Time to light it up in red, white and blue! The American Song Contest premieres on NBC on Monday, February 21. It will debut with a two-hour primetime special. 

The multi-episode event will include three qualifying rounds, semi-finals and a grand final that picks the Best Original Song.

Last May the spin-off of the wildly popular Eurovision Song Contest officially launched its submissions and casting site, which laid out the scope of the show.

“Based on the Eurovision Song Contest, the biggest music competition in the world with a 65-year history and 200 million viewers per year, American Song Contest will feature live performances of original songs representing all 50 states, five U.S. territories and our nation’s capital. Each original song will compete in a LIVE televised event series to win the country’s vote for the Best Original Song.”

“From indie to pop, bands to DJ’s, rap to singer-songwriters, signed or independent, we will be showcasing a diverse array of artists in all genres from across the country.”

Producers were keen to stress the originality of submissions — a point of difference from the plethora of singing competitions that already exist. On the front page of the site they wrote: “No Covers! No Tribute Bands! Original Songs ONLY.”

In the eligibility requirements, producers also teased that filming would take place in Los Angeles and Atlanta, while leaving the door open for other locations too.

“If you are selected as a participant, you will need to be available to the production for approximately four (4) weeks (possibly longer or shorter) sometime between on or about February 11, 2022, through and including on or about April 12, 2022 (actual dates subject to change in Producer’s sole discretion), and be willing to travel to the Los Angeles, California and Atlanta, Georgia areas (and possibly other locations) as part of production.”

Speaking on the BBC’s Americast in May, producer Christer Björkman spoke widely about the contest. The Swedish star believes that there is enough diversity in music across the different states and territories to produce a wonderful show:

“You do get a little bit of diversity really from where they come from, because it comes sort of automatically in a way. They do have different cultures when it comes to music in different parts of the [United] States. […] I think the variety is fantastic and we will see that come to life in these qualification rounds. Then whatever makes it to the semi-finals and the finals will be very interesting to see.”

American Song Contest is executive produced by Audrey Morrissey, Anders Lenhoff, Christer Björkman, Peter Settman, Ola Melzig, and Gregory Lipstone alongside Propagate’s Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens.

The series is produced by Propagate in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio Group.

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Patrick Pastor
Patrick Pastor
2 years ago

Angry Eurovision fans getting out their pitchforks and torches in 3…2…1…

Kirby
Kirby
2 years ago

It’s so sad you didn’t approve of one of my comments. I understand you may not like links but I just thought that one would be ok, it had some links to some OTI editions on YouTube. Besides, I dedicated time to select the editions, put the links and make some brief comments. I’m so sorry about this. I always visited your website but lately I’ve been feeling some divo-vibes. It’s us, the readers and visitors, who also make Wiwibloggs what it is today. Nevermind, I won’t visit this website any more. Thanks anyway.

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  Kirby

Don’t worry, it still might appear – maybe they just haven’t seen it yet.

Roodi
Roodi
2 years ago

Is Deban 60 years old?

Elbie74
Elbie74
2 years ago

The main difference I see between the American Song Contest and Eurovision is that Eurovision is an event that is televised, while the ASC is a TV show. This year the 65th ESC was held and nobody would ever say that it is season 65. It seems a small difference but has a huge impact. For americans ASC will just be another TV show, while the ESC remains a big event comparible with major sporting events or to stay in the mainly televised events: the Oscars and Emmy, where the award shows are also seen as events, not perse a… Read more »

Rifki
Rifki
2 years ago
Reply to  Elbie74

American Song Contest could not be completely considered as an event show, as it consists of more than one episode (as Oscars, Emmy and Grammys have only one-night shows per year/season). the closest way to make it an event show while still being held annually is to consider it similar to a one-sport-only Olympic, or like a football/soccer World Cup (i.e. competitions that have heats, semifinals and final).

Last edited 2 years ago by Rifki
CarlosM
CarlosM
2 years ago

Guess what! NBC doesn’t care what you think about it. It’s not made for people outside of the US. You probably won’t even be able to watch it anyway. The show will air whether you like it or not. If the winner ends up being an interval act at ESC, no one will force you to watch them.

Don’t forget, THIS site is because of an American. So, you shouldn’t be bashing the US.

