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It's safe to say that reality TV is no longer a fad. The broadcast networks have discovered that real life plays real well on the small screen. In the midst of the ever-evolving reality genre, music continues to be the big hit, with FOX's American Idol drawing in millions of viewers each week in its third season. The weekly on-screen talent search has spawned such million-selling "pop stars of the moment" as Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, and Clay Aiken.

Perhaps what keeps audiences returning to these programs each week is the opportunity to see real people from all different walks of life dealing with the pressures of being in a surreal moment. And when those contestants are Christians, the pressure is even greater because the spotlight brings a choice: Can I be who I am and share my faith without compromise? For music artists and reality-TV alumni RJ Helton, Kristy Starling, and Kerrie Roberts, the answer is a resounding 'Yes!'

RJ Helton
'They Knew What I Stood For'
American Idol contestant RJ Helton experienced a quick rise to celebrity status as one of the final competitors on the hit TV show's first season in 2002. After numerous rounds of auditions, RJ was originally cut before reaching the final 10, but the judges voted him back in during a special "Wild Card" episode.

"I didn't even know if I wanted to come back for the Wild Card show at first," says RJ. "I didn't know if I felt like being judged and insulted anymore. But Simon [Cowell] actually apologized to me on that show and said he had misjudged me earlier."

One of the show's three primary judges, Simon Cowell is notorious for his stinging remarks to contestants. The participants learn early on in the season to toughen their skin when it comes to the judges' critiques.

RJ ended up moving all the way into the top five before losing the audience vote, but the national exposure had already been enough to garner him a legion of loyal fans who still recognize him everywhere he goes.

"I ask myself all the time how I ended up with that opportunity," RJ admits. "I think God was just allowing me to have a platform because there are a lot of things I want to share. I've been through a lot of things growing up-things I think teenagers will be able to relate to. With me, it's more about that than it is about wanting to perform and sing."

RJ, who is of Mexican and Caucasian parentage, was raised in a Southern Baptist home and became a Christian at a young age. After high school, he moved to Nashville to pursue a career in Christian music, but success there was fleeting. So when the chance to audition for Idol came along, RJ was ready.

Along with the immediate fame from American Idol came the pressures of strenuous promotional schedules imposed by the FOX network and the weekly stress of competing live in front of a national audience. Through it all, the contestants lived together in one house, and close friendships were formed.

"When you have the Spirit of God in you, I think you're a happier person in general, and I think that's how I made it through," says RJ. "Sometimes I would wake up listening to praise music, and I think it made an impact on the others. One cast member didn't really even believe there was a God, but he ended up loving a Rachael Lampa CD I was playing, so I was encouraged that he wanted to hear the music."

As the group of contestants was preparing for its first major press conference, RJ recalls being pulled aside by the show's producers. "Before we went up on the stage to answer questions, they said, 'RJ, leave your faith out of this, okay?' But I said, 'Well, if they ask me about God, I'm going to talk about God. That's who I am and it's a part of this.'"

And sure enough, RJ had the opportunity in that press conference to talk about prayer and about how he sometimes left various Bible verses up on the refrigerator for the other contestants. A People magazine article later quoted a music industry spokesperson who said RJ's devout Christianity was probably going to limit him. "I thought it was the most amazing quote," RJ says, "because it told me that people knew what I stood for. I'm actually having it framed."

RJ, who is 22, signed a record deal with Gospo Centric's B-Rite Music label and released his R & B-flavored debut album, Real Life, in March. Today, in retrospect, RJ is thankful that he didn't go any further in the American Idol competition. "Had I finished in the top four, the contract would have given the American Idol people control over everything I do," he says. "Now I'm able to do the kind of music that God is calling me to do."

Kristy Starling
God's Plan Was Bigger
Twenty-two-year-old Kristy Starling made the transition from Christian college student to up-and-coming recording artist in a matter of weeks when she took part in the Today Show's American Idol-styled singing competition, "Today's Superstar," on NBC in 2002. Coaxed by family and friends to mail in a videotape, Kristy was not only selected to compete but became one of six finalists out of more than 4,000 entries. After several weeks of flying to New York City for performances and a harrowing on-air voting process in between writing term papers and studying for exams, Kristy lasted through five elimination rounds and took second place in the competition.

