Desafio de Estrellas

Mexican musical TV show

Desafío de Estrellas is a Mexican musical show produced and distributed by TV Azteca, the second most important network in the country. The format of the Desafío is similar to American Idol with contestants eliminated every week and a grand finale with the top contestants competing to win the first place prize. TV Azteca has, until 2006, produced two versions of the program, one in 2003 and the other in 2006. The 2003 version consisted only of former contestants of La Academia, another TV Azteca produced show which had already garnished two seasons and, in the process, taken away rating from Televisa, the prime network of the country. The 2006 version, on the other hand, consisted of both former contestants of La Academia (all four seasons), as well as other artists produced by TV Azteca in the middle and late '90s, later in 2009 a third season took place with former contestants of the six seasons of la academia.

SeasonWinnerRunner Up2nd. Runner UpOther FinalistsOther Contestants (In Order of Elimination)Number of ContestantsSeason 1YahirNadiaMyriamErika & EstrellaElisa,Mauricio,Gisela,Karla,Marvin,Fabricio,Alejandro,Wendolee,J. Antonio,VíctorJ; Azeneth,Alejandra,Andrea,Ana Lucía,Adrián,Enrique; Ma. Inés, Víctor, Freddy, Manuel, Rosalía, Marco, Héctor, M. Ángel, Laura, Toñita, Raúl32Season 2ToñitaErasmoRaúlAranza, Carlos & AdriánRosalia,Cecilia,Cesar; Melissa,Sylvia,Paula; Marco,Manuel,J. Antonio; Aline,Leticia,Dulce,Claudia,Tony; J. Luis, Edgar, Yuridia, Luis, Erika, Benjamín, Estrella, Nadia, Jose Joel, Ale Ley, M. Ángel, Cynthia32Season 3FabiolaMyriamSamuelTravieso & NadiaLa Posta, Los Sandoval, Tinieblas, Tachidito, Beraka 5, Los de la mochila Azul, Las Güeras,
Shanik/Christian, Vanessa Cato, Rigo Tovar Jr., Colette, Toñita, Edgar/Erasmo, Iván/Héctor/Gerardo/Matías, IQ, G6, Rosalía/Freddy/Marco,
Aline,Atala,Las Reinas,Ivonne M; Cynthia/Jorge,Jose Joel/Marysol; M.Ángel, Luis A., Juan Rivera32

Concert 1 The first concert saw the elimination of 10 artists, 7 of which were from the second generation (Elisa, Gisela, Karla, Mauricio, Fabricio, Víctor and Marvin), while only 3 were from the first (Wendolee, Alejandro and Jose Antonio). Concert 2 The second concert saw no eliminations, however, this concert was marked by the clear dominance of the first generation singers who received well better critics from the judges than the second generation singers. The best interpretation of the night was "El Me Mintio" by Myriam and Erika (winners of the first and second generations, accordingly) who would go on to become finalists and lead successful solo careers. Concert 3 The third concert was characterized by the elimination of most of what was left of the second generation, as six of the remaining eleven artists were eliminated (Andrea, Ana Lucía, Alejandra, Adrián, Azeneth and Enrique). 11 singers of the first generation still remained. Concert 4 María Inés (1st Generation) who had sung "7 de Septiembre", by Mecano, and received fairly good critics was eliminated. Concert 5 Víctor, winner of the 2nd place in the first generation, and one of the favorites in the competition decided to quit, as medical reasons disabled him to continue in the competition. Concert 6 The elimination of Fredi, finalist in the second generation, left only four second generation singers left in the competition. Concert 7 Manuel, third place in the second generation, was eliminated. Concert 8 The eight concert saw once again the elimination of a second generation finalist, this time it was Rosalía, who had already surpassed expectations after beating Manuel and Fredi, both of which had received a better place in the second generation finale. Concert 9 Once again, a finalist of La academia 2 was eliminated, this time Marco, runner up in the Academia 2 finale. Concert 10 Concert 10 was full of expectation as most fans believed Erika, the only second generation singer left in the competition, would be eliminated, however it was Héctor, last place in the original Academia, who was eliminated. Concert 11 Shocking results took place in the eleventh concert as Miguel Ángel, third place in the first Academia, was ousted by the other eight singers. Concert 12 Laura, 9th place in the original Academia, and initially one of the public's favorites, lost support and was eliminated. Concert 13 Toñita, who missed out at the last moment in becoming one of the finalists in the first Academia, again, was eliminated at the last moment. Concert 14 Raúl, another first generation singer and one of the favorites to reach the finale was eliminated in a very close competition. This left four Academia 1 singers and 1 Academia 2 singers in the finale.

The finale, which was broadcast live from Monterrey, Nuevo León, was a clear display of the full potential of the network, which garnished better results than the program in the competing network, the Mexican version of Big Brother. The rating was far superior for the Desafío and caused major changes in Televisa. At the end, after singing songs from their albums, as well as new, classic Latin songs, Yahir took the night and beat out Myriam, the public's clear favorite, who was also ousted by Nadia, winner of the second place.