| MusicStar
Everyone in Switzerland was talking about the talent show “MusicStar“ throughout its run from December 2003 until the end of February 2004. The show, aimed at promoting young artists, broke every record. Events sold out within minutes, the audience share topped 70 percent, telephone voting in the final recorded more calls than there are people in Switzerland and the show‘s CDs went straight in at number one in the Swiss charts.
It was no surprise, therefore, that MusicStar‘s finalists succeeded in qualifying for the Eurovision Song Contest. “Piero & The MusicStars” is a young and multicultural group for whom music is everything. “Celebrate!” – the winning song in the Swiss final -- was written by Greg Manning, a Swiss/US citizen who lives in Los Angeles who was the musical director of MusicStar. Celebrate! is a strong song with every sign of being a big summer hit.
Piero & The MusicStars
Piero Esteriore
Date of birth: 23 September 1977 / Star sign: Libra / Lives: Laufen BL / Favourite musician: Vic Vergeant / Personal style: Classic / Motto: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
Piero Esteriore has been on the stage as long as he can remember. He comes from a family of artists and music has been a constant presence in his life. In fact, his parents Rosetta and Antonino, have been in a band for many years. “I inherited my musical ability from them,” explains Piero, who is Sicilian by birth but lives in Switzerland. At the age of six, he taught himself to play the drums. Since then, he has also learned the piano and now composes pop, rock and house music. Lively and extroverted, Piero is a talent show veteran. Even as a child he entered competitions in Italy, including television’s ‘Zecchino d’Oro.’ “Once I went as far as Calabria to take part in a talent contest, but it was a disaster – the event never happened,” he relates. MusicStar gave Piero the opportunity to demonstrate his entertainer qualities to a wide audience. “I always try to give my all on stage. Really, I’ve already won because I get to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Istanbul,” explains the father of a five-month old daughter.
Piero is accompanied by five more MusicStars:
Sabrina Auer
Date of birth: 27 December 1986 / Star sign: Capricorn. Lives: Ebikon LU / Favourite musician: Christina Aguilera / Personal style: Jeans and sweaters / Motto: “Enjoy the moment. Every second counts.”
Sabrina’s dream: Stage school
Sabrina has dreamed of a career as a singer in musicals ever since she saw “Les Misérables” in New York: “When I saw the show, I knew that it was what I wanted to do.” And it has all clicked. Literally. “I found out how much music can get under your skin.” Sabrina has a clear goal: She wants to go to stage school in Hamburg and is working hard towards her goal with singing and dance lessons. “There’s nothing better than being on stage, singing songs and getting into different characters,” she says.
Tina Masafret
Date of birth: 12 March 1987 / Star sign: Pisces / Lives: Herrliberg ZH / Favourite musicians: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Christina Aguilera / Personal style: Sporty, fashionable / Motto: “What will be, will be.”
Youngest contestant
“I made my first tapes as a five-year-old,” Tina remembers. Later, the youngest of the MusicStar finalists took singing lessons and began to appear on stage. Tina is very sporty: after a decade as a gymnast, her leisure time is now devoted to football. She plays in the junior team and also coaches the youngest members of her club. Still a student herself, she says “it’s a lot of fun looking after the 7 to 9-year-olds.”
Sergio Luvualu
Date of birth: 9 April 1984 / Star sign: Aries / Lives: Pfäffikon SZ / Favourite musician: R. Kelly, Usher, Michael Jackson / Personal style: Hip-hop, classic / Motto: “Enjoy life!”
Musical talent from the cradle
The Luvualu family fled to Switzerland from Angola in 1984. Sergio learned to sing from his mother, who led the family choir, “Voz de Africa,” in performing Angolan songs and Negro spirituals. It was in the family gospel choir that Sergio -- the youngest in the family -- sang his first solo when he was ten years old. Since then he has not only become an enormously expressive singer but has also developed a passion for dance, mixing moonwalking, break dance and hip-hop styles.
Damian Odermatt
Date of birth: 18 May 1979 / Star sign: Taurus / Lives: Vitznau LU / Favourite musician: Jon Bon Jovi. Personal style: Relaxed and sporty / Motto: “Enjoy each day as if it were your last!”
From guitar to microphone
Damian first discovered his musical talent when he learned the guitar. “My music teacher encouraged me and got me involved in different projects,” Damian remembers. His artistic abilities are also partly genetic: His father, Josef, plays in a well-known folk band in Central Switzerland. Damian has his own group -- the eleven-strong funk band “Planet Groove.” |
