We’re very close to crowning the first ever winner of the American Song Contest. But before we do, several acts had to battle it out in semi-final two for a spot in next week’s grand final.

As with the qualifying heats, the jury winner was given the first ticket to advance to the next round (i.e. the grand final). This was Tennessee’s Tyler Braden and his song “Seventeen”.

Note: the embedded video is from heat three

American Song Contest semi-final two results

Five acts will ultimately qualify from semi-final one.

The professional jury selected one qualifier during the live programme. Their ranking was as follows:

  1.  Tennessee — Tyler Braden — “Seventeen”
  2.  Kansas — Broderick Jones — “Tell Me”
  3. California — Sweet Taboo — “Keys to the Kingdom”
  4. North Carolina — John Morgan — “Right in the Middle”
  5. Connecticut — Michael Bolton — “Beautiful World”
  6. North Dakota — Chloe Fredericks — “Can’t Make You Love Me”
  7. Puerto Rico — Christian Pagán — “Loko”
  8. Texas — Grant Knoche — “Mr. Independent”
  9. Georgia — Stela Cole — “DIY”
  10. American Samoa — Tenelle — “Full Circle” 
  11. New York — Enisa — “Green Light”

The public vote is now open for viewers to vote for their favourites and choose four other acts to advance.

Semi-final one results

During the show, we also found out who the televoters chose to qualify from last week’s semi-final one.

This was:

  • Kentucky — Jordan Smith — “Sparrow”
  • Colorado — Riker Lynch — “Feel the Love”
  • Oklahoma — AleXa — “Wonderland” 
  • Alabama — Ni/Co — “The Difference”

They’ll join Washington’s Allen Stone, who progressed to the grand final after winning the jury vote of semi-final one.

What do you make of the American Song Contest semi-final one results? Are you happy to see Tennessee’s Tyler Braden in the grand final? Share your thoughts below.

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poe-tay-toe-chips
poe-tay-toe-chips
1 year ago

ANYWAY, my final top 10 is gonna have to be (when you consider both the song and the performance)

  1. Washington
  2. Oklahoma
  3. Colorado
  4. Texas
  5. North Dakota
  6. American Samoa
  7. Alabama
  8. Connecticut
  9. Kentucky
  10. Tennessee

I’d be a disappointment for me if anyone other than Washington or Oklahoma takes the win though

Efthymios
Efthymios
1 year ago

DEFINITION OF F*KING TASTE, THAT’S WHAT YOUR COMMENT IS! GO, ALLEN STONE!

poe-tay-toe-chips
poe-tay-toe-chips
1 year ago

1. Washington
2. Kentucky
3. Tennessee
4. Oklahoma
5. Alabama
6. Connecticut
7. North Dakota
8. Texas
9. American Samoa
10. Colorado

That’s my predicted jury ranking for next monday and I will be shocked if it’s out of that order in the slightest. Oklahoma will obviously win the public vote but I worry that after public and juries get evened out that we’ll end up with a Kentucky win which…would really suck.

poe-tay-toe-chips
poe-tay-toe-chips
1 year ago

So…Connecticut, North Dakota, Texas, and American Samoa are in from the second semi.

…I’ll be honest, I don’t think Michael Bolton belongs in the final. And I’m even angrier with the juries now because Kansas would’ve been more captivating than Tennessee and now Kansas is not even in despite having some of the best staging of the entire contest

Alex
Alex
1 year ago

As an American, I’m glad the televote partially fixed the jury’s foolishness in the first semifinal with Alabama making it through despite some rough vocals and Colorado getting support in spite of the last place jury placing. However, I’m sad to see Wyoming go, since it’s one of the only songs from the contest I actually listen to aside from California and Arizona. I personally find Washington’s entry uninteresting and I would have preferred Massachusetts and Michigan making it through in place of Washington and Kentucky. Having said that, Kentucky’s performance is incredible even if the song’s lyrics are lacking.… Read more »

StarTom
StarTom
1 year ago

I really hope California, Texas, Georgia, and New York make it through! I would’ve said Puerto Rico too but Tennessee and Tyler’s boring song stole his place in the final. I hope there’s 2 wildcards so there can be 12 songs in the final. There’s too many good songs in this semi…

Besc
Besc
1 year ago

I hope Enisa qualifies

Kevin M
Kevin M
1 year ago

Last night during the show, they quietly mentioned that voting for the finals will open *before* the show, on Sunday evening. The winner is going to be announced in the live show, shortly before it ends at 10 PM EDT. That means the voting will close BEFORE the west coast (and territories further west) ever see the show. They’re going to have to vote based on who they already like, or perhaps if they can find a stream of the east coast feed.