EurofanGR
EurofanGR
2 years ago
Reply to  CarlosM

Lmao shut up

Eurofangr
Eurofangr
2 years ago

I just hope that Eurovision winners will also appear at the ASC. Otherwise it would be unfair to give so much attention to American winners. I also don’t like that it’s before eurovision, I’d like it to be sometime in autumn.

Kirby
Kirby
2 years ago

To all those who are saying there could be a song contest involving the Americas and not only the U.S., let me tell you there was actually one from 1972 to 2000. It was called “Festival OTI (de la Canción Iberoamericana)”. It was certainly inspired in Eurovision, as it had the same voting method (countries voted by telephone) until the early ’80s, when that was replaced with a jury. In the first editions, the winner would also host the contest in the following year. (As it would have happened in 1977, when Nicaragua won but couldn’t host it in 1978… Read more »

Esc addict
Esc addict
2 years ago
Reply to  Kirby

Ok thank you, I was totally unaware that such a contest existed, interesting, I’m going to see what it looked like if i can find a video.

Kirby
Kirby
2 years ago
Reply to  Esc addict

OTI 1987 (Lisbon, Portugal) https://youtu.be/DjWwarTWuZo The now famous Mexican singer Ana Gabriel represented her country in this edition. OTI 1977 (Madrid, Spain) https://youtu.be/FOB-OgSQmWM Here the winner was Nicaragua, with “Quincho Barrilete”, which eventually became a continental radio hit. OTI 1978 (Santiago, Chile) https://youtu.be/LAn087uBXMI (Please check at 40:30 the display of the scoreboard!!!) OTI 1985 (Seville, Spain) https://youtu.be/HHBZZo0i570 Controversial winner, many people said Mexico had won because they wanted to cheer its people up after the disastrous 1985 earthquake. OTI 1988 (Buenos Aires, Argentina) https://youtu.be/4w3_xgBgkk8 Here we had young Ricardo Arjona representing Guatemala and Christina Rosenvinge as part of Spanish duo… Read more »

Luc
Luc
2 years ago
Reply to  Kirby

I think it’s never heard of a revival, not even as a rumour, because my grandma (who used to watch the contest every year until the very end, because it was very popular in the whole Spanish-speaking world) told me once that the last editions – especially the last one, Acapulco 2000, were dreadful and messy. Besides, I just read a couple of things: Most broadcasters weren’t financially able to (or had difficulties to do so) participate in the contest’s last years, and the economy in Latin America has just got worse since. The last edition was very controversial due… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by Luc
Kirby
Kirby
2 years ago
Reply to  Luc

You e so right. Once that song contest fell into the hands of the Mexican/Miami music mafia and then OTI’s death was unavoidable. I once heard the Mexicans wanted to make the OTI competition part of their Acapulco Festival (which tried to imitate the legendary Festival de Viña Del Mar, the Chilean Sanremo) but which resulted in a mess. Besides, due to the political situation of many Latin American countries it would be almost impossible to revive an event of such characteristics.

Last edited 2 years ago by Kirby
Luc
Luc
2 years ago
Reply to  Kirby

Yep, very much Mexico City and Miami ruined the contest and it’s now impossible to even conceive the idea of carrying it out again.
Pd: I think Mexico has the potential to make its own Sanremo festival, but that idea was carried out disastrously when it was tried out in Acapulco.

Andrea
Andrea
2 years ago

Dollars to donuts it’ll be full of disgusting reggaeton

sam
sam
2 years ago
Reply to  Andrea

racially motivated

Kirby
Kirby
2 years ago
Reply to  Andrea

Well, if OTI were revived, I would assure you that this song contest would be reggaeton/urban/trap-laden (these genres have infested the Americas). Fortunately, we still have Eurovision, where all music genres coexist.

Last edited 2 years ago by Kirby
Luc
Luc
2 years ago
Reply to  Kirby

You’re right, maybe some cumbia, bachata, salsa or Mexican regional sneaking through from time to time but that’d be about it unfortunately 🙁

Luc
Luc
2 years ago
Reply to  Andrea

Bro, that’d be OTI if done nowadays, not this upcoming contest

Milos
Milos
2 years ago

This will flop so badly. Eurovision is about 70 years of tradition, 25+ different languages, different cultures, geopolitics, drama…None of this will be present in the American Contest

Blid
Blid
2 years ago

This is good news I think. They are doing their own thing. The less American influence and involvement in the actual Eurovision the better. Let them have their own version it just keeps them away from the real one, for now at least.

