Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Grammy Winner David Foster Joins STARTOMORROW For NBC.com

NBC′S STARTOMORROW, New Interactive Music Competition Series Begins Exclusively On NBC.com This Summer

Fourteen-time Grammy-winning producer and songwriter David Foster has signed on with STARTOMORROW, NBC′s new interactive music competition that will allow viewers to choose the first Internet superstar starting later this summer.

Marking the first time that the network has offered a full national series online, NBC will introduce "StarTomorrow," an interactive music competition that will put viewers exclusively in control of choosing the first Internet superstar band, singing group or solo act - and will reward the winners with a recording deal with Foster and his recording company. Foster, who inherits the assignment from music mogul Tommy Mottola, also has received an unprecedented 43 Grammy nominations as well as three Oscar nominations and an Emmy Award. Over three incredibly successful decades, Foster has worked with such musical stars as Barbra Streisand, Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, N′Sync, the Corrs and Natalie Cole, among others.

Originally a keyboardist when he entered the industry, Foster worked alongside such musical icons as John Lennon, Diana Ross, George Harrison, Rod Stewart and Streisand. Throughout the 1980s, he produced and wrote several chart-topping single hits, including Chicago′s "Hard to Say I′m Sorry," Peter Cetera′s "The Glory of Love," John Parr′s "Man in Motion" (from the "St. Elmo′s Fire" soundtrack). Foster also produced the multiple platinum-plus selling songs on the film soundtrack recordings of "Ghostbusters" and "Footloose."

Foster′s work in the 1990s included associations with Dion with her "The Power of Love" (her first #1 hit), Cole′s "Unforgettable" and Brandy′s "Have You Ever." In 1993, Billboard magazine anointed him as the industry′s "Top Singles Producer" and "Top R&B Producer." During 1994-97, four of his singles performed separately by Toni Braxton, Houston and Dion, reached #1 for a record-breaking total of 42 weeks.

Foster more recently founded 143 Records, a joint venture with Time Warner Corporation, and has recruited a diverse talent roster, including the Corrs and young solo sensations Josh Groban and Michael Buble.

In addition, Foster remains active in the David Foster Foundation, a charitable children'′ advocacy group.

STARTOMORROW will debut this summer on NBC.com with a nationwide search that will ultimately narrow the field down to approximately 100 of America′s best singers, bands or groups that have been screened for entry into the competition. Approximately 20 band auditions will be released each week for the first half of the 16-week series. Viewers will then evaluate them and will have a week to vote on which performers will move on to the next round. The finalists will then compete in the second half of the series. The format will include covers of pop favorites and original material, but as the series goes deeper into the competition, the focus will shift more to original songs.

Additional exclusive online features will include the ability for viewers to see critical insight and advice from the influential Foster, as well as offer other opinions of the contestants from guest celebrities. Also, audiences will be able to stream the past series performances of each band while also viewing produced packages that personalize each group or band with footage from rehearsals, interviews and background information in a video blog-like style.