After shining a biographical spotlight on some of the music industry’s most prized figures via its top-rated series ‘Superstar‘ (i.e. Whitney Houston, George Michael, Reba McEntire, and more), ABC added late R&B princess Aaliyah to the ranks during the show’s sophomore season.
Aired last Wednesday (just two months before the 22nd anniversary of the singer’s untimely passing), the one-hour TV special chronicled her life and enduring legacy with never-before-seen videos, photos, and more.
From exploring her relationship with embattled R&B legend R. Kelly to her meteoric rise to fame, the circumstances around the plane crash that caused her death in August 2001, and so much more, ‘Superstar: Aaliyah’ also featured exclusive interviews with those who knew her best including Barry Hankerson (her uncle, manager, and label head) and former fiance Damon Dash (music executive) as well as music hitmakers will.i.am, Justine Skye, and Sevyn Streeter.
Look inside to see how ‘Superstar’ fared in the night’s ratings battle.
Viewership: 1.34 Million
Despite pulling in the series’ lowest viewership to date, the numbers were still enough to land the June 14 episode of ‘Superstar’ in the upper rankings of Wednesday’s final ratings count.
For its viewership hour, ‘Superstar: Aaliyah’ ranked #1 on the list of most-watched airings among the day’s top-rated unscripted programming on broadcast and cable (excluding news and sports).
Among all non-news or sports unscripted programming, ‘Superstar’ ranked #5 following ‘Judge Steve Harvey’ (3.2m), ‘Masterchef‘ (2.3m), ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ (2.1m), ‘Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars’ (1.6m).
The show aired just a week after it was announced the late GRAMMY nominee bested Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Anita Baker, Janet Jackson, and other big names for the honor of being one of 20 selected for inclusion in the 2023 class of R&B Hall of Fame inductees.