Colin
Colin
2 years ago

I don’t see why everyone is looking this from a skeptical standpoint. Sure, the format is in its experimental phase, but I am really looking forward to this. Time will tell how well it will do, but I wish them all the success. 🙂

MartyMcCu
MartyMcCu
2 years ago

It will last 2 seasons maximum , the show isn’t American at all. It is European and always will be. Someone somewhere is taking the gamble to make lot of money from this. It will never work with the format and capacity as a song contest in the USA. They will soon realise how polarised US live TV is different from Swedish TV and how many commercial breaks will be needed before sending the viewer to sleep. Let them try it, but please don’t create this as a platform to destroy the ESC in Europe. Too ambitious a ploy ,… Read more »

Denis
Denis
2 years ago
Reply to  MartyMcCu

Most American shows are in fact European. Idol, The Voice, Talent show. No one knew they would work in US. The trick was to adapt the show to American audiences. Same with this one.

Efraim
Efraim
2 years ago
Reply to  Denis

True. American Idol has far outlasted Pop Idol, the British show that spawned the franchise. The Voice originated in the Netherlands, and it’s enough of a hit to air two seasons a year in the US. And America’s Got Talent actually premiered almost a full year before Britain’s Got Talent, the franchise being a Simon Cowell creation. But of course there are exceptions to the rule. The X Factor US only did well enough for three seasons, and don’t get me started on the trainwrecks that were The One (the American version of Operación Triunfo) and Sing Your Face Off… Read more »

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Efraim

I think another US version of Your Face Sounds Familiar is airing on either one of the two Spanish networks in the country. 🙂

Efraim
Efraim
2 years ago
Reply to  James

Let’s hope it’s turning out better than its English-language counterpart.

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Efraim

I didn’t even know a version was even airing in the US at all. The format is too problematic for a mainstream American audience for obvious reasons.

MartyMcCu
MartyMcCu
2 years ago
Reply to  Denis

I agree they have adapted European shows but disagree they will do justice to Eurovision in Europe as this isn’t Pop Idol, its not X factor and its not Americas got talent. These shows are all edited and are they live, not unless its a final or results show ? Eurovision is a live song contest, the US format of commercial breaks after commercial breaks after commercial breaks will ruin the credibility of the contest. It will not work . Watch live American TV shows from sport to music events. 100% of live shows revolve around advertising. We are not… Read more »

Denis
Denis
2 years ago
Reply to  MartyMcCu

Yes those shows are live since you vote for the acts. You can’t do voting shows unless it is live. Only auditions are pre-recorded. Yes there will be commercial breaks but in most European countries there are commercial breaks in ESC as well. This song contest won’t be as ESC and the producers know that, it is after all called American contest made for an American audience. They are not making a new ESC

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  MartyMcCu

Sweden’s Expedition Robinson made the trip to America as Survivor and now it’s in its 41st season.

Alex
Alex
2 years ago

I think it sounds like a mess, there is zero promo, no major announcements about hosts, venue, city, voting, participants any details really. If it’s going to take place in February, we should have known already more details just like it happens with Eurovision!

NBC hasn’t promoted it at all. I am curious to see if this is going to flop or do well.

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Alex

NBC has the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics to promote the heck out of the show. Right now, it’s still too early and the network has only been teasing their new and returning shows slated for January.

esc_fl
esc_fl
2 years ago

While this might be a perfect way to get more people in my country hyped for Eurovision (apart from Fire Saga), I have doubts that it’s going to work well in the long run or even short-term. Something tells me that the focus isn’t going to be so much the music for some reason \_(•_•)_/

Last edited 2 years ago by esc_fl
Maya G
Maya G
2 years ago

I hope it goes well, but I have a feeling it won’t.
The Eurovision Song Contest became what it is in a very serendipitous way, it started in the perfect time to get enough attention and prominence and gradually grew into the huge, sparkly beast we love so much. It’ll be really hard to make the American Song Contest a cultural staple in this era, and I don’t think NBC has the patience and foresight to keep it going for several years unless it becomes a huge hit on its first run. Best of luck though.

yeahyeahfire
yeahyeahfire
2 years ago

Am i the only one that doesn’t want this??

Samo
Samo
2 years ago
Reply to  yeahyeahfire

Don’t watch it then.

GojoSatoru
GojoSatoru
2 years ago

Any news on Eesti Laul?

