Global Agency Screens New Format Bring Your Fame Back

This afternoon at MIPFormats, Global Agency presented the world premiere of its new music-based competition format Bring Your Fame Back, which gives once-famous singers a shot at reigniting their careers.

Izzet Pinto, the founder and CEO of Global Agency, told the audience at the screening that this format will shine a light on pop sensations from the past—perhaps from the 1980s, ’90s and/or 2000s. “We want to bring their fame back, and we will let them shine again,” he said.

Pinto, who created the format, explained that to help drive ratings “we needed a good structure. It’s not just former celebrities singing; we have to create drama.”

Each week, the has-been singing stars come into the studio—a set likened to the “colosseum of music”—with their fans. They prepare a song, either their own or maybe something current, and after their performance the other singers criticize, provide comments and grade with scores.

The jury in this format breaks away from the three- or four-person panels that are commonly seen in singing competitions on TV today, instead having two members: in the vein of “good cop, bad cop.”

The so-called “angel jury” will provide scores one through five, and the “devil jury” can deduct from that. The singers are then ranked in order according to their scores, one through eight. The top four are safe, while the bottom four are up for elimination. The audience can save one person, the kind juror can save one more and the tough juror decides who of the remaining two gets eliminated. A new singer is then added each week.

Pinto said that a “big plus” with this format is its celebrity hook—both with the contestants and the jurors. Along with celebrities, he highlighted the reality aspect, the high drama between the contestants and the clash of the egos; “all the ingredients needed to have a great show are here.”