Overview

Starmania is an Austrian casting show, a talent show for would-be pop stars. It is broadcast on the Austrian TV channel "ORF 1". Despite striking similarities, Starmania is not a licensed version of the Idols format distributed by FremantleMedia. Attempts to export the format to Germany failed due to legal intervention from Fremantle. In 2004, ORF managed to sell the format rights to the Swiss channel SF, where the show is called MusicStar. From 2003 to 2009, four seasons of Starmania have been aired in Austria. To date, the winners have been Michael Tschuggnall, Verena Pötzl, Nadine Beiler and Oliver Wimmer. Christina Stürmer, who placed second in the first season, has become more famous than the other winners combined, with top charts positions in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.