Colin
Colin
2 years ago
Reply to  GojoSatoru

Reportedly, we should be getting some participants (+ songs?, super-unclear…) in 2 days. The first semi is scheduled for next week, but it still sounds too good to be true, so I’ll believe it when I hear it. 🙂

sucof
sucof
2 years ago

The Sanremo Festival made in the USA 🙂

Will
Will
2 years ago

Since the contestants will likely all be complete unknowns, this is actually an opportunity to have a true MUSIC competition. No covers like in the Voice or Idol, no established artists like ESC. It’ll be different. Not sure it will draw ratings to be a moneymaker for NBC, but Winter Olympics lead-ins might help.

Esc addict
Esc addict
2 years ago

European song contest, as the name means, different european countries compete, American song contest, only the United States compete. Make a contest involving each country of the whole continent, Canada, South american countries, Central american countries and some of the islands around the continent, it would make more sense for me. Here we’re talking about a contest in The United States for only The United States and only with people from The United States even if I’m sure they have big diversities of style, it’s really not the same concept and idea as of our esc, I mean a state… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by Esc addict
Esc addict
Esc addict
2 years ago
Reply to  Esc addict

To conclude this “american song contest” format would be perfect if it was used as a National Final to choose the best song of the United States to compete in Americavision after 😉

Jo.
Jo.
2 years ago
Reply to  Esc addict

talk about bloc voting, Hispanic and Caribbean countries voting for themselves. I think the esc concept could work in Africa, but for the Americas and Asia/Pacific is not that easy, unless the rules are somehow different from the European model. It could also work being more regional…like Middle East, South Pacific, Latin America…

Esc addict
Esc addict
2 years ago
Reply to  Jo.

Each continent could adapt their voting system to avoid the bloc voting and the biases that could happen, depending on how each continent work but it’s not unfeasible I think. The whole world involved in a contest like this would be so great and so interesting, imagine the number of songs and artists to discover, the entire year would be busy by national finals, and by contests everywhere in the world, a dream for an eurofan. For me it would be the logical evolution for Eurovision, to be extended to the entire world and so to involve more and more… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by Esc addict
xelx
xelx
2 years ago
Reply to  Jo.

The US won the extinct OTI Festival twice.

Jo.
Jo.
2 years ago
Reply to  xelx

as far as I know, there were only jury voting, and they sang in spanish

xelx
xelx
2 years ago
Reply to  Jo.

Yes, it was not a rebuttal, more of a callback to the OTI Festival that used to exist. If there was a new adaptation of ESC in Latin America, the US could easily be part of it via Univisión or Telemundo, moreover considering Miami is the capital of the Latin music industry. Of course most of US citizens would not have a transversal appeal in the US.

esc_fl
esc_fl
2 years ago
Reply to  Jo.

There’s an pan-African AfriMusic contest actually; it’s been going on for the last couple of years.

Jo.
Jo.
2 years ago
Reply to  esc_fl

there’s one in the caribbean too, but very differrent from esc

AdD
AdD
2 years ago
Reply to  Esc addict

The people in the U.S. are unable to acknowledge the existence of other countries.

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  AdD

Unless they are first generation Americans who had just immigrated to live in the States.

Esc addict
Esc addict
2 years ago
Reply to  AdD

It would be an opportunity for them to discover other countries and cultures then. But don’t generalize all the people in the U.S. are not like that.

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  Esc addict

70 million of them are, though.

John
John
2 years ago

Europeans have to realize that a show on NBC will have very little in common with Eurovision other than bits of the format (6 people rule, 3 min, etc). Otherwise this will just be another talent show among many others but with originals and a bigger focus on song-writing. It will only be deemed successful if it get decent ratings on the NBC schedule (they are not a public broadcaster they work by selling advertising through commercials). This competition will have no cultural significance as there are no significant rivalries or loyalties between US states. All this doesn’t mean it… Read more »

D D
D D
2 years ago
Reply to  John

“there are no significant rivalries or loyalties between US states” blatantly untrue

Neil
Neil
2 years ago

As an American I am kinda looking forward to this crashing and burning… let Europe have one thing before we ruin it smh.

Alex
Alex
2 years ago
Reply to  Neil

why ruin it? It’s a European brand which is now imported to US TV.

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  Alex

Becoming a “brand” is the last thing I want for the contest – it is a public service broadcast, not Coca-Cola.

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Neil

America certainly didn’t ruin Survivor until Jeff Probst began running it years later.

