American Song Contest


The American Song Contest is a one-off American music reality competition television series based on the Eurovision Song Contest. Hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson, it consists of eight episodes airing between March 21 and May 9, 2022 on NBC. The series sees acts representing all fifty U.S. states, five territories, as well as Washington, D.C. compete for the title of Best Original Song. 56 competing entries were divided into five qualifying rounds leading to two 11-participant semi-finals, and culminating with a 10-participant final round. Participants advanced from a qualifying round to a semi-final, and then to a final based on votes received by public voting or jury voting, or a combination thereof.
NBC acquired the rights to broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest in the United States starting in and shortly after announced the American Song Contest with a 2022 premiere date. Promotion for the series was organized by NBC and included a commercial during the 2022 Super Bowl and a sweepstakes for listeners on iHeartRadio stations. The winner was the state of Oklahoma, represented by AleXa with the song "Wonderland". Reception for the series was largely mixed, with many critics noting that it did not live up to its Eurovision inspiration; it was ultimately not renewed for a 2023 season.

Format

The American Song Contest put artists head-to-head against other representatives in a series of qualifying rounds, leading to the semi-finals and a prime time final in a "March Madness" style. The winning act earned the title of Best Original Song. As initially announced in August 2020, the competition would feature professional musical artists such as solo singers, duos, or groups of up to six members from each of the 50 U.S. states. By May 2021, the format had been expanded to include all five populated U.S. territories and the nation's capital and federal district of Washington, D.C. The participating territories were American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Acts could consist of solo artists, duos, bands, or a DJ.
Each representative performed an original song in the live television program broadcast across the country on NBC. The series lasted eight episodes, consisting of five episodes of qualifying rounds, followed by two episodes of semi-finals and one final. In each qualifying round, a 56-member jury of music industry professionals selected one song to advance to the semi-finals, while three songs also advanced after a 35-hour viewer voting period, which tallied votes from a combination of the jury and fans. After the qualifying rounds, the jury also selected two "redemption songs" from the qualifying rounds to join in the semi-finals, bringing the total number of semi-finalists to 22. They were then divided into two 11-participant semi-finals. The same selection process was facilitated in the semi-finals to determine the 10 acts to compete in the final. The final results were presented in Eurovision style, with each jury member awarding their maximum 12 points, followed by the awarding of points from viewers. The viewer votes were weighted, with each state and territory being worth 12 points much like in Eurovision, thus giving all regions equal voting power while preventing populous states like California and Texas from dominating the voting process.

Production

Background

The Eurovision Song Contest is an international song competition organized annually by the European Broadcasting Union since 1956, which features participants representing primarily European countries. It ranks among the world's most-watched non-sporting events every year, with hundreds of millions of viewers globally. The earliest known telecast of Eurovision in the continental US was in, while the broadcast in Puerto Rico was the first for a U.S. territory. The contest was later broadcast in both areas for the and contests. U.S. cable network Logo TV broadcast the finals from to, featuring commentary from Carson Kressley and Michelle Collins ; Michelle Visage and Ross Mathews ; and Mathews and Shangela. Viewing figures were low, ranging from 52,000 viewers in 2016 to 74,000 viewers in 2018. WJFD-FM, a commercial radio station in New Bedford, Massachusetts, also broadcast the and finals, with English and Portuguese commentary.
Netflix licensed the video-on-demand rights for the 2019 and contests. The OTT platform planned to release the musical comedy film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga together with the 2020 contest. However, because of the contest's cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was released a month later, on June 26. The film became the most-streamed content on Netflix in the U.S. on its first weekend, and introduced American viewers to the Eurovision format and its popularity in Europe. Furthermore, a song from the film, "Husavik", was later nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 93rd Academy Awards.
There were plans to develop an American adaptation of Eurovision as early as 2006, with Ben Silverman, then-chairman of production company Reveille, developing the contest for NBC to challenge American Idol. Silverman, who is currently co-CEO and chairman of production company Propagate, admitted in 2020 that he had been trying to pursue this project for 20 years, including during his tenure as chairman of NBC.

Development

In an interview with Billboard, Christer Björkman and Anders Lenhoff revealed that they discussed creating an American version of the Eurovision Song Contest after producing the in Kyiv, Ukraine. Lenhoff brought up the idea, to which Björkman was hesitant, saying: "Why would we do that and how would that work?" Despite the initial rejection, Lenhoff persisted with the concept, adding: "It sounds like a brilliant idea with states competing instead of countries. Americans love music. Americans love competition. Americans love where they come from. They have an awesome amount of pride for their home state, for their hometown." Lenhoff then contacted fellow Swedish producer Peter Settman, who crafted the business plan for potential sponsors and TV networks. After announcing in 2019 that they have acquired the rights from the EBU to produce an American version of Eurovision, Björkman and his team received a call from Silverman saying, "You are not doing this without me. Period. That's not going to happen."
The European Broadcasting Union announced NBC had acquired the rights to broadcast the competition on May 14, 2021. NBC announced the American Song Contest would have a mid-season or summer premiere in 2022 after releasing their fall schedule for the upcoming 2021–22 network television season. The producers were able to get NBC on board mainly due to their experience working with music shows such as The Voice and Songland. Silverman serves as executive producer for the program, while Audrey Morrissey is appointed as the showrunner. Propagate Content and Universal Television Alternative Studio serve as the production companies for the program. In a press statement, Silverman hoped that focusing on the mutual love and respect for music would unite a "fractional America." Deadline Hollywood reported that a corporation that centers around the competition has been founded, with former Propagate president Greg Lipstone appointed as President and Chief Operating Officer. The American Song Contest, Inc., aims to "develop and grow the Eurovision brand globally," which includes creating auxiliary businesses around the reality series, as well as expanding the franchise to countries that are not covered by Eurovision.
NBC originally scheduled the premiere for February 21, 2022, but the premiere was postponed in favor of America's Got Talent: Extreme due to COVID-19-related concerns involving the Omicron variant. The first live show was finally broadcast on March 21, with the finale moved to May 9, the same week as the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.
Rapper Snoop Dogg and pop singer Kelly Clarkson were introduced as presenters of the show. In a statement, Clarkson said: "I have been a fan and love the concept of Eurovision and am thrilled to bring the musical phenomenon to America. I'm so excited to work with Snoop and can't wait to see every state and territory represented by artists singing their own songs." Clarkson added during a virtual press conference: "We are so unfortunately divided... and having so many things going on – it's been a very hard couple of years and now it's getting more serious. Feeling like you are not isolated and that you are a part of something bigger than your everyday world is so important. That's what this show is going to do for people. Everyone is being represented. It's a really great concept in general but one that is very needed right now."

Participants

An online submissions platform was launched in May 2021, allowing eligible artists aged 16 years and older to apply, with or without recording or publishing deals. Participants were required to list all states or territories with which they had "an authentic, deep connection" during the casting process, with the producers having the final say on which state or territory the artists would represent. The website stressed that submissions had to be original songs in any genre and could not have been released commercially. Songs that were released promotionally, such as on SoundCloud and on social media, could be submitted—given that all posts were to be deleted if selected. The producers teased the possibility of filming in Los Angeles or Atlanta between February and April 2022. However, filming was later confirmed to take place on the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California. Previously, Björkman had stated during an interview in The Euro Trip podcast that Las Vegas, Tampa, and Orlando were also considered to be the first host city.
NBC revealed the 56 competing artists on March 3, 2022, through an interactive map. Atlantic Records served as the exclusive music partner of the American Song Contest, with the original songs in the competition released in batches beginning March 21 at midnight Eastern Daylight Time.
State/TerritoryArtistSongSongwriter
Alabama