago, Miami and in metropolitan San Juan during May.