ESCFanGA
ESCFanGA
2 years ago

The people who created American Song Contest must have been aware of the fact that Eurofans don’t want America competing in Eurovision and that probably played a role in the American Song Contest being created. I doubt this will succeed and will probably get cancelled after one season but I guess the only good thing about it from the perspective of Eurofans is that it’ll prevent America from competing at Eurovision. I don’t think any other non-European countries outside of Australia will ever participate in Eurovision but out of curiosity how would Eurofans feel about other non-European countries like Brazil,… Read more »

Rifki
Rifki
2 years ago
Reply to  ESCFanGA

well, not really because of commonality. Australia is welcomed because they had literally telecasted Eurovision for more than 30 years before being invited to take part, something other associate members have never done (and should do). I even don’t mind the U.S. of A. taking part if, and only if, they do what Australia has done. has NBC done it? no.

Last edited 2 years ago by Rifki
kos
kos
2 years ago
Reply to  Rifki

This year’s Eurovision was broadcast on Peacock, NBC’s streaming platform.

Rifki
Rifki
2 years ago
Reply to  kos

but I think the NBC main channel should also broadcast it. doing it on Peacock only is not enough.

Nils
Nils
2 years ago
Reply to  ESCFanGA

I absolutely wouldn’t mind countries from other continents taking part, as long as they enter in the semi finals, as long as the contest stays euro-centric and as long as these countries don’t prevent any EBU member country from competing. That being said, I also wouldn’t mind the United States at Eurovision, as long as a non-Western country gets added as well to balance it out.

Last edited 2 years ago by Nils
Fast Food Music Lover
Fast Food Music Lover
2 years ago

Part of the appeal of Eurovision for me is the geopolitics involved in the contest. This would be a good experiment to see what happens if the contest is removed from all the drama and only focuses on music.

Last edited 2 years ago by Fast Food Music Lover
Rifki
Rifki
2 years ago

well, I am still okay with this show, as long as they don’t end up taking part in the original Eurovision show. Given how little the promotion is, it reminds me of how American Idol (which coincidentally is concepted by a European) was, back in spring 2002. and remember, they have been “wanting” to do this since as early as 2006.

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Rifki

Promotion for the show will likely kickstart during the Winter Olympics which NBC carries.

Rifki
Rifki
2 years ago
Reply to  James

well, isn’t it too late? promotion should have started before the so-called casting dates.

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Rifki

NBC affiliates across the country have already sent the call out during casting period over the summer.

Getting a bigger push in promotion at the height of the Winter Olympics is a good strategy because there’s clear certainty that people are already tuning in to the Games so they’ll see ads for ASC at its most frequent.

This was also something that was done at the time for The Voice USA. No one was expecting that show to succeed as well when it was carried over from Europe but it did.

Barry
Barry
2 years ago

I wonder how much time this program gets to prove itself.

Since 2011 we have in The Netherlands a very successful tv format ‘The Passion’ (of Jesus Christ). It’s a live open air musical which was broadcasted in the US in 2016 for the first time.

Unfortunately the viewing numbers weren’t what Fox had hoped for so it stopped after one episode and we never heard from it again. The first Dutch episode wasn’t also popular but in the following years when it took place in other cities with different actors and sceneries it grew to an annual hit.

Miss Uncongeniality
Miss Uncongeniality
2 years ago

It’s really interesting how producers have adapted the concept of Eurovision to the US market, making the American Song Contest, something between Eurovision and American Idol/The Voice/ X Factor/ America’s Got Talent… it really seems interesting

Denis
Denis
2 years ago

It does sound fun I must admit. I really don’t think we should worry about it being to similar, the thing with spin-offs is adapting it to the target audience. Sounds more like a giant version of Idol than Eurovision. Excited to see how such a big challenge logistically speaking will be fixed..

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
2 years ago

this will be more like a televised talent show from how they describe it

James
James
2 years ago

Like ESC is.

Rifki
Rifki
2 years ago
Reply to  James

ESC isn’t a talent show, it could be described as the musical version of the UEFA Euro, or Eurobasket.

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Rifki

Writing songs is a talent.

ESC is a precursor of all the televised talent shows that came after like American Bandstand, Star Academy, and So you Think You Can Dance where they all share the premise of showcasing talent in al aspect, from dancing, singing, performing, and in ESC’s case, songwriting, being its core foundation.