Although she didn't take home the top prize, Kristy's performances on the network program captured the attention of legendary producer David Foster (who has worked with stars like Celine Dion and Whitney Houston) and Warner Bros. Records. In earlier Today Show interviews, Kristy had expressed her desire to sing Christian music, and that was fine with Warner Bros.

"Christian music was always my intention," Kristy says. "So it just blows my mind that God knew where I needed to start out to have an influence in the secular world and yet still be accepted in the Christian music world. The Today Show people were so gracious and accepted me for who I am. I felt a real freedom to be myself and talk about my faith."

	"I felt a real freedom to be myself and talk about my faith." —Kristy Starling

With her intentions made clear, Warner Bros. still signed Kristy to a record deal, placing her in its Christian music division. Her self-titled debut album was released last year, launching her music career more quickly than she'd ever expected. Songs like "Water" and "I Need You" (a remake of the LeAnn Rimes ballad) have made hers a familiar voice on Christian radio, and a follow-up album is planned for later this year.

"Sometimes I think it is hard when you have kind of an overnight success," Kristy says. "You feel like a legitimate artist, but you know that some people don't think you deserve it because it seems like you didn't pay your dues. But I look back and think, 'God, you are so amazing,' because never in my own plans could I have imagined it this way. God's so sovereign and so much bigger than all our plans and dreams."

These days, when she's not on the road or in the studio, Kristy works with her husband, Adam, as a youth leader at Peoples (Assemblies of God) Church in her hometown of Oklahoma City.

What has this whirlwind experience taught Kristy about herself? "That trust in God has been strengthened in every aspect of my life. My confidence in myself as an artist and as a minister is so much greater because my confidence in God is greater."

Kerrie Roberts
A Shocking Decision
One of the earliest music-based reality shows was the WB's Popstars, which first aired in 2001. University of Miami student Kerrie Roberts was one of thousands of girls who went to open auditions, hoping to make the cut and be considered for a new female pop group that was being assembled as part of the show.

"I never thought it would amount to anything," Kerrie admits. "They were looking for someone with the whole package-someone who could dance, sing, and blend together with four other girls to form this group."

Kerrie was one of 26 girls chosen to go to Los Angeles to compete for the final five positions. When she made it to the final ten, the girls were handed contracts and asked to bring them back signed before they were told which five had made the group. It was that week that Kerrie began to have second thoughts.

	"I knew that no one was going to make me compromise my beliefs in any way." —Kerrie Roberts

"It really wasn't a moral or faith decision for me," Kerrie explains. "I knew that no one was going to make me compromise my beliefs in any way. If someone asked me to do something I didn't feel comfortable doing, I knew I wasn't going to do it. I think I was just scared because I was starting to feel that it might not be for me."

Much to everyone's surprise, Kerrie chose to walk away from the competition before the final five girls were selected, even though it was rumored that she had already made the final cut.

"I think it was just about waiting on the right time for God, not for me. It's about not settling for something that's close, but not quite it."

After Kerrie's unexpected departure, the producers of Popstars held all-new auditions to find more singers to add to the list of finalists, so great was the hole that Kerrie left. Kerrie returned to Florida, where she finished her college degree and went on to teach music at a private elementary school. Time has made her shocking decision look like the smart one. Eden's Crush, the group that resulted from Popstars, went on to have a short-lived career that required them, on more than one occasion, to perform sexy dance routines wearing outfits that would have been right at home at an MTV Super Bowl half-time show.

Kerrie's brush with celebrity changed her life forever. The 23-year-old recently left her teaching position to work full time on writing and recording songs for a developmental deal she has with producer Joe P (ZoeGirl, Plus One), but she still sings on the worship team at her church in Pompano Beach, Florida.

"It's definitely the beginning of the road I'm on now," she says of her Popstars experience. "God used it as a catalyst for everything I'm doing. I know without a doubt that this is what God wanted to happen, and that this is where He wants me to be."

Melissa Riddle is a writer and media consultant who lives in Franklin, Tennessee. You can find out more about Kerrie Roberts' music at www.kerrieroberts.com.

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