Telemundo to Air YO SOY EL ARTISTA: EL ESPECIAL, 9/7

Telemundo announced "Yo Soy el Artista: El Especial," a one-hour special hosted by TV personality Raul Gonzalez airing on Sunday, September 7 at 8pm/7c. The special program offers a sneak peek at Telemundo's new mega-reality show "Yo Soy el Artista" (I Am the Artist), featuring exclusive images of the castings held throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as interviews with the host, Lucero, and the judges: Luis Fonsi, Olga Tañon, Mario Quintero Lara, Stephanie Himonidis 'La Chiquibaby' and Boris Izaguirre.

"Yo Soy el Artista: El Especial" will air a week prior to the much anticipated kick-off of "Yo Soy El Artista," which premieres Sunday, September 14 at 8pm/7c. Hosted by international superstar Lucero, the competition will broadcast simultaneously in the United States on Telemundo and throughout Latin AMERICA on cable channels E! and Telemundo Internacional.

From the more than 4,000 people that participated in auditions in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Orlando and Puerto Rico, only 120 contestants were preselected to travel to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida to take part in the competition, which includes three phases: Auditions, Selection and Galas.

During the Auditions phase, 120 participants will face a panel of 100 social media influencers from Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Vine and Instagram, who have the power to decide which ones face the judges and the host Lucero. In the next Selection phase, the chosen contestants will compete to enter the "Escuela de Artistas" (Artist's School). At the School, only 14 candidates will go through a rigorous training in dancing, singing, acting and stage presence, among others, as they go to the final phase of the competition, the Galas. At the Galas, each Sunday the contestants will perform in front of the judges, a live audience and the TV viewers, who will ultimately decide who will be chosen as the "Yo Soy el Artista" winner.