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  James

The Eurovision Song Contest is for professionals, talent shows are not.

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

As are participants of other talent shows, especially those what take part in Got Talent for which many are professionals performers and their aim is a one-year residency in Las Vegas (for AGT) or Marina Bay Sands in Singapore (for Asia’s Got Talent). The Voice also allows professional singers to take part alongside new up-and-coming ones. Top Chef pits professional chefs against each other. And I’m sure you’ve heard of BBC’s Masterchef: The Professionals which, unlike the original, don’t cast amateur home cooks to compete. ESC is no different other than it having being around for longer than those only… Read more »

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  James

They all have little in common with the song contest. The city of Rotterdam would not have given half a million euros of public money if they saw it as a TV talent show.

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Talent shows, much like ESC, also have their origins on radio before they made the transition to television and on-demand. The only difference is that the song contest itself is a living relic from the era of radio that continues on, thanks to it being a production of a group of publicly-funded broadcasters and that it allows the contest to adapt to the changes in the broadcasting landscape throughout the course of its history. At the end of the day, it is still a televised contest, likewise for all the talent and reality competition shows airing elsewhere in Europe and… Read more »

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  James

Of course writing good songs is a talent, and I have nothing but respect for songwriters and musicians. They give us something of lasting value – not like a dance show, or a baking show, or a voice show, or a professional chef show. Music is important. Acting and soccer-playing are also talents, but I wouldn’t describe the World Cup or the Oscars as TV talent shows.

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  James

Another difference from the talent shows you mention would be that the songwriting happens off the screen, in private, months before the contest.

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

And then you present what you’ve worked for to the people who will judge the song and vote for it if they like it, regardless of how long a time a song has been made because you’ll have the song be performed in front of them for the first time so the assessment is based on how it does now as that is the culmination of the months, if not years of work put into it and that requires talent and skills to be able to pull off one package that’s ready to go.

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  James

We disagree. That’s okay.

Do you see Sanremo as a TV talent show?

Jason
Jason
2 years ago

I’m sorry but what exactly makes it a talent show? Is it because the artist may not be established? You make this comment without any real reasoning behind it. I just don’t understand the blatant hate. The United States isn’t monogamous… The nation quite literally only exists because of immigration. There are so many different genres of music that exist in the United States that fall outside of pop. There are ethnic and cultural influences at play here too. All I am seeing in this comment section are people digging their heads in the sand acting like the US is… Read more »

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  Jason

America does not literally only exist because of immigration. I think slavery and genocide had something to do with it too. I’m not sure why any of this would be reason to give us confidence in NBC, though.

Jason
Jason
2 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

At what point did I deny these things? All I was saying is that the US exists because people from all over the world immigrated to the nation after its founding. It’s incredibly culturally diverse.

Also, it’s rich that anyone from anywhere in Europe feels bold enough to condemn the US for its past. When European history is riddled with slavery, genocide, ethnic tension, religious wars, and colonization. But I digress.

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  Jason

Jason, you are seeing things that are not there.

tylos
tylos
2 years ago

From the people who brought you a World Series featuring national baseball, comes an international song contest featuring all 50 states plus some territories!

voix
voix
2 years ago

if this means that more people from the Swedish mafia will have this as a new toy and leave the original contest alone, thats good.

Roodi
Roodi
2 years ago
Reply to  voix

What do you mean with Swedish maffia?

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Roodi

Some Eurofans don’t like Swedes.

Jo.
Jo.
2 years ago
Reply to  voix

and what would we get in return? more dream team and laurell barker stuff? i’d stick with the swedes

Roodi
Roodi
2 years ago

so funny the people hate on it are 100% the same people who listen American pop artists like Ariana grande Justin Bieber Taylor Swift Selena gomez and more

LaToya
LaToya
2 years ago
Reply to  Roodi

The Biebs is Canadian

Dawid
Dawid
2 years ago
Reply to  Roodi

Aren’t bunch of their songs written by Swedes anyway? What’s the difference?

Lorenzo
Lorenzo
2 years ago

Still hoping they’ll cancel it last minute.
Seriously, I don’t want a really bad copy of Eurovision from people that sometimes even mock it

Roodi
Roodi
2 years ago
Reply to  Lorenzo

When did Americans mock ESC

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  Roodi

Stephen Colbert.

Roo
Roo
2 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Plenty of other talent shows have been mocked. In fact everything in the media or society is open to being mocked. It is called comedy. Whether is is funny or not is a different story.

