Corus Entertainment’s YTV announced today that Season 3 of the network’s hit series The Next Star will hit the road on a nationwide six-city search for Canada’s next young singing sensation. Auditions begin Saturday, May 1 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and continue throughout the month of May. Complete audition information can be found at YTV.com.

With host Adamo Ruggiero (Degrassi: The Next Generation) at the helm once again, The Next Star hopefuls will be guided by the series’ panel of experts, including returning mentors, musician Suzie McNeil, songwriter Christopher Ward and music marketing exec Steve Cranwell.

“With over one million votes cast last year to choose Season 2′s winner Tianda Flegel, The Next Star has proven to be a favourite amongst both kids and their parents,” said Jocelyn Hamilton, Vice President, Programming and Production, Corus Kids. “As a family network, we couldn’t be happier to provide Canadian kids with another opportunity to have a shot at the spotlight.”

Tianda Flegel’s single, “Liar Liar”, a country-infused pop song, is now available on iTunes. Her music video will premiere during YTV’s half-hour special The Next Star: Where Is She Now? on Friday, April 9 at 8:30 p.m.

Modeled after the previous two seasons, The Next Star will be open to kids aged 15 and under and will focus on finding Canada’s next vocal talent. From the open call auditions, the top 16 will be featured, and six finalists will be chosen to go through The Next Star process. Whether the endeavour is a vocal challenge, mastering a media interview or nailing down a signature look, the question will be: who can juggle every facet of being a star? The finalist with the most viewer votes will be named the winner and take the title of The Next Star at the live finale in September, and receive the grand prize.

Auditions will be held for the first time in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Saskatoon, Saskachewan. Below is a complete list of cities and locations:

Saturday, May 1
The Capital Hotel, 208 Kenmount Road, St. John’s, Newfoundland

Tuesday, May 4
The Palais des congrès, 201 Avenue Viger Ouest, Montreal, Quebec

Saturday May 8 and Sunday, May 9
DoubleTree by Hilton, 655 Dixon Road, Toronto, Ontario

Saturday, May 15
Delta Bessborough, 601 Spadina Crescent East, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Tuesday, May 18
Mayfield Inn and Suites, 16615 – 109th Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta

Saturday, May 22
Vancouver Convention Centre, 1055 Canada Place, Vancouver, British
Columbia

YTV also announced today the launch of The Next Star website. Hopeful finalists and fans can visit the official website at YTV.com for more information on the audition process, rules and procedures.

Once the series has launched on Monday, July 19 at 7 p.m., the website will be centre stage for audience interaction, streaming video and the voting process. Viewers will be encouraged to visit the site to vote for their favourite finalist, find show info, surf finalist pages, download extra content and watch behind the scenes videos.

Award-winning singer, Suzie McNeil, performed her Olympic-inspired song “Believe” at the 2010 Olympics closing ceremonies. Hot on the heels of a Canadian tour with superstar, Colin James, she has been busy writing and recording tracks for her next album. JUNO Award-winning composer and MuchMusic’s first VJ, Christopher Ward, has written a number of chart-topping singles including Black Velvet for Alannah Myles and most recently penned songs for Cirque du Soleil’s Banana Shpeel. Membership on the boards of Canadian Music Therapy and the JUNO Awards led to Steve Cranwell’s newest chapter as Executive Director of MusiCounts, Canada’s music education charity.