Kiddy Contest Kids

Begun by the Austrian Broadcasting Corp. (ORF in German) in 1995, the Kiddy Contest took what was already becoming a pedestrian idea in Europe -- basic audience voting on musical performances by amateurs -- and updated it for a kiddie set. While the various Idol incarnations around Europe have enjoyed massive success, there was always a demographic missed -- kids who weren't yet tweens. Kiddy Contest filled the gap by working kids through a few rounds of auditions singing their favorite tracks, but with a twist. Rather than running their favorite contemporary pop songs straightforward, the kids come up with their own lyrics, and occasionally new arrangements. What were once Eurovision entries, American pop songs, Eurodance tracks are recycled into kid-friendly fare by a final crowd of ten kids, all aged 8 to 13. With each passing year, the new contingent performs their songs on a live broadcast, reaching an unthinkable 40- 50-percent of their demographic just for the TV broadcast. The songs are then packaged as a CD and sell remarkably well -- unlike American Kidz Bop CDs, the Kiddy Contest Kids regularly top the Austrian charts and make inroads on the German charts. 2008's incarnation (Volume 14) held the top slot in Austria upon its release. ~ Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide