Boys (to men) ages 14 and older who live in the United States and Puerto Rico are invited to audition online for La Banda, a television competition aiming to find “the ultimate Latino boy band.” The search for potential Latin stars to compete on the upcoming Univision reality show has begun at LaBandaOficial.com.
“I’m very excited about this show,” says Simon Cowell, a producer on the show. “There is a huge amount of talent out there and La Banda is going to give five guys the opportunity of a lifetime.”
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La Banda, developed by Cowell’s Syco Entertainment with Univision Communications and Saban Brands, and co-produced with FremantleMedia Latin America, “aims to create the world’s ultimate Latino boy band through the largest Latino talent search in U.S. TV history,” according to an announcement from Univision.
The show is set to premiere in fall 2015 on the Spanish-language netowrk. La Banda will be hosted by popular Univision personality Alejandra Espinoza.
Winners of the competition — who will inevitably be compared to the Puerto Rican pop group Menudo, which started in the ’70s with a rotating cast of young singers and disbanded in 2009 — will receive a recording contract with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music, home of One Direction.
“Do you have the talent, the passion?” asks a video on the La Banda site.
To be considered, potential participants should go to LaBandaoficial.com and upload pictures, videos or music files. After creating their online audition profiles, selected contestants will receive a “golden ticket,” which will allow them to participate in a private audition with the production team. The online casting will be followed by casting events across the United States and Puerto Rico in the spring of 2015.
“We are proud to start the search for the next great Latino boy band,” said Alberto Ciurana, president of programming and content for Univision Communications Inc. “There is vast talent in our community, and with La Banda, we will find and launch the next generation of musical superstars.”