Fame Story

Fame Story was a Greek reality TV show that was a licensed version of Endemol's Star Academy on the ANT1 network. It has been one of the most successful Greek TV shows over the last years. The contestants gave a weekly performance in a 2½–3 hour episode in which the contestants were judged and were one contestant was voted off after a week long televote. On the other 6 days of the week, the best footage of the day were compiled in a late night episode from inside the academy's studios and from the adjacent house where the contestants lived for their entire stay on the show inclusively. The show's seasons ran for 3½ months, except for season three which ran for 6½ months. It is credited for having helped foster the careers of some of the show's contestants, which have gone onto produce chart topping hits in the Greek market. The show is one of few Star Academy franchises, along with the UK's Fame Academy, to feature iconic song "Fame" originally performed by Irene Cara in the 1980 film of the same name. However ANT1 later commissioned popular songwriter Phoebus to write the original song titled "You can be a star", and the famous Cara song was used in TV spots and montages instead. ANT1 premiered The X Factor in its Fall 2008 lineup, thus switching to competitor FremantleMedia's The X Factor franchise.