'The Pop Game' Stars Are Rising Talents

A group of aspiring musicians competing in hopes of becoming the next big pop music sensation: 10 years ago, there were dozens of series with this exact premise. Now, there's one big one left — The Voice — and Lifetime is trying their hand at doing the same type of competition on a basic cable scale, with Season 1 of The Pop Game. Will The Pop Game return for Season 2? Thus far, Lifetime has yet to renew the singing competition for any additional episodes. Unfortunately, The Pop Game's ratings could prove a difficult hurdle for the cable competition series, which, according to Showbuzz Daily, had 0.13 million viewers in its second to last episode of the season. Perhaps the finale fared better, or, at least well enough that Lifetime can feel confident about bringing the show back for another season.

The series is a spinoff of The Rap Game, which has been brought back for multiple seasons. But one of the ways The Pop Game could distinguish itself as its own show is through its cast — if the series' resident mentor Timbaland is able to help the show's young stars reach success, perhaps it will help boost chances of renewal. Here are some of the rising stars fans met this season:

Grant Landis

Surprisingly, Grant was ranting on Twitter about how social media is ruining the music industry, which is surprising from a guy who used to publish music on YouTube — perhaps that's why he's taken a yearlong hiatus from his channel, choosing to publish his original single, "Why You Gotta Be You," on Soundcloud instead.

Madysyn Rose

She's still using her YouTube account to post her covers of some popular songs, where she has almost 90,000 subscribers and just over 75 videos, dating back to three years ago. One thing she doesn't post about often is her dad, Jack Vale, who's also a YouTube star, showing she might want to get out of his shadow in order to make her own career. And in a recent interview with blog Teen's Weekly Insider, Maddy says she's a songwriter, and "I am working on a bunch of new original music coming VERY soon." She also hints that you may see her acting soon.

Ian Grey

In late 2016, Ian Grey released Avalanche, his first EP, and made a music video for "Coal," his first single. And he has almost 80,000 Instagram followers already, so that means he has a fanbase that's already building. With all of that working for him already, he doesn't even need the record contract offered at the end of The Pop Game in order to become a star.

Cravetay

And if you thought Ian's IG following was strong (and it is!) then Cravetay will blow you away, because she has an incredible 213,000 followers, which makes sense considering that her unique costumes and beautiful voice have made her a popular fan favorite. You can already buy IMF, her debut album, on iTunes or Google Play.

Ashlund Jade

Ashlund has worked her way up to millions of YouTube views, by posting her versions of popular songs — her Meghan Trainor covers are particularly popular — and has released her first ever single and music video, for original song "Ultimatum."

Even for the cast members who don't win, The Pop Game proved a valuable way to et the experience needed to release their own original music, make an imprint on social media fans, and get more musical experience. It remains to be seen if Lifetime will give that opportunity to another group of talented young musicians and vocalists, but I'm sure would-be contestants are hoping that it will.