`LA ACADEMIA’ premiers live on EstrellaTV

EstrellaTV will premiere the 20th season of TV Azteca’s influential and leading Latin music competition series La Academia on Sunday, June 12. Co‑hosted by Mau Nieto in the U.S. and award-winning Latin music star Yahir, the season of the long-running series will be a co-production with EstrellaTV and TV Azteca and will air live on Saturday and Sunday nights from 9 p.m.-midnight ET/6 p.m.-9 p.m. PT. The series will be simulcast on EstrellaTV in the U.S. and Azteca Uno in Mexico, as well as on the EstrellaTV app and FAST channel.

This fan-favorite, celebrated series will continue to showcase talent from the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America and highlight how the series develops superstars. Sixteen participants from Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, the United States, and Mexico will compete to pursue their dreams and become the winner of La Academia in its 20th year. The series has paved the way for the successful careers of many musical artists who have either competed in the series or won the competition, including Yuridia, Carlos Rivera, and Cynthia Rodríguez.

“La Academia is one of the most successful and influential music competition reality series for Latin music,” said Ivan Stoilkovich, EVP, TV Content, Estrella Media. “This is the series’ landmark 20th season, and we are excited to bring it to EstrellaTV’s audience. Working with TV Azteca has been phenomenal, and the show will feature a star-maker team of critics, musical mentor, and director who will coach and drive the contestants.”

The participants, also known as Academicos, will make up the new generation of musical artists from the legendary series. In the series premiere, there will be 16 aspiring contestants who will perform for the group of critics. Two Academicos will be cut in the first episode, and the remaining 14 will enter the La Academia House, where they will live, work on songs, and perform, which will be viewable via livestream on EstrellaTV.com.

Critics for the 20th Anniversary season will be Ana Bárbara, Lolita Cortés, Arturo López Gavito, and Horacio Villalobos. The musical mentor will be Aleks Syntek, and the Academia director will be Alexander Acha. The digital reporters will be Vanessa Claudio and William Valdés, and Mau Nieto. There will be live voting throughout the week, and the audience will be able to save their favorite contestant after the final Sunday episode, giving the audience the power to determine which contestants move through to the finals.