19 Celebrities Who Got Their Start on "Star Search"

American Idol and The Voice may be pipelines to stardom now, but during its 1983 to 1995 run, Star Search was the reality competition show to be on. Whether you were a wannabe singer, comedian, or dancer, securing a spot on the show meant that you were one step closer to stardom. And even if you didn't win in your category, the exposure you could get from competing was often enough to jumpstart your career. Just ask former contestants like Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Kevin James, and Drew Carey. Curious which other A-listers once appeared on the show? Keep reading to learn about some of the biggest stars who got their start on Star Search. And for familiar faces who got their big break later in life, here are 40 Stars Who Didn't Become Famous Until After 40.

As many boy band fanatics already know, Justin Timberlake didn't get his start in *NSYNC. Rather, a young JT—then going by Justin Randall—actually competed on Star Search in 1992, though he lost to Anna Nardona. His song of choice? Alan Jackson's "Love's Got a Hold on You."

Though JT didn't win Star Search, that loss might have been the best thing to ever happen to him. Justin Timberlake: A Biography notes that in an interview, he once said, "It's funny. If I had won on Star Search just one time, I would not have made the audition [for The All-New Mickey Mouse Club]. I think God has his master plan and he'll lay it out for you. But you have to walk that road."

And for actors who stepped away from the business, here are 15 Stars Who Quit Acting After Hitting It Big.

In 1993, a band called Girl's Tyme appeared on Star Search—and lost. Normally the losing group wouldn't make history, but this one was an exception, seeing as two of its members were Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

By 1996, Girl's Tyme had lost and gained some members to become Destiny's Child—and in 2000, then won their first Grammy for "Say My Name." The moral of the story? You don't need to actually win Star Search to succeed—you just need to appear on it.

Even before she was a Mouseketeer, 10-year-old Britney Spears was a contestant on Star Search back in 1992. The star-to-be lost to a singer named Marty Thomas, but that didn't keep her from becoming a pop sensation. To date, she has five No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, not to mention a successful perfume brand and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Who needs a win on Star Search, anyway?

For famous folks who got noticed while shilling projects, here are 25 Stars You Didn't Know Got Their Start in Commercials.

Not everyone recognizes or appreciates raw natural talent when it's right in front of them. Case in point: In 1990, when she appeared on Star Search, a nine-year-old Christina Aguilera lost to a 12-year-old named Christopher Eason.

"I was a good sport about it. My mom made me go back out and shake his hand and tell him I was happy he won. Tears were running down my face," Aguilera told Rolling Stone in 1999 about her Star Search experience. As the magazine aptly put it back then, the pop star "lost the battle but won the war."

Though Star Search often missed out on top talent, that's not to say that the show always got it wrong. In fact, when 13-year-old Usher Raymond IV appeared on the reality competition series in 1991, he won Best Teen Vocalist! His first self-titled album was released just a few years later—and though it didn't see massive success, his second album, My Way, made it all the way to No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart. The rest, as they say, is history.

For stars who you forgot tested their ballroom skills, check out 25 Celebrities You Won't Believe Did "Dancing With the Stars."

Before he got behind the wheel of the Cash Cab, comedian (and licensed cab driver) Ben Bailey appeared on Star Search. That, along with spots on several other shows, helped him eventually bag the host gig for the award-winning show where passengers answer trivia questions to earn money while getting to their destination.

You oughta know that Alanis Morissette competed on Star Search in 1990. Her song of choice was "One Bad Apple"—and though she had more material prepared, she didn't get to perform it, seeing as she lost in the first round to a young country singer named Chad. Morissette wasn't too upset about losing, though: According to Alanis Morissette: A Biography, "gaining exposure was the real goal."

And for more entertainment trivia delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

Country singer LeAnn Rimes got her start on Star Search at just eight years old. And unlike some of the other celebs who appeared on the show, she actually did pretty well: She remained the show's champion for two weeks in the early '90s, performing songs like "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" by Marty Robbins. Just a few years later in 1996, she earned her first No. 1 single with "Blue" and took the country world by storm.

Not only did Younger star Sutton Foster lose on Star Search in 1990—she lost to future Broadway colleague, Richard H. Blake. "Every time I see him, I give him squinty eyes," she joked about their (fake) ongoing feud during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

When 10-year-old Aaliyah Haughton competed on Star Search in 1990, she didn't walk away with a win. That didn't matter, though: Later that year, the future R&B star performed with none other than Gladys Knight, the former wife of her uncle and manager Barry Hankerson. Just a few years later in 1994, 15-year-old Aaliyah wowed the music world with her platinum debut album, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number.

In 1995, The King of Queens star Kevin James competed (and won) in the show's comedy category several times. These wins weren't what catapulted him to fame, however; his big break came in 1996 at the Just for Laughs Montreal comedy festival, where Ray Romano saw him perform and gave him a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond.

Don't remember ever seeing future Nickelodeon host Marc Summers take the Star Search stage? That's because you would have had to physically be at a taping to catch his act. Summers was the guy who would "warm up" the studio audience before the live show began. According to Indiana Public Media, he was also the warm-up comedian for tapings of Soap and Alice.

Another comedian who appeared on Star Search is Martin Lawrence. Unlike James, though, Lawrence's appearance on the show was enough to get him noticed by the people who matter. Though he didn't win on Star Search, his performance got the attention of Columbia Pictures executives and earned him the role of Maurice Warfield on What's Happening Now!

David Archuleta was familiar with the ins and outs of reality TV long before he competed on American Idol. He wasn't on the original Star Search, but in 2004, the "Crush" singer appeared on the short-lived Star Search reboot, winning the junior singer division with songs like "Fallin'" by Alicia Keys.

"The thing that's unique about David is his sense of musical styling and phrasing. The one thing that is hard to teach is the sense of the music, the feeling of the music and the rhythm," Archuleta's former vocal coach Dean Kaelin said in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "It's intuitive. Sort of like a sixth sense."

Comedian Drew Carey is familiar with competition shows—not just as a host, but as a contestant as well. As his biography on The Price is Right's website notes, the funny man got his first big break competing on Star Search in 1988. After that, he appeared on HBO's 14th Annual Young Comedians Special, on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and eventually on his own series, The Good Life. By 1995, Carey had a self-titled sitcom on ABC.

Though she's best known as an actress, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Tatyana Ali actually got her start as a singer. At seven years old, she appeared on a few episodes of Star Search, singing songs like "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?"

In 1993, a teenage Dave Chappelle appeared on Star Search three times, ultimately losing to fellow comedian Lester Barrie. His career hardly suffered from this loss, though: In 2017, Forbes reported that the stand-up genius raked in $47 million.

Rosie O'Donnell appeared on Star Search five times, taking home the top prize every time she competed. According to her website, she used the money she won from the show to move to Los Angeles, and from there scored her first role as Maggie O'Brien on Gimme a Break.

Before becoming a household name, comedian Sinbad competed on Star Search in the mid-'80s. He won his first round, besting another future success, Dennis Miller, but eventually lost to a comic named John Kassir. While you may not recognize that name, you'd probably know his voice: Kassir is a prolific voice actor who's played everyone from the Cryptkeeper to Buster Bunny.