In last year’s premier competition, a 25-year-old Romany woman, Martina Balgova, was favoured by many and expected to win, but when she was voted out in one of the final rounds, some critics cried foul.
Newspapers accused viewers of racism in their decision to oust Balgova. “Did anyone in this country actually believe that the Superstar contest would be won by a girl who - without a shadow of a doubt - most deserved to win but who is Romany?” asked the post-communist Czech daily Pravo. “This case illustrates one of our weaknesses and there is no point in trying to cover it up.” Another daily, Mlada Fronta Dnes agreed that racism played an unfortunate role in the vote. “Martina Balogova has now shattered the stereotype. And it would seem that a great number of racists dislike that.”

The website for the show’s producer, TV Nova, allowed viewers to talk with the contestants, but for Roma like Balogova, the questions often had a racial element. One viewer remarked, “You will not win because you are a Gypsy. What do you say to that?” Another Romany contestant, Marta Balazova, was attacked in her local newspaper, Nove Bruntalsko, which labeled her “the shame of the town of Bruntal” and said “people were surprised she reached the final 40 because she was a Gypsy.”

This year, the second competition the issue was raised again, but the commentary was far more positive and with good reason. Of the final twelve competitors, a third came from minority groups in a country where 95% of the population are ethnic Czech. On June 12, the final round was attended by the new Czech Prime Minister, Jiri Paroubek. The winner? A Roma, Vlastimil Horváth, was chosen by 73% of the television audience who voted and the show’s jury unanimously agreed that he deserved to win. And Martina Balogova’s recent album, “I Am Not from Here” features the song "Someone Like You" which held the top spot in the Czech charts for weeks. She also recorded a duet called "Svet je proste nekonecna plaz" - "The World is Just a Never-ending Beach" with Karel Gott, probably the most famous Czech pop singer ever.

Horváth’s victory has been hailed as a tremendous success by many Roma, who feel that he managed to succeed whereas Balogova was robbed of the win last year. Ivan Vesely, chairman of Dzeno association, is not as enthusiastic. “The fact that 73% of the audience voted for Horvath says little about Czech racism or tolerance toward difference, it simply shows that this Roma singer appeared on a TV screen with qualities that are acceptable to Czechs.” Others point out that a Romany man who can sing beautifully fails to challenge stereotypes, but actually reinforces the idea that Roma can do little else with any success. Even if three-quarters of Czechs voted for Horvath, a poll conducted this year by the Centre for Empirical Research (STEM) showed that only 13% of Czechs consider Roma to be good neighbours to have living next door.