Blink, Missy Get Real

With Ashlee Simpson offering the latest proof that reality TV can lift singers from nowhere to Number One, Missy Elliott, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and the surviving members of INXS are among a growing group of artists kicking off new series in 2005.

The reality gold rush marks a fundamental shift in labels' promotion tactics, according to Universal Music Group senior VP of marketing Kim Garner. "The [sales] driver before was the song, but now the driver is the personality, the celebrity," says Garner, who's attempting to break the U.K. pop-punk boy band Busted in the U.S. with an MTV2 series. "You feel invested in them," adds MTV exec and Ashlee Simpson Show producer Lois Curren. "When your [TV] friend releases an album, you're going to go get it."

The biggest of the upcoming shows, INXS' tentatively titled Rock Star, suggests that a long-dormant act can also benefit from such exposure. "Bottom line: They're going to sell CDs," says Mark Burnett, producer of Survivor and The Apprentice, who will chronicle the Eighties band's search for late frontman Michael Hutchence's replacement. The American Idol-style competition ("Open to all races, and both men and women," Burnett notes) will likely air three times a week on CBS starting this summer.

Another talent hunt, The Road to Stardom With Missy Elliott, debuting January 5th, will see Elliott take thirteen contestants through a mentoring process that includes appearances from Madonna and Busta Rhymes -- with the ultimate goal of making, as Elliott says in the pilot, "some Celine Dion money." But why would an artist as successful as Elliott, Barker or John Mayer (who recently had a special on VH1) want to dabble in reality?

"It gives them a longer shelf-life," says MTV executive VP of music and talent programming Tom Calderone. "In between records and tours, they're still there." In the end, reality TV's marketing power has its limits, as Nick Lachey -- set to star in a new MTV series detailing the recording of his second album -- knows from experience. Despite extensive airtime on Newlyweds, his solo debut, SoulO, flopped. "No matter how much exposure you get, if people don't like the music, they won't buy it," a label exec says of Lachey. "The new show could help -- but only if the music connects."

A roundup of pop-star-driven reality TV shows:

America or Busted
When: MTV2, airing now
What: U.K. teen faves Busted tour America and try to figure out why no one recognizes them.

The Road to Stardom With Missy Elliott
When: UPN, January
What: Thirteen aspiring singers get tips from Elliott, Madonna and Busta Rhymes as they battle for a record deal and $100,000.

The Nick Lachey Project (tentative title) When: MTV, March or April
What: Lachey tries to build a studio in his garage from scratch -- and, while he's at it, record a successful solo album.

Meet the Barkers
When: MTV, April
What: Blink-182's mohawked Travis Barker and his Playmate wife get hassled by SoCal suburban squares.

Rock Star (tentative title)
When: CBS, summer 2005
What: INXS conduct a worldwide talent search to find someone who can sing "Need You Tonight" as well as the late Michael Hutchence.

R U the Girl With T-Boz and Chilli
When: UPN, sometime in 2005
What: TLC's surviving members oversee what producers call "a rigorous series of challenges" in order to give a new singer a shot at replacing Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, who died in 2002.