Next Rising Star Contest 2026: What Parents Should Know First

If your kid sings in the car, choreographs routines in the living room, or treats every family gathering as a stage, you've probably already seen the ads. The Next Rising Star contest promises a KIDZ BOP music video, $20,000, and the cover of Popstar! magazine. The ambassador is Ciara, and Glee's Heather Morris is the special guest. For a performing kid, that's a big pitch.

I've been where you are, about to hit "submit" on a Colossal contest entry. My son Julian and I competed in Baby of the Year and made it all the way to the semifinals. That run got us a feature on Boston 25 News and taught me more about how these contests actually work than any FAQ page could. Next Rising Star is a different contest with a different age group. It runs on the same Colossal engine, though, and the same lessons apply.

This guide covers what I'd want to know before entering: who can enter, what the prize really includes, why this year's schedule is unusual, and how to plan your votes so your family isn't scrambling during the holidays. I read the official contest rules line by line so you don't have to.

What Is the Next Rising Star Contest?

Next Rising Star is an online talent competition for kids, decided by public voting. Colossal Management, LLC runs it. Colossal is a Delaware for-profit company that works as a registered professional fundraiser. It runs the contest on behalf of DTCare, a 501(c)(3) public charity. DTCare then grants the donated money to the Why Not You Foundation, the nonprofit Ciara and Russell Wilson started in 2014 to support education and youth programs.

The contest is open to every talent type: singers, dancers, actors, musicians, and other performers. You submit a photo and a short application. If your child is accepted, they get a public profile, and friends and family vote for them through a series of elimination rounds.

If your first question is whether this is legitimate, I covered that in detail in Is Next Rising Star a scam? The short version: it's a real, disclosed fundraising contest, not fraud. You should still go in knowing exactly how the money and the prizes work, and that's what this guide is for.

Who Can Enter: The Eligibility Fine Print

Age: 5 to 17, With a Catch for Older Teens

Your child must be between 5 and 17. The detail most parents will miss is when that has to be true. The rules say your child can't turn 18 before the prize is fully fulfilled, not just before the contest ends. Some prize elements, like the video shoot and the awards show, can be scheduled up to six months after the Finals end on December 31. So if your child turns 18 in the first half of 2027, contact Colossal support before you enter and ask how they would handle it.

[H3] Residency and Who Submits

Both the child and the parent or legal guardian must be U.S. or Canadian citizens or permanent residents, and Quebec is excluded. The parent must complete the entry form personally. Someone else can help upload photos, but the form is yours to fill out. Each child gets one entry, and duplicates are removed.

Past Winners Are Locked Out

If your child won the grand prize in any Colossal contest in the last 24 months, they can't enter. That rule is part of why the field changes from contest to contest.

The Entry Deadline Is After Voting Starts

Public voting begins October 26, 2026, but the entry deadline isn't until November 4. That sounds like extra time. As I read the rules, it's actually a trap. The first round, Top 20, ends November 5. A family that enters on the last possible day could have about one day of voting before the first cut.

My advice: enter now, get approved, and have your profile live before October 26. When Julian was competing, the first few days were when people were most curious and most likely to vote. You don't want to miss them.

What the Grand Prize Actually Includes

The rules value the Public Choice Grand Prize at about $40,000 (ARV), in four parts:

• $20,000 honorarium. This is the cash.
• Photo shoot, valued at $5,000. It covers the Popstar! magazine cover, a two-page or longer interior spread in Popstar!, and a one-page or longer spread in Rolling Stone.
• KIDZ BOP video shoot, valued at $5,000. Filmed near New York and published on kidzbop.com and KIDZ BOP's social channels.
• 2027 Popstar! Awards, valued at $10,000. Held in or near Los Angeles, with four tickets, a red-carpet experience, and an on-stage honor.

Each trip includes round-trip coach airfare for the winner and one parent or guardian, a hotel, meals, and ground transportation, all chosen by Colossal. Where possible, Colossal may combine trips.

Three Things the Homepage Doesn't Spell Out

The magazine pages are "advertorials." That is the word the rules use for both the Popstar! spread and the Rolling Stone page. In publishing, an advertorial is sponsored content made to look like editorial, not an independent feature the magazine chose to write. Your child would still really appear in print. Just set expectations accurately, especially if you plan to cite it on a performing résumé.

Taxes are your responsibility. The rules put tax reporting and payment on the winner's parent or guardian. That may apply to the value of the whole package, not only the $20,000 in cash. If you make the Finals, talk to a tax professional before you celebrate the full number.

Paperwork has a 14-day clock. A potential winner's parent must sign an affidavit of eligibility, a publicity release, and other documents within 14 days of notification. If you miss that window, the prize can go to the next-highest vote-getter. Colossal also reserves the right to run a background check on the entering parent. Watch your email and texts closely in late December and January.

The Critic's Pick: A Second Path to Popstar!

Kids who reach the Quarterfinals (December 7–17) can submit a 60-second talent video. Popstar!'s editorial team, not public votes, picks one Critic's Pick winner. The prize is valued at $5,000 and includes a one-page or longer interior advertorial in Popstar! magazine.

