The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott: A Preview

Missy Elliott is now another celebrity who has gotten into the reality show game. Her new show seems to be like P. Diddy’s Making the Band, where the rapper is looking for a new rap or R&B act. The difference is that Missy is looking for one individual while P. Diddy was obviously looking for a band. Let’s all hope that the winner is better than Da Band.

Missy Elliott will be taking thirteen aspiring singers and rappers along with her on her tour. They will compete for a $100,000 prize along with Missy helping them try to launch their career and releasing their first single.

The Judges

Missy Elliott: Elliott is a three-time Grammy Award winning rapper and producer who is probably the biggest, and in my opinion the best, female rapper around. She has produced albums and songs for Aaliyah, Monica, Ciara, Beyonce, Destiny’s Child, and even American Idol’s Fantasia, among many others. On the official website she is not listed as a judge but from what I gather she will be like Tyra Banks on America’s Next Top Model and double as both a host and a judge.

Teena Marie: I'm somewhat familiar with her, but she is basically known as the “white girl who sings R&B.” She just released her first album in ten years, called La Doña. She has the spotlight experience that the other two judges don't have, sort of like a Paula Abdul.

Dallas Austin: A very famous writer and producer, he’s worked for just about everybody, it seems. From Aretha Franklin to Bjork and from Madonna to Usher, he should be the one the contestants listen to the most.

Mona Scott: Before this I'd never heard of her, so I'm just going by what the site tells me. Mona is the president of Violator Management, which manages Missy, Busta Rhymes, and 50 Cent among others. She broke groundbreaking deals as promotions go and she is the co-creator and executive producer of this show.

The Contestants

Akil: He is a 23-year-old teacher from Jersey City, New Jersey. He has a hippie/rasta look and he’s a singer, rapper, and he plays a guitar too. The triple threat could work for him. I like him and I hope he makes it far.

Cori: She is a 21 and a college graduate from Orlando. She has no audition or performance video on the official website. I think she was probably cast more for being “the hot girl.” Surprise me, Cori.

Deltrice: Deltrice is a 23-year-old clothing designer from San Francisco. She has a very jazzy style about her but she writes her own songs so that makes me root for her. She’s not a bad writer either. I think she'll make it very far. In fact I think she'll win it all.

Eddie: He’s a 25-year-old construction worker from New Orleans. Like Cori, he has no videos but he is a rapper.

Frank B.: Oh boy, white rapper coming through! Frank B. is 21 and from Brooklyn. Like Eddie he is a construction worker and also like Eddie he did not have videos to go along with his bio. I don't expect much from him.

Heather: Heather’s a 25-year-old student from Boston. She is the one of only contestants with classical voice training but, surprise! She has no videos.

Jessica: A 23-year-old from my Chicago, she’s only an hour away from me. That makes me root for her too. Jessica actually has her audition videos and she’s a pretty good singer, but not as good as Deltrice.

Marcus: He’s a 24-year-old security guard from Houston and appears to be the stereotypical “funny big guy.” Whether he’s the next Ruben Studdard, I can't tell because he also has no audition tape. Did anyone audition for this show?

Matthew: He’s a 25-year-old theme park entertainer from Orlando (read: Disney World). His experience could help him out concerning stage presence and confidence. He is also the only person who chose one of the three words describing himself as “Christian.” Let’s hope we don't have a male JoAnna or Adria on our hands here. No videos… this is getting old fast.

Melissa: She’s a student from Plymouth, Minnesota, and is the youngest at 19. She’s had voice lessons since six and it shows. She’s a great singer but she seemed very nervous and that could hurt her in the end.

Nic: Nic is the oldest at 29 and is a DJ from Aliso Viejo, California. He went to a school for the performing arts. He doesn’t have a video but I think he may do very well.

Nilyne: Nilyne is a 23-year-old make-up artist/student from Plainfield, New Jersey. She looks a little like Mary J. Blige but she doesn't have the sound to back it up.

Yelawolf: Our last contestant is a 24-year-old contract artist from Rainbow City, Alabama. He’s another white rapper and his audition tape wasn't that great.

These are the thirteen contestants vying for the $100,000 and the chance for Missy Elliott to help them release their first single. I can't really gauge the competition that well because there were only six out of thirteen tapes to judge. But from what I saw, I would say that Deltrice will be the winner with Akil and Jessica being in the top three with her. The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott premieres on Wednesday at 8:00 Eastern on UPN.

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