These days, Eric Benet is embracing being a “Real Husband of Hollywood,” among other things. Benet was married to Halle Berry from 2001 – 2004 and is now married to Prince’s second ex-wife Manuela Testolini, with whom he has a baby girl. Personal life and reality TV stardom aside, the singer/songwriter has some exciting new ventures on the way. His “Sub Stars” project is a national talent competition that will select talent from among the country’s street performers.
That subway singer that’s amazing? That street violinist who needs a big break? Benet’s reality competition will seek to find the best of the amateur talent that’s out there. Benet is launching the project via Kickstarter, which makes his venture truly something generated from the streets and supported by the people. It comes along with a Sub Stars app that will allow people to take video of their favorite street performers. It may seem a little farfetched to think this is a way to generate viable new talent – unless you consider that both R. Kelly and the Roots got their start performing in the streets.
“There’s a gazillion R. Kelly’s out there right now and they just don’t have the vehicle and the platform for people to see them,” Benet told the Tom Joyner Morning Show. “This is an opportunity for the fans to actually be a part of finding that next R. Kelly.”
Benet will be a judge and host on the new show, and the Kickstarter campaign was launched to offset costs of production for the first season. “Sub Stars” will do more than just showcase talent – it will showcase the cities the talent springs from and each city will also include a local musician among the judges. The Kickstarter campaign will be running until December 30th.
While Benet and his producing partner are in negotiations for a network, they don’t have a commitment yet. Interested fans can go to the Substars website for more information on donations and the show.
Eric Benet Wants To Find Stars From The Underground - Page 2
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