The WB's Superstar USA

This is a cruel show that deliberately found bad singers, encouraged them to sing louder/act sexier, and humiliated then with backhanded comments.

In the end, they didn't even have the guys to come clean about how they were the victims of a cruel joke, instead hiding behind the disingenuous excuse of "sure, we chose you because you're a bad singer - but also a confident, super sexy dreamer who can still make your dreams come true!"

The winner - who was also constantly mocked for her large busy size - got a $50k record deal, which is not even a cash prize but a promise of compensation for continuing to humiliate herself. Second and third place got $10k and $5k, and everyone below that got nothing as payment for being made laughingstocks in front of a global tv audience.

It's disgraceful and the network and producers hopefully paid a price professionally for this inexcusably cruel trainwreck.

This is sad. How did this happen? I thought this was gonna be quirky, but this is genuinely upsetting and sad.

I loved this show. Take it any day over American Idol. Unforgettable!! Too bad it was around for one season

As another season of "American Idol" closes, performance gameshows are at an all-time high. Reality shows in general have overshadowed sitcoms and have overtaken a generous percentage of the broadcast channel market.

Those fed up with this phenomenon will love "Superstar USA." It's everything you've heard (the "Anti-American Idol, etc.) plus much more, and it all makes for excellent television. Of course, it IS a reality show, so I guess that makes the entire idea hypocritical to the idea that reality shows should be downplayed. Regardless, it's tremendously addictive entertainment.

The central idea of "Superstar USA" - and I must deviate from the flow of the review here to explain the premise a bit - is that the show attempts to find the worst singer in the US. They do this by gradually putting the better singers on the cutting room floor, and they mask the ruse/trick of the show by staging the performances in a "solo" fashion. The contestants don't mingle and can't see the other performances, so as far as they know, they are up against the best vocalists our great country has to offer. At the end of the season, they reveal the joke. Yes, it's that evil.

The comments are oftentimes better than all other performance gameshows. When you hear stuff coming from the judges like, "I have to be honest with you. If I wasn't, I'd be dishonest," or "You slithered on that stage like a sexy snake," you can't help but admire this show's wit and charm.

Yes, this show is cruel. Yes, the winner and contestants will be heart-broken when the revelation is made prima facie. Yes, this all makes for spectacular entertainment value.

REVIEW: 9/10

This show was just so darn funny, but how can anyone expect it to have gotten good ratings on the WB? If the WB HAD taken the time to advertise the show more, it would still be on all the time. Nevertheless, for those who saw Season 1, it is very easy to remember many of the awful singers who auditioned for the judges on this show. Each one was a character in his own right, and the winner of this show was extremely deserving of being called "WB's worst singer ever... I mean, Superstar"! But, at least he and the other contestant's gave it a worthy try. They really wanted to win the talent competition that they thought they were in. Even better was the judges on this show. Whereas, you hate all three American Idol judges more each season, the three judges for this show did an extremely wonderful job just being able not to burst out laughing at the contestants. I must say, this show is one of my favorite shows of all time, and it DESERVE'S a time-slot on the upcoming CW schedule. If you could see just one episode of it, you would no doubt agree with me.