This is the one part of the contest where talent decides the outcome instead of votes. If your child gets that far, plan the video ahead of time. Record it in good light and good sound, and showcase the single strongest thing your child does in the first ten seconds.

One honest flag: the travel language in the Critic's Pick section of the rules refers to the Grand Prize winner. That looks like a copy-paste error. If travel to the Critic's Pick shoot matters to you, ask Colossal support to confirm it in writing.

The 2026 Schedule, and Why the Holidays Change Everything

My round-by-round voting guide walks through every round in detail. What I want to point out here is where those rounds land on the calendar:

• Top 20: Oct 26 – Nov 5
• Top 15: Nov 5 – 12
• Top 10: Nov 12 – 19
• Top 5: Nov 19 – Nov 26 (Thanksgiving)
• Group Finals: Nov 26 – Dec 3
• Wildcard (2nd place only, votes reset): Dec 4 – 6
• Quarterfinals (votes reset): Dec 7 – 17
• Semifinals (votes reset): Dec 18 – Dec 24 (Christmas Eve)
• Finals (votes reset): Dec 25 (Christmas Day) – Dec 31

Look at that list again. The Top 5 cutoff falls on Thanksgiving. The Semifinals close on Christmas Eve. The Finals run from Christmas morning through New Year's Eve.

When Julian was in the semifinals, the hardest part was keeping people engaged day after day once the first excitement wore off. I can't imagine doing that while everyone you know is traveling, cooking, and offline. Your competition faces the same problem. The families who plan for it are the ones who will advance.

How to Plan Around It

• Line up your holiday voters in November. Identify the five to ten people who will vote every day no matter what, and ask them directly before Thanksgiving whether they can commit through the end of December.
• Schedule your posts ahead. Write and schedule your vote reminders for Thanksgiving week and Christmas week in advance, so they go out even when you're at someone's dinner table.
• Use the gatherings themselves. A family holiday party is a room full of people who already love your kid. Thirty seconds to show them how to cast their free vote is worth more than a week of social posts.
• Remember the reset. Votes reset at the Wildcard and every round after it. A big lead from November does not carry into December.

How Votes and Donations Work

Every voter gets one free vote every 24 hours after verifying through Facebook, SMS, or another approved method. Voters 18 and older can also donate to cast more votes. Colossal may also offer bonuses like 2-for-1 votes at its discretion. Those promotions often show up at key moments, so watch for them.

The Rule That Disqualifies Parents

This is the one rule that ends campaigns. The parent who entered the child cannot donate or pay for votes for their own child, using any payment method, personal or business. The rules say doing so can get your child disqualified. Your free daily vote is fine. Your credit card is not. Make sure your partner, your parents, and everyone helping you understand that the entering parent's money stays out of it.

Bots and automated voting are also banned. Votes from them are thrown out, and the people and accounts involved get banned. If anyone offers to "boost" your votes for a fee, walk away.

Where the Donation Money Goes

Donations go to DTCare first. Before the money reaches the Why Not You Foundation, three things come out: Colossal's 36.5% competition fee, variable costs (payment processing, operations, and prizes), and a 1% share kept by DTCare. Unlike some Colossal contests, the variable costs here have no stated cap.

In practice, at most $63.50 of every $100 donated survives the competition fee, and variable costs come out of that before the foundation gets its share. Donations are tax-deductible and non-refundable, including if your child is eliminated or withdraws. Full details are on the competition's disclosures page.

I'm not telling you this to scare anyone off. I'm telling you because your donors deserve an honest answer when they ask where their money goes. In my experience, being upfront about it builds more trust than hoping nobody asks.

What Separates Kids Who Advance From Kids Who Stall

Talent gets you accepted. Votes decide everything after that. These are the patterns I saw firsthand:

• Your group is your whole world. Contestants are split into groups, and your ranking only reflects your position within your group. Don't compare yourself to the national leaderboard. Focus on beating the handful of profiles directly around you.
• Daily habits beat one-time bursts. One free vote a day from 30 loyal people adds up to hundreds of votes per round. A viral post that brings in 200 votes once does not.
• The photo and bio do real work. Tie-breakers are decided by profile views, and people vote for kids they feel they know. A clear, joyful photo and a short, specific bio ("Maya, 9, has been tap dancing since she was four and dreams of Broadway") give voters a reason to care.
• Know the cutoff time. In the Colossal contests I've followed, rounds close Thursday evening Pacific time, which is late at night here on the East Coast. Check the exact time on your profile and plan your final push for the hours before it.
• Protect your child's experience. Rankings shift every day. Let your kid enjoy performing and keep the leaderboard stress with the adults.

Ready to Compete Smarter?

Next Rising Star is a real opportunity with real prizes, and it's also a real campaign that runs straight through the holidays. The families who make it deep into December will be the ones who planned in October.

Our free Voting Academy strategy training covers what I learned the hard way with Julian: how rounds actually work, how to build a daily voter base, and how to bring in donors without burning out your network. It's free, requires no credit card, and gives you immediate access.

👉 Watch the free training now: Click Here