Reality TV uncovered a star in Teddy Geiger. By Andrew Murfett.

IT SEEMED like a good idea at the time. Despite the failure of the equally spurious The Real Gilligan's Island, US cable channel VH1 felt compelled to produce a series based on the search for a contemporary version of the Partridge Family.

The network held auditions across the US, combing the country for lookalikes to match the original Keith, Laurie, Danny and Shirley, and finalists were flown to Los Angeles for a Partridge Family boot camp and "makeover" with original cast members David Cassidy, Danny Bonaduce and Shirley Jones.

This was the inauspicious start to the career of 17-year-old wunderkind Teddy Geiger, who made it to the final eight in "The Battle of the Keiths".

"It really wasn't so good and it did turn into a circus in the end," the New Yorker says. "The show just didn't really go anywhere. Honestly, I didn't necessarily want to win. I mean, you're tied down for seven years by contract even if the show doesn't do anything. I'm glad I got out when I did."

Out of that quagmire, Geiger, who began piano lessons with his grandparents aged six, came to meet Billy Mann, the entrepreneurial producer who has worked with Pink, Ricky Martin and even Art Garfunkel.

"When I got kicked off, Billy handed me a piece of paper with his information," Geiger recalls. "He said, 'Let's try and work something out'. That was a huge day for me and my first real open door."

Once he signed a deal with Columbia Records, Geiger, then aged 15, dropped out of school to make his surprisingly accomplished debut record Underage Thinking.

"I didn't talk about it with my friends too much," he says. "I didn't want to sound like a jerk, so I kept it pretty quiet."

As he prepared to play his first show outside the US last Monday night at Melbourne's Manchester Lane, the teenager appeared surprisingly self-assured.

On stage, the oft-mentioned comparisons to John Mayer ring true. The husky voice, the acoustic-based mid-tempo songs and quirky charm are pure Mayer. The only thing absent is Mayer's swagger.

"I get the Mayer thing all the time," he says. "It's either that, or it's like . . . so . . . you're 17, how did you get started?"

He's also aware of the criticisms perpetually thrown at male singer-songwriters of his ilk: too earnest, too wordy and too purty. But he couldn't care less.

"It comes with the territory," he says, with a shrug.

The release of Underage Thinking followed another television series appearance, albeit a more reputable one. Love Monkey was a CBS drama based on the life of a record company executive played by Tom Cavanagh of Ed fame. Cavanagh's character discovers Geiger's and introduces him to America. Despite its strong cast - including Ben Folds, Judy Greer and 90210 flotsam Jason Priestly - the series stiffed but his album still debuted in the US top 10.

"It was a really cool show, it had that Ed kind of vibe," Geiger says. "Jason Priestly too, was really funny. Hanging out with him, it's like hanging out with your uncle."

Underage Thinking is out this week.