Lifetime has announced a new show to premiere this Winter, The Pop Game, premiering on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The series will follow music industry icon Timbaland as he works with five aspiring young vocal artists, all vying to be the next big thing on the charts. Timbaland’s team of writers, producers and celebrity guest artists including JoJo, Macy Gray, Nelly Furtado and Jordin Sparks, will assist the kids and their manager parents in challenges designed to teach and test the skills they will need to grace some of the world’s biggest stages.
Timbaland, a multi-platinum Grammy-winning producer and artist, has stamped his imprint on the music scene since the mid-‘90s, having helped create hits for artists such as Aaliyah, Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliott, Destiny’s Child, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Drake, Katy Perry and Jay Z, among others. From developing a distinct vocal style and image, to collaborating with other artists, maximizing vocal talent and handling their paces with choreography, Timbaland will teach these young artists how to take command of the audience, but only one will walk away with a record contract with his label, Mosley Music Group.
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The Pop Game artists include:
Ashlund, 13, Riverton, UT – Singer/dancer/model Ashlund Jade is the youngest in the competition and has near 22 million YouTube views. In addition to singing, Ashlund has danced competitively from an early age and puts that talent on display in her own music videos for DreamWorksTV. Her mother Mindy, along with owning the dance studio where Ashlund choreographs her music videos, is also her manager.
Cravetay, 16, Atlanta, GA – The singer/songwriter from Atlanta started posting music videos on YouTube in 2014. Since then she has gained a legion of fans, and released her debut album, IMF, in 2015. In life and in music, Cravetay teams up with her momager, Deneen.
Grant, 17, Joplin, MO – At 17 years old he’s headlined two sold out tours (Bedtime Stories and Grant Landis Live), has co-written with country superstars Sugarland, and his YouTube videos have attracted millions of views. Grant and his career are managed by his dad, Michael.
Ian, 15, San Antonio, TX – Singer/songwriter Ian Grey has been playing music since he could first hold a guitar, and has since added the piano, bass, ukulele and drums to his musical repertoire. At 12 years old he performed at the SXSW Music Festival. Ian relocated to Los Angeles in 2014 to pursue a full-time career in music.
Madysyn, 15, Huntington Beach, CA – When Madysyn Rose was 13 years old her father posted a 36-second video on Facebook of her practicing the song “La La La.” That video received 10 million views in two days. She has millions of followers across her social media channels, and recently released her first album, Butterfly, on iTunes. For The Pop Game, she will be teaming up with momager, Sherry.
Produced by Intuitive Entertainment, The Pop Game is executive produced by Kevin Dill and Mechelle Collins, and EP/Showrunner Danny Salles. Grammy- and Emmy-award winner, Queen Latifah, and her partner, Shakim Compere, will executive produce under the Flavor Unit umbrella along with Grammy-winner and producer, Jermaine Dupri, and Timbaland on the series. Lifetime’s Mariana Flynn and Mary Donahue will also executive produce.
For more information, visit mylifetime.com.
