andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

ABC has abruptly cancelled its American Idol-esque talent competition, “The One: Making of a Music Star,” barely over a week after the series debuted. Its first episode scored the second-lowest rating ever for a premiere on a major American network.

“There were a lot of problems with the publicity of the show,” Kara DioGuardi, one of the show’s talent judges, told andPOP on Friday, just hours after ABC canned the show. “Before I got hired, I thought it was a dance show.”

DioGuardi also says that the debut episode — which often makes or breaks a new show — suffered from crippling sound problems.

“I was listening to things that were not what the American public was listening to, so my comments were off,” she said. “The first show was quite a disaster.”

The hit songwriter — who’s penned tracks like Enrique Iglesias’ “Escape” and Kelly Osbourne’s “Shut Up” — also wasn’t pleased with the way ABC handled the cancellation.

Because of the low ratings, the fact that the show was cancelled was no surprise, but DioGuardi says the show’s contestants, whom she formed close relationships with, were literally left in the dark.

“When ABC cancels a show, the lights start going off 20 minutes later,” she said. “Luckily we had a big party at my house last night. Because otherwise, that would’ve just been so cold.”

ABC posted a message on the show’s official web site, saying, “There are no plans for additional episodes. Thanks to all who participated in and supported The One!”

Though DioGuardi’s career didn’t rely on the show’s success (she’s currently promoting Platinum Weird, her new project with Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart), she knows The One’s contestants aren’t as lucky.

“My heart goes out to the kids,” she said. “My career will go on, my thing goes on. Not them.”

Another person involved with the show who will soon be returning to his regular day job is Canadian host George Stroumboulopoulos — and DioGuardi had nothing but praise for him.

“George did a really good job. You have to imagine, you’ve got two weeks of the show running. The first week is a live show with people who have never done a music based show,” she explained. “You’re going to run into a lot of problems, but the guy rose to the occasion. It’s sad, because you could tell that he was great.”

George Stroumboulopoulos, the former MuchMusic VJ and current host of CBC’s The Hour, is set to take the reins of a U.S. television singer search.

The ABC series, called The One: Making of a Music Star, will be a combination of American Idol’s talent search and The Real World’s daily life drama.

But don’t expect Stroumboulopoulos, 33, to be the next Ryan Seacrest or Brian Mulroney.

“I don’t really care about all the really extraneous stuff that comes with this,” Stroumboulopoulos told the Canadian Press on Monday from Los Angeles. “I wear what I want to wear. I’m kind of limiting in that there’s things that I will and won’t do.”

The One, which is set to be simulcast on CBC, starts July 18 and runs for 10 weeks. It will be broadcast on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, directly challenging American Idol.

Already a hit in 23 other countries, the series follows 11 singers who live together while vying for the top prize of fame and a record deal.

A Canadian version of the show should be announced this fall, though no host has been confirmed.

“The National” on CBC will be broadcasting an hour later on Tuesdays in Ontario and Quebec beginning in July, according to the National Post.

The move is to make way for “The One,” an “American Idol” type program searching for the next big singing sensation. It will be broadcast at 10 p.m. on ABC in the U.S.

CBC officials deemed it necessary to simulcast the show with the U.S., in hops of getting their own version of it, “The Canadian One” for the public broadcaster?s 2006/07 season.

Peter Mansbridge, host of “The National,” expressed his concerns with the move.

“Obviously, I would prefer it if we were never delayed. If you look around the other networks they don’t seem to delay their flagship newcasts with any frequency. We do and it’s not good for us,” he says, noting he realizes if “The One” is a ratings smash, it will only help the CBC in the long run.

“The National” will continue to air in its regular timeslots in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia and will air at 9 p.m. in Halifax and at 9:30 p.m. in Newfoundland-Labrador. “The One” begins on July 18.