Naomi Judd, MC Lyte and Matti Leshem are announced as judges on the all-new, live Star Search series that premiered, Saturday, Jan. 17 .

Reality Reel Media
01.18.04

The one-hour series features live, tournament-style competitions in three categories -- adult singer, junior singer and young dancer. Voting will be done by a panel of celebrity judges who will determine the winners and ultimately the $100,000 grand prize winner in each category

The following are the Star Search judges:

Naomi Judd returns this season as a judge on the series. She is probably best known for being one half of country music’s most famous mother/daughter team, The Judds. The Judds sold over 20 million albums and earned 20 top 10 hits, 15 of which went to number 1. They won five Grammy Awards and were undefeated for eight consecutive years at all three major country music awards shows. Judd is also an accomplished actress, motivational speaker and author. Additionally, Judd donates her time to a number of charities including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Make-A-Difference Day and SHARE, a Los Angeles-based children’s organization, among others. Judd founded the Naomi Judd Education and Research Fund for the American Liver Foundation and is the National Spokesperson for the American Liver Foundation.

MC Lyte is an established rap artist in the hip hop world of music. Lyte has recorded eight albums to date as well as co-wrote and performed the television theme songs for "Dark Angel" and BET’s "Holla". Grammy Award-nominated "Ruffneck" became the first gold single ever by a female rapper. She is the first rap artist ever to perform at Carnegie Hall and the first female rapper to receive a gold single, selling over 500 thousand copies. Lyte is also a familiar face on television with her recurring role on "For Your Love." Her other guest starring television credits include "The District," on the Network, "Half & Half," "Strong Medicine," "New York Undercover," "Get Real," "In the House," "Moesha," "Cousin Skeeter" and "Platinum." Lyte’s feature film credits include "Playa’s Ball," "Civil Brand," "Train Ride," "Burn Hollywood Burn" and "Fly By Night." With Lyte’s signature style and recognizable voice she has been the voiceover artist behind Wherehouse Music, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Nike, Inc.

Matti Leshem most recently served as executive producer of "Pepsi’s Play for a Billion." His other executive producer credits include "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," "2-Minute Drill," "Smash" and "Dreamchasers." Leshem rode the first wave of Internet programming as founder of Cobalt Moon, one of Los Angeles’ interactive entertainment companies. Leshem’s company was the first to receive a commission from the Microsoft Network for an interactive show. Leshem created "Second City Naked News," a daily update news parody with semi-clad anchors.

Matti Leshem from our point of view is trying to pull a Simon, giving negative remarks to all of the contestant expect a few and asking the winners circle, how they got there. Should be interesting.