Andre Harrell On Board for 'The One,' Partners with Voxonic Technologies
Music mogul Andre Harrell is making moves in front of the small screen as a judge in the new ABC series The One: Making of a Music Star.
The show, which premiered last night (July 18), features 11 contestants who compete for an Interscope Records deal while living in the same house and receiving guidance from a trio of music experts.
A personal chef, fitness trainer and choreographer are also present to help participants become full-fledged artists.
For Harrell, the series represents a change of pace from similar shows.
"This is an academy as opposed to just challenging them to test their will to see how bad they want it," Harrell told AllHipHop.com.
Harrell, who founded ground breaking label Uptown Records, described the show as "the Real World meets Idol Maker."
"We empower them with the tools and the direction as if they were signed to our record company to be the best artist and have the best moment they could possibly have when they're on the stage to be voted on by America to be the One," said Harrell. "The level of artistry and musicianship that this show has...It’s only right that these people are in an academy with serious people working with them because this is not a talent show. This is about a great artist show," he continued.
In addition to Harrell, the panel of judges includes renowned songwriter, vocal director, musician and record producer Mark Hudson and Kara DioGuardi, a songwriter, artist and vocal producer.
The Bad Boy executive was drawn to the project through word of mouth as well as the variety of talent from the show’s participants.
"I think what turned me on is the diversity of the talent, that it wasn’t obvious," said Harrell, who helped Sean "Diddy" Combs, Mary J. Blige, Heavy D and Jodeci achieve stardom through his Uptown imprint. "It moved me and I felt something when I watched each of them. And they all have like this heart and they all were kind of like overlooked, but they all were super talented. Mary was the type who was overlooked. Heav was the type who was overlooked. K-CI was like the type who was not obvious. I like that in my artists."
Viewers can vote for their favorite contestant each week after the show. The drama, according to Harrell, comes the following night when the bottom three are revealed.
Harrell’s role on The One comes on the heels of his new partnership with Voxonic Technologies, a company which creates software that transforms a person’s voice into any foreign language.
"What’s exciting about that is that it enables us to take Hip-Hop and communicate it in every language that you can imagine," said Harrell. "And I think that like people who have been fans of Hip-Hop in Japan or China or Russia, who like the feeling but don’t quite know what they’re saying. For those brands that are established----like a Jay-Z or even a Nas Escobar, his first album----This is a chance to go back and translate those albums and give people that experience in their own language. In their own voice as if they could rap in French."
The One: Making of a Music Star airs from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesdays on ABC.
The show, which premiered last night (July 18), features 11 contestants who compete for an Interscope Records deal while living in the same house and receiving guidance from a trio of music experts.
A personal chef, fitness trainer and choreographer are also present to help participants become full-fledged artists.
For Harrell, the series represents a change of pace from similar shows.
"This is an academy as opposed to just challenging them to test their will to see how bad they want it," Harrell told AllHipHop.com.
Harrell, who founded ground breaking label Uptown Records, described the show as "the Real World meets Idol Maker."
"We empower them with the tools and the direction as if they were signed to our record company to be the best artist and have the best moment they could possibly have when they're on the stage to be voted on by America to be the One," said Harrell. "The level of artistry and musicianship that this show has...It’s only right that these people are in an academy with serious people working with them because this is not a talent show. This is about a great artist show," he continued.
In addition to Harrell, the panel of judges includes renowned songwriter, vocal director, musician and record producer Mark Hudson and Kara DioGuardi, a songwriter, artist and vocal producer.
The Bad Boy executive was drawn to the project through word of mouth as well as the variety of talent from the show’s participants.
"I think what turned me on is the diversity of the talent, that it wasn’t obvious," said Harrell, who helped Sean "Diddy" Combs, Mary J. Blige, Heavy D and Jodeci achieve stardom through his Uptown imprint. "It moved me and I felt something when I watched each of them. And they all have like this heart and they all were kind of like overlooked, but they all were super talented. Mary was the type who was overlooked. Heav was the type who was overlooked. K-CI was like the type who was not obvious. I like that in my artists."
Viewers can vote for their favorite contestant each week after the show. The drama, according to Harrell, comes the following night when the bottom three are revealed.
Harrell’s role on The One comes on the heels of his new partnership with Voxonic Technologies, a company which creates software that transforms a person’s voice into any foreign language.
"What’s exciting about that is that it enables us to take Hip-Hop and communicate it in every language that you can imagine," said Harrell. "And I think that like people who have been fans of Hip-Hop in Japan or China or Russia, who like the feeling but don’t quite know what they’re saying. For those brands that are established----like a Jay-Z or even a Nas Escobar, his first album----This is a chance to go back and translate those albums and give people that experience in their own language. In their own voice as if they could rap in French."
The One: Making of a Music Star airs from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesdays on ABC.
<< Home