''American Juniors'' is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

singing competition series that was broadcast for one season from June 3 to August 19, 2003, on

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

. The series was a

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'', but with younger contestants. The show had the same production team as ''American Idol'': it was created by

Simon Fuller Simon Robert Fuller (born 17 May 1960) is a British entrepreneur, artist manager, and film and television producer. He is the creator of the Idols (franchise), ''Idols'' TV format, including the British series ''Pop Idol'' and the American ser ...

and

19 Entertainment 19 Entertainment Inc. is a producer of entertainment properties for television with a focus on music owned by Sony Pictures Television through its nonfiction division. Founded by Simon Fuller in London in 1985, the company co-produced '' Pop Ido ...

along with

FremantleMedia Fremantle Limited (), formerly FremantleMedia, is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. The company was founded as Pearson Television in 1993 when publishing and education company Pearson ...

, directed by

Bruce Gowers Bruce Gowers (21 December 1940 – 15 January 2023) was a British television director and producer, best known for his work on large-scale live music and event productions. Life and career Gowers was born in West Kilbride, Ayrshire, Scotland on ...

, and produced by

Nigel Lythgoe Nigel Lythgoe OBE (; born 9 July 1949) is an English television and film director and producer, television dance competition judge, former dancer in the Young Generation and choreographer. He was the producer of the shows ''Pop Idol'' and ''Ame ...

and

Ken Warwick Ken Warwick is a British television executive producer and director, most noted for producing the reality television series ''American Idol'', and '' Pop Idol''. Before being a producer he was a dancer/choreographer, previously being a member of B ...

. Unlike ''American Idol'', the goal of the competition was not to find a single winner, but rather to create a singing group of five of the contestants. In this way, ''American Juniors'' more closely resembled the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

series ''

S Club Search ''S Club Search'' was a CBBC reality television show that documents the audition process and formation for the pop group S Club 8, S Club Juniors in 2001. The original concept was that the children would perform at Wembley as a support act to S C ...

'', which had produced the group ''

S Club Juniors S, or s, is the nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and other latin alphabets worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. ...

''. The show spawned the singing group American Juniors, consisting of Taylor Thompson, Tori Thompson, Chauncey Matthews,

Lucy Hale Karen Lucille Hale (born June 14, 1989) is an American actress and singer. She has received various accolades, including seven Teen Choice Awards (the most for any actress in a single series), a Gracie Awards, Gracie Award, a People's Choice Aw ...

, and Danielle White. The group disbanded in 2005, after their self-titled studio album generated lackluster sales. The show was filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Episodes

Auditions and Hollywood Week (June 3 and 10)

Two thousand young people auditioned for the show. A selected group of kids and their parents were flown to Hollywood to participate in "Hollywood Week", during which the field was narrowed to 20 performers who would move on to the live episodes.

Top 20 Semi-Final 1: Contestant Choice (June 17 and 18)

In each of two live "Top 20" semifinals, half of the remaining contestants competed for 5 positions in the Top 10, as determined by the votes of viewers. The results were aired the following evening. Results * Advanced to Top 10 Finals: Chauncey Matthews (most votes), Danielle White, AJ Melendez, Morgan Burke, Katelyn Tarver * Celebrity performers:

Justin Guarini Justin Guarini (born Justin Eldrin Bell; October 28, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter and actor who in 2002 was the runner-up on the first season of ''American Idol''. Early life Guarini was born in Columbus, Georgia. His father, Eldr ...

* Group performance: "

Kids in America "Kids in America" is a song recorded by English pop singer Kim Wilde. It was released in the United Kingdom as her debut single in January 1981, and in the United States in spring 1982, later appearing on her Kim Wilde (album), self-titled de ...

Top 20 Semi-Final 2: Contestant Choice (June 24 and 25)

Results * Advanced to Top 10 Finals: Tori Thompson (most votes), Taylor Thompson, Jordan McCoy, Lucy Hale, Chantel Kohl * Celebrity performers:

Ruben Studdard Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second season of ''American Idol'' and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recordi ...

* Group performance: "

Put a Little Love in Your Heart "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" is a song originally performed in 1969 by Jackie DeShannon, who composed it with her brother Randy Myers and Jimmy Holiday. In the U.S., it was DeShannon's highest-charting hit, reaching number 4 on the Hot 100 ...