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  Roo

I know what it is. I was answering a question.

Jason
Jason
2 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

He is quite literally a comedian… its satire…

sam
sam
2 years ago
Reply to  Lorenzo

you’ve gotta be kidding. there’s 100 times as many europeans who mock eurovision than americans who even know what eurovision is…

Jensteri
Jensteri
2 years ago
Reply to  Lorenzo

This is such a ridiculous sentiment, “from the people that sometimes mock it”; do you think there are no people in Europe who mock Eurovision? Americans are not a hive mind, they are people with a wide array of thoughts and ideas. Surely there are Americans who have mocked Eurovision (just as there are Europeans who have) but I doubt that the people who will take part in this contest (that’s specifically modelled after Eurovision) are the ones mocking it. And as far as your lack of desire for the contest to take place goes… just don’t watch it? It’s… Read more »

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Lorenzo

They won’t. NBC didn’t schedule a spring season of The Voice to give space for ASC and Monday nights is one if the network’s strongest nights ratings-wise.

Jason
Jason
2 years ago
Reply to  James

Also, I am sure they will have wall-to-wall ads pushing the new contest during the Olympics. Millions of Americans watch the Olympics and the contest starts one day after the Olympics end. Meaning they can draw in a lot of viewership that way.

Roodi
Roodi
2 years ago
Reply to  Lorenzo

why are you on ESC fan site British dumbass

poe-tay-toe-chips
poe-tay-toe-chips
2 years ago

I better start paying more attention to the television and whether or not we start seeing commercials for this.

As an American, I can tell you that up until today, they’ve done just about nothing to promote the fact that the contest is happening and no one outside of the (small) American ESC fandom really knows this is going on. There really has been no word of this since it was announced and submissions opened (submissions weren’t really promoted at all either)

James
James
2 years ago

Over the summer, NBC had their affiliates announce casting calls and coordinated with local and independent music producers as part of a grassroots campaign to get as much people as they can to submit songs.

I’ve seen some of those when I did some searching on Facebook.

Jason
Jason
2 years ago

This contest starts one day after the Olympics end. NBC has exclusive broadcasting rights to the Olympics. I am sure they will be airing ads left and right for their new slate of shows while people watch the Olympics.

Biscotto7
Biscotto7
2 years ago

sigh

Robert
Robert
2 years ago

In my opinion American producers tend to take something that’s successful from abroad and act like it always was American to begin with.. The Voice, Big Brother are good examples.. Still, I can only make judgment when I see it.. Somehow looking forward to it too..

Last edited 2 years ago by Robert
James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Robert

Like Gran Hermano on Spain was in 1999?

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago

How like “our” contest will this be? Please, if there are auditions, judges, backstories – it’s a totally different thing.

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Voting? 56 sets of points or just one big televote?

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Will states be able to vote for themselves?

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

Due to timezone differences, live voting alone will be tricky, especially taking into account that the show is supposedly going to air on all the other overseas territories they have, from the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean to Guam, Saipan, American Samoa and the Northern Marianas on the Western Pacific.

Sabrina
Sabrina
2 years ago
Reply to  James

That’s why I guess they’ll just follow The Voice’s procedure and have the presentations on Monday night and open the voting after the show to announce results on Tuesday. I’m afraid the only similarity with Eurovision will be the fact states are competing against each other. I hope at least there’s a different vote on each state, otherwise it will look even more like their regular talent shows.

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  Sabrina

I hope there is at least some sort of scoreboard, not just the singers lined up ready to burst into tears when their name is called out.

James
James
2 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

And the jury portion of the voting should be in the form of keys placed on a keybox like in Big Brother USA. Pulling one out reveals which finalist has the most and least votes.

Jonas
Jonas
2 years ago
Reply to  James

That’s if there is juries, which we don’t know yet – 56 juries all from the one broadcaster seems a little unlikely.

Sabrina
Sabrina
2 years ago
Reply to  Jonas

If there’s a jury, I can see it being similar to the French final this year, so they can bring familiar faces to the show. And it would be interesting to see how an American audience would react to a jury, since they’re used with public voting deciding the winner in the final stage of their competitions.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
2 years ago

I don’t know whether I should be looking forward to this or be horrified.

Diana
Diana
2 years ago

Sounds horrible and fun. Excited to keep up with national finals here in Europe and this, not excited about the time difference