In the 11th March - 24th March issue of Smash Hits they advertised a new Computer Game entitled 'Wanna Be A Pop Star'.  In other territories it was called 'Create a Pop Sensation'.  The new game retailed at a £29.99

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Released in 1998 for the Window 95 Operating System the aim of the game was to create your own songs by mixing together samples, hold auditions and perform the song on stage in the hope to get a top 20 single.

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Within the game the band consists of a singer, drummer, keyboard player, and two guitarists one lead and one on base. Selection is easy as they it's just a case of clicking on an instrument, or microphone in the case of the singer, and then selecting a character from the set of icons provided. The singer is the only band member who appearance and singing style can be customised. The major part of the game is the rehearsal which is where the song is constructed.

Each song consists of eight sections, the intro, 1st verse, chorus, 2nd verse, chorus, bridge, and two more choruses. There are five predefined songs and the player places sections of each song into a grid marking the pieces that each player will play effectively making a new song by mixing sections of the five songs provided. So, for example, the keyboard player may play the intro for song one while the drummer and singer perform the intro for song three.

After constructing the song the band must record it so it's off to the studio. Here there are mixer controls that can raise or lower the volume of individual band members as well as adjusting the left/right balance. Additional sounds such as backing vocals or brass highlights can be added here too. Once the player has a final sound they record it and play it in concert. There's no player interaction at the concert phase. The full song is played through in a concert setting complete with an animated audience and after that the score/chart position is shown and that's it. The player may choose to return to the rehearsal or recording studio to re-engineer the song , or even fire band members or change the lead singer's style and appearance to see if they can push it higher up the charts.

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