In ruse, bad singers compete for prize

The judges praised the clueless competitors, and the audience cheered.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
"American Idol" ended Wednesday night, but the search for singers continues on The WB's "Superstar USA." This time, the search isn't for good singers -- it's for the absolute worst.
"Superstar USA," airing again at 9 tonight, has become one of the most talked-about new reality shows of the season.
It's a blatant ripoff of "American Idol" in that three judges -- a woman, a black man and a white, snarky producer -- critique singers hoping for a record deal.
The twist is that they praise those who can't sing well -- and some are so bad, they're unintelligible -- while telling those who can sing that they're not good enough to be stars.
Viewers are in on the hoax, but the contestants didn't find out until the taping had ended. "Robert, Robert, superstardom begins with you," judge Vitamin C told one contestant, who struggled to hold a tune.
He was not alone.
Some of the contestants made up words to songs. Others looked nerdy, or worse.
One contestant -- Jamie Foss, a busty blond from Minneapolis -- even wrote lyrics on her hand, and is seen reading them while auditioning.
"I had five minutes to learn the song," Foss told the New York Daily News. "They told me what I was going to be singing. I said, 'Can I write it on my hands?' and they said, 'Oh, we'll cut out whenever you're looking at your hand."'
The producers didn't, of course, which helped make Foss look ditsy.
How this was done
She was one of a dozen bad singers culled from auditions around the country and sent to Los Angeles for the show.
To preserve the joke, the contestants couldn't watch their competitors sing. And in later episodes, when the finalists appear before an audience, the crowd was duped into cheering for bad singers.
"When I found out the joke, I was like, whatever," Foss said. "This was an amazing experience. At first, I was a little frustrated and angry."
The 20-year-old Foss sang at weddings and funerals before auditioning for "Superstar USA."
Before doing the show, she wanted to be an actress -- something she continues to pursue.
"I never dreamed singing would do this," she said of the exposure. "I know I'm not a phenomenal singer. But I still think I'm good."
Because of confidentiality agreements, Foss couldn't tell her friends or family that she was duped when she got to California.
Instead, her mother heard about the ruse when a local radio station talked about a new Fox reality show.
"Everybody in my family knows I'm a pretty decent singer," she said. "They took it a lot worse than I did."
Another reaction
Joseph Halling, 21, known on the show as the flamboyant JoJo, called his experience "surreal." Producers found Halling, a shoe salesman, at a karaoke bar in Minneapolis and persuaded him to audition.
"I love to sing. It's something that's a passion of mine," Halling said. "I think I'm an OK singer. I watch 'American Idol.' I see these divas performing. I know I'm not to that caliber, yet at the same time, I love to entertain."
Halling said he laughed hysterically when told he was the butt of a joke.
"They were great at keeping it a secret," he said.
Foss, who advanced to the next round in Tuesday's episode, said she's moving to Los Angeles to capitalize on the experience.
"I definitely have to strike while the iron is hot," she said. "It's a perfect time to ride out on this."