These 20 Celebrities Got Their Start After Appearing On "Star Search"

By Missy aka Tizzy in Entertainment On 8th February 2018

Nowadays, there are tons of reality TV shows that have panels of celebrity judges looking for the hottest new starts. But, back in the day, we had Ed McMahon's Star Search. The show put contestants up against each other like a tournament with categories such as comedy, dance, and singing. That was how stars were found, but you will see in this list that even losers were able to eventually make it big.

Aaliyah

Aaliyah was ten-years-old when she impressed the audience at Star Search. She ended up landing a job as a backup singer for Gladys Knight the following years. She did not win Star Search when she appeared. She lost to another little girl who never became famous herself. It seems to be a theme with this list.

Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera appeared on the show long before she was one of the Mouseketeers. Even though she brought the house down with her performance on Star Search, she was not chosen as a winner.

Usher

Usher was already a force to be reckoned with when he appeared on Star Search. Even though he held a 12-second note during his performance, the judges still picked the other opponent as the winner. It really makes you wonder what these judges really knew about talent. Thankfully, his performance caught a music producer's attention. The rest is history.

Tatyana Ali

Tatyana Ali tried her hand at a singing career before acting alongside Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Her rendition of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was fantastic, but not good enough to capture the judges' attention.

Beyonce

No, this is not an early version of Destiny's Child performing in this clip. It is Girl's Tyme. They ended up losing to a group of rockers called Skeleton Crew. That moment had a profound impact on Beyonce's life. She told People, "At that time, you don’t realize you could work super hard and give everything you have – and lose."

Drew Carey

Drew Carey first got noticed after his appearance on this hit reality tv show. His opponent took to heckling the star before the cameras were even rolling. He relentlessly teased Carey telling him his suit was nice for him to lose in. Later, that same man told Carey, "I won by half a star, you won by half a billion dollars."

Kevin James

Kevin James ended up being a multi-episode winner on Star Search. We are just so thankful that The King of Queens star is still funny to this day.

Justin Timberlake

The future NSYNC star gave one heck of a hip-shakin' country performance on the show. However, his opponent Anna Nardona ended up with the upper hand. It was years before she found out that she competed against Timberlake when VH1 contacted her for an interview.

Adam Sandler

We could not find any old footage of this star's performance on Star Search, but he is just another comedian who performed on the show before getting his big break.

Tiffany

Tiffany has been performing since she was ten years old but as a country singer. She had a second place finish on Star Search which ended up setting her up for a very successful career as a pop singer.

Dave Chappelle

Dave Chappelle was one of the youngest comics to become a returning champion on the show. He cracked us up all the way up to when he made his big break when he landed a role in the movie Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

Britney Spears

Spears was just 11 years old when she showed off her vocal talents on Star Search. This was all before she became a Mouseketeer or a global pop sensation. Her opponent, Marty Thomas, said that he was baffled that he beat her on the show.

Sinbad

Before landing work in movies and getting his own TV show, Sinbad was a finalist on Star Search.

Alanis Morissette

At the age of 14, She was performing as Alanis Nadine on Star Search. It was later in life when she changed her performing name and moved from pop music to more grungier songs that turned this beauty into a household name.

Brad Garrett

We know him as one of the stars from Everybody Loves Raymond. Before the show, he was successful on Star Search. He earned $100,000 during his reign as champion on the show and worked as an opening act for musicians like Frank Sinatra.

Ray Romano

Yes, both stars of Everybody Loves Raymond appeared on Star Search. Romano, however, did not do nearly as good as Garret on the show.

LeAnn Rimes

The pint-sized country singer was one of the few future musical talents who actually won on Star Search, but didn't make it to the finals. Just six years after her performance on the show, she won a Grammy.

Martin Lawrence

Martin Lawrence, against all odds, actually made it to the finals on Star Search, but he did not win. We are guessing that he doesn't hold any grudges, though, since he has had his own sitcom and has landed many large movie roles over the years.

Norm McDonald

Norm McDonald's comedy style is not for everyone, but even after he lost Star Search, he ended up becoming a regular on Saturday Night Live. The guy he competed against and lost to was a comedian called "The Bushman" who is now an apartment cleaner and part-time nanny in Los Angeles. It really makes us wonder what these judges consider talent.

Rosie O'Donnell

Ed McMahon's daughter heard Rosie perform in a New Jersey nightclub and helped her land a spot on the show. She ended up being a multi-time winner. Comedian Steve Mittleman says the only reason he thinks he was able to beat her was that she had performed on the show so much that he thought she just ran out of material.

Categories

More