This contest is such a mess

schlageresque
schlageresque
1 year ago
Reply to  Kevin M

Im SO completely lost. They will announce the winner at the end of the show, and not add up televote points, in ESC (or more like MelFest actually) style?

schlageresque
schlageresque
1 year ago
Reply to  schlageresque

I meant, *plainly* announce the winner.. ?

Kevin M
Kevin M
1 year ago
Reply to  schlageresque

They haven’t said exactly how the reveal will work. Only the producers will know. But what I’m saying is, the winner will be revealed during the final. What we do know is that there will be 10 finalists, and Snoop and Kelly will perform. The way they’ve run the show in all previous weeks, 11 performances take up almost the entire two hours (with long “postcards” and random other segments). I don’t think we will hear anything about “points” in the ASC final. At best, they will probably reveal the placement order from 10th place to 1st place. I’m expecting… Read more »

sasha
sasha
1 year ago

the problem with how voting works is that the juries are going to continue to keep selecting the same songs to move through, meaning that there isn’t a chance for certain songs to continue through in the contest. songs like new york, which is a fan favorite, will continue to get screwed over because the jury simply doesn’t change.

Kevin M
Kevin M
1 year ago
Reply to  sasha

I really don’t like the format of this contest, but the structure of the semi-finals is different and could allow Enisa to qualify for the final. (Personally, I think the song is good but her vocals are weak.) Rather than being Jury Pick + 50/50 jury vote, the semis are 1 jury pick and 4 picks solely based on televote. So if she’s in the top 4 of the 10 that the jury didn’t pick, she’ll be in the final. I do agree that the jury makes it predictable. Next week in the final, the jury favorite will probably be… Read more »

Chris
Chris
1 year ago

The biggest problem in the ASC may be iHeart Radio’s monopolization of the juries and the fact that televoters aren’t allowed to vote free of that influence. And I get the sense that’s the whole point. This very corporate entity knows exactly what kind of safe, radio-friendly song they want to win. A few states have defied stereotype to give the illusion of diversity, but most of those acts (exceptions, Oklahoma and Texas, which are among the best songs in the contest… I promise you they, unfortunately, won’t win) were stripped away in the qualifying rounds, while those that played… Read more »

Essie
Essie
1 year ago
Reply to  Chris

Well said. There’s even a song named Right in the Middle, and the jury loved it.

Crystal
1 year ago
Reply to  Chris

I think you’re on to something! I looked through the Jury list, and much of it seemed so…corporate. Like, most of them were either executives or programming directors. There weren’t a whole lot of people in the Jury who were either recording artists, songwriters, or producers. From my recollection, Eurovision juries tend to be a bit more balanced when it comes to the ratio of artists to songwriters to executives or people who work in radio. And I also think the method of advancement placed way too much weight on the Juries, especially in the qualifiers. I really hope the… Read more »

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
1 year ago
Reply to  Chris

Have you also noticed that a large hunk of the songs in this contest were written or co-written by the exact same half-dozen people (give or take a few)? It strikes me as a complete in-house operation by the contest production team, where they hired the songwriters to write the songs and give them to the people who auditioned and were selected for this contest; and very few of them (with some exceptions, Allen Stone for one) brought their own songs with them. It’s as if half the songs in this contest could have been given to anyone almost at… Read more »

noone
noone
1 year ago
Reply to  CookyMonzta

The whole contest operates with Atlantic Records, so almost all of the singers are signed with Atlantic or affiliated record labels. They made that clear from the beginning, it was written on Wiwibloggs, as well. Just google it. So most of these singers are young and up-coming artists from Atlantic, that they want to push and make famous. That’s why they all sound the same and that’s why the biggest stars Juwel, Macy Gray and Sisqo didn’t advance.

Young_At_Heart_In_Austin
Young_At_Heart_In_Austin
1 year ago

A bit of a disconnect between the jury and the public. The number 2, 5, 6, and 11 in the jury were voted to move on by the public. That’s right the worst from the jury Colorado was voted in by the public. I always find this song really enjoyable. I don’t understand why the jury hates it so much.

