Fans doubt stars' voices

ITV's Popstars will sing on their records

More than a third of young pop fans believe chart stars do not sing on their own records, according to a survey.

Almost 1,000 fans were questioned for the pop survey for the BBC's Top of the Pops magazine.

George Michael has criticised manufactured pop bands

As many as 34% believed that some of the most famous faces in pop do not sing on their chart hits.

But almost half said that being a pop star was the best job to have, research which is borne out by the success of the recent ITV programme Popstars, in which thousands of young hopefuls auditioned for a spot in a real band.

The five eventual winners of the programme have made a virtue of the fact that they can all sing and will be performing on any singles or albums released.

The survey showed that 42% felt that the job of a pop star was the best job to have, ahead of actor (37%) and professional footballer.

Criticism

Researchers also questioned 47 pop stars with an average age of 21 who had Top 40 hits last year.

They found that the stars were on average 17 and a half years old when they signed their first record deals.

TOTP magazine commissioned the research after criticism from performers such as George Michael and U2 star Bono over manufactured acts in the charts.

Editor Corinna Shaffer said: "Whether pop's elder statesmen like it or not, pop music is here to stay, probably for a lot longer than they are.

"It's just a shame they can't see there's room there for everyone."