VH1 IS BORN TO DIVA

VH1’s Born to Diva will search for the next single-named chanteuse in a series that kicks off Monday, April 28, at 9 p.m.

The eight-episode show tracks the global musical search, from open calls to the selection process that will culminate with a winner being chosen—and then performing onstage—during the VH1 Divas Duets special, airing live from Las Vegas at 10 p.m.

The original idea was brought to VH1 by executive producer Thomas Mottola, with the show a production of VH1 and Bunim-Murray. The network went to New York, Miami, Philadelphia, Atlanta and London, where thousands lined up for a chance to impress Sony Music A&R execs Ron Grant and Ken Komisar. The divas had to be 18 years old, not signed to a recording contract, prepared to sing a cappella and promise not to marry Bobby Brown.

Each city’s hopefuls were whittled down to five finalists, with producer/songwriter Cory Rooney joining the panel to select a winner. Guest celebrity judges included Patti LaBelle in Philadelphia, Kelly Rowland in NYC, Lisa Stansfield in London, Gloria Estefan in Miami and TLC’s T-Boz and Chilli in Atlanta.

The five finalists came together for a week-long "Diva Boot Camp" in NYC, where they met image consultants, beauty stylists and worked along with Rooney, Grant and Komisar to hone their musical approaches with original tunes in a special recording session. The five all performed live for Mottola, with he, Corey, Ron and Ken picking the three winners. These three will go to Vegas, where one of them will be given the opportunity to perform at the VH1 Divas Duets.

Online voting begins May 11 and will conclude during the opening moments of VH1 Divas Duets special on May 22. The winner will be revealed during the show and will then perform a song live onstage.