The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott

The queen of hip-hop has launched her own series, The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott, and it’s the toughest TV talent search ever. The show attracted literally hundreds of thousands of wannabe singers and rappers, but only 13 will be selected to join Missy on her coast-to-coast concert tour. As they cross America, the lucky finalists will learn about the business and compete under 24-hour surveillance to become the next big music sensation.

As well as vocal talent, Missy and the other judges will be looking for that indefinable star quality, and the contestants will benefit from guidance from some of the biggest names in the business. Madonna, TLC, Pink, Gwen Stefani and Busta Rhymes are a few of the megastars who’ll be dropping by — and that’s not to mention multi-Platinum-selling, lollipop-sucking Missy herself, who knows a thing or two about being a mentor having launched the likes of Tweet.

Each week pressure mounts as two of the contestants have to perform for Missy and tell her why they should remain on the show. Missy has the final say over who will stay to continue developing their talent — and who will have to find their own ride home. The contestants have to endure cramped conditions in their dingy tour bus - but no-one said the road to stardom was going to be easy, and Missy reckons it’s only by pushing themselves that her protégés will unlock their star potential. The winner at the end of the series gets a cool $100,000 and a record deal on Missy’s label, virtually guaranteeing them a stellar career