Alistair Griffin - Fame Academy

Fame Academy

Griffin reached the final audition stage of Fame Academy 1 on his first attempt in 2002, but was not chosen to appear on the show. He re-applied for a place on Fame Academy 2 the following year and was voted through by the public with the highest vote of the preliminary round. Despite harsh criticism every week from ‘Headmaster’ Richard Park who called him "bland" and his voice "nasal", his dogged determination, comic impersonations and cheerful disposition behind the scenes, as well as his camaraderie and duetting with fellow student James Fox, attracted the attention and the votes of many viewers of the live TV streaming programmes. The vocal coaches criticised both his voice and image, calling them "unoriginal", "unidentifiable" and "boybandish"; however, guest judge, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees said Griffin had a "unique talent" as a vocalist and songwriter, an "ideal recording voice" with "an engaging vocal tone". His technically-accomplished live performances and proven songwriting ability gradually gained him the support of the public. As the final approached, he was dubbed the "dark horse" of the show by BBC Three presenter, Claudia Winkleman, and eventually finished in second place.

The final showdown was screened live and generated so many angry messages from viewers claiming bias that the BBC were forced to close down their Points of View message boards. Daniel Bedingfield, who duetted with both finalists, later made a public apology to Griffin for his behaviour, particularly for his outburst that people should "just vote for Alex".(This incident received considerable press coverage and was the subject of one of the questions in the 2003 Observer Music Monthly Magazine Christmas Quiz) The actual voting figures have never been publicly released.

Griffin said about Fame Academy: It helped open some doors that would otherwise have been closed to me, but equally closed quite a few which may have something to do with why it has taken me so long to come back from it all. Fame Academy was a bizarre, surreal and wonderful experience. I think it’s fair to say it was a bit of a double-edged sword in terms of how it shaped my future musically. It was a good experience and taught me a great deal about the music industry while also giving me the exposure I needed and was desperately failing to obtain going it alone for all the years previously.