Top 10 (July 1 and 2)

Theme: Songs of 1969 Results * Top 3: Chantel Kohl, Tori Thompson, and Taylor Thompson * Top 2: Chantel Kohl and Taylor Thompson * Advanced to American Juniors Group: Taylor Thompson * Group performance: "Make Your Own Kind Of Music" * Celebrity performers:

Tamyra Gray Tamyra Monica Gray (born July 26, 1979) is an American actress, singer and songwriter, who finished fourth place on the first season of the musical reality competition ''American Idol'' in 2002. Post ''American Idol'', Gray has begun acting on B ...

* Taylor's encore performance : "Proud Mary" (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Top 9 (July 8 and 16)

* Theme: Songs of 1970 * Tori Thompson - "Love The One You're With" (Stephen Stills) * Danielle White - "(They Long To Be) Close To You" (Burt Bacharach) * Morgan Burke - "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) (Edison Lighthouse) * Chauncey Matthews - "Hey There Lonely Girl" (Eddie Holman) * Chantel Kohl - "Stony End" (Barbra Streisand) * Jordan McCoy - "ABC" (Jackson 5) * Katelyn Tarver - "We've Only Just Begun" (Carpenters) * AJ Melendez - "I'll Be There" (Jackson 5) * Lucy Hale - "Make It Easy On Yourself" (Dionne Warwick) Results * Top 3: AJ Melendez, Tori Thompson, and Chauncey Matthews * Top 2: Chauncey Matthews and Tori Thompson * Advanced To American Juniors Group: Tori Thompson * Group performance: "United We Stand" * Taylor Thompson's music video: "Cheeseburgers For Me" * Celebrity performer: Brian McKnight * Tori's encore performance: "Love The One You're With" (Stephen Stills)

Top 8 (July 23 and 24)

* Theme: Songs of 1962 * AJ Melendez - " The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" (

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to '' Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty- ...

) * Danielle White - "

The Loco-Motion "The Loco-Motion" (or "Locomotion") is a pop music, pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down. The song is espec ...

" (Little Eva) * Chantel Kohl - " Don't Make Me Over" (Dionne Warwick) * Chauncey Matthews - "

Moon River "Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the 19 ...

" (Henry Mancini) * Lucy Hale - "

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka, co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Sedaka recorded this song twice, in 1962 and 1975, in two significantly different arrangements, and it is considered to be his signature s ...

" (Neil Sedaka) * Morgan Burke - "Can't Help Falling in Love" (Elvis Presley) * Jordan McCoy - " Sealed with a Kiss" (Brian Hyland) * Katelyn Tarver - "Tell Him" (The Exciters) Results * Top 3: Lucy Hale, Chauncey Matthews, and Chantel Kohl * Top 2: Chauncey Matthews and Chantel Kohl * Advanced to American Juniors Group: Chauncey Matthews * Group performance: "Do You Love Me" *Taylor Thompson and Tori Thompson's music video: Bring the house down * Celebrity performer: Kelly Clarkson * Chauncey's encore performance: "

" (Henry Mancini)

Top 7 (July 29 and 30)

* Theme: Songs of 1980 * Katelyn Tarver - "On the Radio" (Donna Summer) * Morgan Burke - "Rock With You" (Michael Jackson) * Jordan McCoy - "Magic" (Olivia-Newton John) * Danielle White - "Daydream Believer" (Anne Murray) * AJ Melendez - "Still" (Commodores) * Chantel Kohl - "Brass In Pocket (I'm Special)" (Pretenders) * Lucy Hale - "Call Me" (Blondie) Results * Top 3: AJ Melendez, Lucy Hale, and Chantel Kohl * Top 2: Lucy Hale and Chantel Kohl * Advanced to American Juniors Group: Lucy Hale * Group performance: "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" * Taylor Thompson, Tori Thompson, and Chauncey Matthews's music video: Sundown * Celebrity performer: Monica * Lucy's encore performance: "Call Me" (Blondie)

Final Round (August 5 and 12)

* Theme:

S Club S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, are a British pop music, pop group formed in 1998 by Simon Fuller after he was fired as manager of the Spice Girls. Original members were Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee (actor), Jon Lee, Bradley McI ...