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
1 year ago

It reminds me on ESC 2016, where Michal Szpak from Poland got the shaft from the jury (7 points, next-to-last), but got a ton of points from the public (222, 3rd), to finish 8th.

The Voice of Reason
The Voice of Reason
1 year ago

I don’t see what the point is in the jury picking songs in these semi-finals if the (theoretically) same jury is gonna pick one of those songs to win in the final anyway. The televote only matters in the last few rounds and doesn’t matter in the actual final with the picking of the winner. It completely defeats the purpose if the jury are not picking from a purely televote selected final.

Samo
Samo
1 year ago

I don’t see what’s the point of having semifinals in the first place. Like, why? Why not only heats and the final?

Azan
Azan
1 year ago
Reply to  Samo

To make it 8 weeks instead of 6 weeks

noone
noone
1 year ago

Oklahoma should be no surprise qualifying, Colorado and Kentucky are both famous from Disney and talent shows. The only surprise is Alabama, but then again it’s something the Southern states probably voted for. They showed Georgia’s public votes last week and Alabama was leading with a big margin. Surprised that Montana and Wyoming didn’t make it. But hey, it’s just like Eurovison: you don’t agree with every decision.

stacey
stacey
1 year ago
Reply to  noone

I really think Montana should have made it-that is a song you could easily hear on country radio stations.

Efthymios
Efthymios
1 year ago

Not gonna lie, I forgot this contest even existed lately. As long as Allen Stone succeeds and wins the Grand Final, I’ll be a happy person, lmao.

Sophia
Sophia
1 year ago
Reply to  Efthymios

I want him to win because that’s my state ?

Sophia
Sophia
1 year ago
Reply to  Sophia

Sorry that was supposed to be an emoji not ? Lol

stacey
stacey
1 year ago
Reply to  Efthymios

I think his song is great, but it doesn’t seem fair to me that famous people like him and Bolton and Jewel and Cisco are even allowed in the show. In my opinion, it should only be for people that haven’t already had successful music careers.

Essie
Essie
1 year ago
Reply to  stacey

If this was The Voice, sure. If it’s trying to be like Eurovision, then anyone can compete.

Crystal
1 year ago
Reply to  stacey

You’ve gotta remember that several of the people behind Melodifestivalen are also producing the ASC, and Melfest often invites established stars as well as a bunch of newer names in the Swedish music industry to compete. That familiarity with those established stars helps to draw in viewers. I think that’s what the ASC was going for as well, mostly newer performers with a few established ones to help draw in viewers.

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
1 year ago
Reply to  stacey

I still think they brought in the veterans (Michael Bolton, Macy Gray, Jewel, the Crystal Method and Sisqo; all of whom were at the top of their game before 2000) in an effort to attract more viewers. That effort failed, with the contest struggling to draw 1.5 million viewers. I don’t see any possibility of this contest being renewed unless it is relegated to a cable or streaming network. Of course, if that happens, the budget will be slashed by a ton! Ten years ago, American Idol drew $800 million in ad revenue. I haven’t seen the latest figures, but… Read more »

poe-tay-toe-chips
poe-tay-toe-chips
1 year ago

Texas and American Samoa are unquestionably making it through as far as I’m concerned, just judging by what i’ve seen on twitter+ youtube views. New York I believe has a good shot as well because she had an interesting performance and a popular song and at this point, I think she’ll get a lot of public support simply for the sake of spiting juries by pulling their last place through. As for that last public spot…it’ll probably end up being a three-way fight between Kansas, California, and Georgia. I like most of the songs in this semi so i’d be… Read more »

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
1 year ago

Unbelievable. 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th and 11th in the jury vote last week qualified. Two jury winners from the heats–Hueston (1st heat jury winner, 3rd in the jury vote last week) and Ada LeAnn (5th heat jury winner, 4th in the jury vote last week)–were sent packing. Riker Lynch, last in last week’s jury vote, was quite probably 1st or 2nd in the public vote.

They chose their wild-cards poorly. Ryan Charles is gone. Enisa (last in this week’s jury vote) is likely to go as well.

poe-tay-toe-chips
poe-tay-toe-chips
1 year ago
Reply to  CookyMonzta

considering what i’m seeing people say online, i think New York may make the final actually. She has a popular song actually, and a LOT of viewers want to spite the juries lol

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
1 year ago

I hope they don’t reveal any standings in the middle of the finals. MelFest don’t, ESC don’t. By doing what they’re doing (showing results throughout the course of the show), the ASC is influencing the televote.