Songs * Morgan Burke - "Bring the House Down" * Danielle White - "Never Had a Dream Come True" * AJ Melendez - "Alive" * Jordan McCoy - "You Are the One" * Chantel Kohl - "Sundown" * Katelyn Tarver - "Have You Ever" Results * Top 3: Danielle White, Chantel Kohl, and AJ Melendez * Top 2: Danielle White and Chantel Kohl * Final member of American Juniors: Danielle White * Morgan Burke performs: "Build Me Up Buttercup" * Katelyn Tarver performs: "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" * Chantel Kohl performs: "Open Arms" * Jordan McCoy performs: "More Today Than Yesterday" * Danielle White performs: "Colors of the Wind" * AJ Melendez performs: "I'll Be There" * Group performance: "Kids In America" * Danielle White's Encore performance: "Never Had a Dream Come True" * Chantel Kohl's Encore performance: "Sundown" * AJ Melendez's Encore performance: "Alive" * Official American Juniors group perform: "One Step Closer"

Concert Special (August 19)

* American Juniors performs: "Reach" * Danielle White and the American Juniors performs: "Never Had a Dream Come True" * American Juniors performs: "Bring It All Back" * Debbie Gibson performs "Lost in Your Eyes" * Lucy Hale and the American Juniors performs: "Have You Ever" * Gladys Knight performs: "If I Could" * Gladys Knight and the American Juniors perform * American Juniors performs: "One Step Closer" * American Juniors performs: "(You Got to Have) Friends"

Ratings and aborted second season

''American Juniors'' became one of the highest- rated television shows of the summer season, with approximately 11.9 million viewers on June 3, though the numbers dropped 40% toward the end of July. Nonetheless, the producers were satisfied of the strong teen demographic. A second season was planned for fall 2003, later postponed to the summer after the third season of ''American Idol'', then called off.

Following the show

Upon completion of the competition, the American Juniors group consisted of Taylor and Tori Thompson, Chauncey Matthews,

and Danielle White. The group made a brief appearance on the December 2003 TV special '' An American Idol Christmas''. Their debut album ''

American Juniors ''American Juniors'' is an American reality television singing competition series that was broadcast for one season from June 3 to August 19, 2003, on Fox. The series was a spin-off of ''American Idol'', but with younger contestants. The show ...

'' was released on October 6, 2004. The group disbanded in 2005, after having received relatively little publicity. Almost 20 years after the TV series,

is now the most widely known contestant from ''American Juniors'', having acted in a number of films and television shows, most notably the series ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery teen drama television series created by I. Marlene King, which aired on Freeform (TV channel), Freeform from June 8, 2010 to June 27, 2017, based on the novel series Pretty Little L ...

'' from 2010 to 2017. She returned to her musical roots in 2014, with the release of the country album '' Road Between'' on

Disney Music Group Disney Music Group (DMG) is the music recording and publishing arm of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. It is located at the studio's headquarters in Burbank, California. The div ...

's "Nashville" label.

Katelyn Tarver Katelyn Tarver (born November 2, 1989) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She has independently released four EP's since 2011, most notably ''Tired Eyes'' in 2017. References External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarver ...

released her debut solo album, ''Wonderful Crazy'', in 2005. From 2010 to 2013, she played Jo Taylor in the Nickelodeon TV series ''

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013, featuring the band Big Time Rush portrayed as a fictional version of th ...

''. She has continued to act and release music. In 2019, she appeared on NBC's ''

Songland ''Songland'' is an American songwriting competition series that aired on NBC from May 28, 2019, to June 15, 2020. The show, produced in cooperation with the Universal Television Alternative Studio, 222 Productions, Live Animals Productions and ...

''.

Kristinia DeBarge Kristinia Jamie DeBarge (; born March 8, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She first appeared on national television in 2003 as a contestant on the ''American Idol'' spin-off, ''American Juniors''. In 2009, DeBarge signed a co ...

, although not finalist, managed to have a relatively successful career, releasing her first album entitled ''

Exposed Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website * '' Exeposé'', a student-run newspaper of the University of Exeter Film and TV ...

'' in July 2009, and a couple of albums and singles more, as well as participating as an actress in some television series and movies. Jordan McCoy was signed to

Diddy Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...

's label,

Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American independent record label. The label was founded in 1993 by rapper and record producer Sean Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip-hop and contemporary R&B, R&B a ...

, having only released demos. She was part of the late-2000s revival of the defunct girl group,

Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...

(also formed by Diddy). In 2011, Tori and Taylor Thompson resurfaced on NBC's '' The Voice'' as a singing duo. They were selected and coached by Cee Lo Green but were voted off in the first live show. In 2020, ''American Juniors'' semifinalist Grace Leer auditioned for season 18 of ''

''. She made it to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

after singing " Crowded Table" by The Highwomen. She eventually was eliminated at the Top 11.

References

External links

Official Website
* {{Authority control 2000s American reality television series 2003 American television series debuts 2003 American television series endings * American Idol American television spinoffs American English-language television shows Fox Broadcasting Company reality television shows Television series about children Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by Fremantle (company) Reality television spinoffs Television shows directed by Bruce Gowers Music competitions in the United States American television series based on British television series