I hope the scoring system used in MelFest and ESC is applied here. They will have to go through all 50 states and 6 territories to determine where the 3,248 televote points go, and add that to the jury points if each member is ranking the contenders on a 12-10-8-etc. basis.

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
1 year ago

What I don’t like is that they are opening the voting the day before the telecast. They haven’t figured out how to acquire and compile truckloads of votes limited to a 20-minute time frame, like they do at Eurovision.

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
1 year ago

Enisa may have to win the televote outright and by far. Look how fast she fell down the leaderboard when the rest of the jury placings were posted.

poe-tay-toe chips
poe-tay-toe chips
1 year ago
Reply to  CookyMonzta

not true. All she’d have to be is 4th in the public vote or above.The jury opinion only matters for the 1 spot this time, which Tennessee got

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
1 year ago

But the public vote still matters. Tyler Braden won his way to the final with the jury vote, but he could easily have been 2nd, 3rd or even last (11th) in the public vote. If I’m not mistaken, They’ve been combining the jury AND public vote to fill out the remaining spots. For a combination that puts Enisa in the final, she will likely need to be 1st or 2nd in the public vote with a considerable gap behind her. 4th in the public vote, combined with 11th in the jury vote, is quite likely not going to be enough.

poe-tay-toe chips
poe-tay-toe chips
1 year ago
Reply to  CookyMonzta

You are still not understanding. The semifinals are an EXCEPTION. The jury ranking ONLY counts for the 1st spot during semis. The remaining four are 100% televote’s choice. New York only has to be 4th with the public to reach the final.

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
1 year ago

Which is to say, first in the jury vote was an automatic qualifier. If I heard correctly at the beginning of this season, the rest must qualify with a combination of both jury and televote.

Fast Food Music Lover
Fast Food Music Lover
1 year ago

Aww I really wanted Rhode Island to go through. Oh well…

If the final is based on public votes only, Riker Lynch might potentially win.

poe-tay-toe-chips
poe-tay-toe-chips
1 year ago

from what i’ve read about the rules online, the final is going back to a 50-50

stacey
stacey
1 year ago

It is a damn shame that Shameless didn’t make it or Fire It Up!!

stacey
stacey
1 year ago
Reply to  stacey

Massachusetts and Montana

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
1 year ago

The televote qualifiers from SF1 are so weird. Are they sure they’ve counted them up correctly?

Azan
Azan
1 year ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

I think Kentucky is the only one that is weird, the rest seem predictable! I’m surprised neither New Hampshire – Mari, nor Wyoming – Ryan Charles went through, those were also crowded favourites. Massachusetts – Jared Lee didn’t have great staging so I understand why that didn’t go through.

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
1 year ago
Reply to  Azan

Alabama’s weird to me because it’s bland and Colorado is weird to me because it’s just not very good.
A lot of the songs that got eliminated (Wyoming, Rhode Island, Michigan, Montana) would’ve been songs I’d have expected to have more televote support. ;;

poe-tay-toe-chips
poe-tay-toe-chips
1 year ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

Colorado’s guy has more of a fanbase compared to most of the other semifinal 1 singers. that’s why. As does kentucky. The public vote is a bit of a popularity contest ngl

poe-tay-toe-chips
poe-tay-toe-chips
1 year ago

further elaborating, Oklahoma already had a decently sized k-pop fandom following, Kentucky’s guy previously won the Voice, Colorado’s guy was on Glee and Dancing with the Stars and also has a brother who is a Disney channel star, and the couple of Alabama I believe are also Tiktok famous?

So the first semi results aren’t exactly a surprise when you think about it.

stacey
stacey
1 year ago
Reply to  Azan

I really think Massachusetts should have made it through-great song and Montana-that really should have made it

Sophia
Sophia
1 year ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

I disagree. I personally voted for the ones who got through, so I don’t find it surprising. I must say though, I strongly disagree with how the jury voted tonight. New York and Puerto Rico are my faves, and I also want Texas and Georgia to go through. I also wouldn’t mind Cali but I didn’t think they were any better than my faves.

Azan
Azan
1 year ago
Reply to  Sophia

I voted for Oklahoma and Colorado as well. I rlly hope New York (don’t understand how it was eliminated in the first place) and Texas go through! For the other two, I’m fine with any of these 4: Puerto Rico, Georgia, Kansas and California!