The question on every American Eurovision fan’s lips finally has an answer. After months of speculation, show organisers have confirmed NBC’s American Song Contest will not take place in 2023.
Contest organiser Christer Björkman said he hopes the American Eurovision spin-off will return for another season in 2024.
American Song Contest will not take place in 2023
Björkman dished on the American Song Contest during an interview at Spain’s Benidorm Fest.
The Melodifestivalen veteran told Euromovidas the show will not go ahead in 2023, but he hopes to see it return in 2024.
?? Esta mañana hemos charlado un rato con Christer Bjorkman que nos ha contado cómo está viviendo este #BenidormFest2023 y nos dejó dos titulares:
— Euromovidas (@euromovidas) February 3, 2023
?No se plantea volver al #Melfest
?El American Song Contest no volverá seguramente en 2023, aunque espera que lo haga en 2024. pic.twitter.com/p2NxVd4fcp
Björkman previously shared his frustration over the poorly-promoted TV show.
Regarding the 2022 edition, Björkman told Aftonbladet: “I can get really upset if I think about all the factors that they didn’t succeed with in order for the programme to reach out. There are a lot of things that I think could have been done differently to get better dissemination and greater awareness that this programme would appear.”
Many Eurovision fans watching the programme complained in the weeks leading up to the show and during the episodes that the show lacked proper promotion and enthusiasm compared to its European counterpart.
Additionally, the show’s premiere received a last minute pushback. Originally scheduled to debut on 21 February 2022, the show eventually broadcast four weeks later, on 21 March.
The premier failed to hit home with audience, picking up low viewing figures that continued to decline week by week. Critics doubted the spin-off, too.
Commercially, none of the 56 entries by AleXa’s “Wonderland” made it to the Billboard charts, with most collecting only a dozen thousands of streams.
Will American Song Contest be renewed for season two?
The American Song Contest will not return for a second season in 2023. However, there is still hope season two could premier some time in 2024.
If AMC were to be cancelled indefinitely, it would be the second failed international Eurovision spin-off in recent years. In 2021, the widely anticipated Eurovision Asia got the axe after several years of pre-production struggles.
What do you think? Would you like to see the American Song Contest return? Let us know in the comments below.
They need to watch Eurovision and learn how it is done. We were pumped to watch it but it was horrible
It will be the 2024 contest but it needs changes. instead of waiting for the results on another day, why not vote early until the last song of the contest.
NBC should only act as the organizer. They should just send out invitations to the ASC. There might then be States wishing to participate, others not. Each state has to decide by their own who should represent them. If you get to many Contestants, you organize Semi Finals and then ONE Final. All within one week. Not during weeks. I suppose it’s best to start smaller. Like the ESC did. Automatically more countries wanted then to participate. It could work in the US, if the monetary dimension would not be the main driver.
i am beyond upset about that!. it is a good show they should cancel shows like chucky!
I genuinley liked ASC, so disappointed it won’t get a second edition.
Maybe time for the EBU to bring back the Eurovision Dance Contest, still the highest rated spin off they have ever done, and getting more than double what JESC gets now.
American song contest was it a joke from start why would American people want their own song contest we’ve already got American Idol America’s Got Talent Eurovision contest song ? keeps changing his rules every year and that’s why the song contest has lost credibility so why would American want it
I thought I knew this wouldn’t happen or at least this year (like nothing much to it), I think I said something before to amp up the show, all I do know to keep a show running , it has to make good ratings for viewers (witch it kinda lacks). Problem is that something can be random (at some point)right now I watch AGT: All Stars and there could of been some good choices there (even music wise), also I they had some (who were even on the show from Europe)to be there (even interview names in the final [10])and… Read more »
No surprise! It was such a cheap imitation of Melodifestivalen. No consistency, mediocre acts, awful stage and cameras tv direction. Compared to the original Melfest, the difference is more than obvious. If feels to me they didn’t let the Swedish team free to work for the project.
Are you kidding or what? All the American acts were way better than anything that was in MF during the last five years. Some of those songs were masterpieces. Went straight to my playlist.
Bring Greenland and Faroe Islands to Eurovision!!
You can just name it the American Melodifestivalen, and nobody will be able to distinguish it from the original MF. One of the ESC’s goals was to bring European nations together and have friendly competition on stage rather than hold grudges and kill civilians on the battlefields. What ASC was trying to do was milk the money from the best Swedish practices. That was essentially the only reason it kind of failed – the format was never comparable to the ESC, which became a phenomenon and served as the leading project for uniting people across borders. Now, ASC would work… Read more »
Oof, that last sentence hit me in the soul as an American because you’re not that far off describing my home country like that. We are really divided right now. There are times I think that the collapse of our democracy is not a matter of if but when.
Watching the national final selection really solidified for me what is missing from the American Song Contest – national character. ASC can’t have that if it just NBC picking contestants themselves. That just makes it a normal TV music competition where the contestants happen to be geographically varied. They need to give control of contestant selection to some group that is representative of each state, but I don’t know what that group would be. There is a difference between NBC thinking “Who do we want representing New York, Alaska etc” and New Yorkers, Alaskans etc picking who they want to… Read more »
Unlike many commenters, I do believe that US version of Eurovision could work well.
What definitely can’t work is an US version on Melfest. Good riddance indeed.
this sums it up exactly. I really can’t stand these meaningless bland melfest style songs anymore and they most definitely won’t work in the USA. They need to get Bjorkman as far away as possible from this if they ever decide to renew it
The quintessential problem is indeed the Swedish devil who thinks the USA waited for him.
Good riddance – I never understood this need to make Eurovision clones
btw Vesna represents Czech Republic fyi
Honestly, we been saying it was not a good idea for years, that’s what they get for pushing something most americans don’t care abot and non americans don’t want it at all. It also lacked a lot of cultural diversity and ultimately, good songs/performances.
Um, no thanks. Just no. No no no no.
Tbh, AleXa was the only contestant I cared about
She was just so much stronger and better than everyone else
I think everybody saw her winning from a mile away
Soooooo, with that being said, having only one contestant to care about doesn’t make me surprised this show never made it far
I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one who felt that way
Don’t worry guys, they’ll sell the eurovision name to another place just to create another terrible show that will be cancelled in one year, just wait for it!
Latín America Song Contest? Uh-oh…
ok but that’s actually a great idea…
I agree. Same goes for Canada. I just don’t like this idea of different Eurovisions. There is only one Eurovision. You can’t copy and paste that. It has a history and culture behind it. I would’ve no problem inviting at least Canada and New Zealand and don’t understand the attitude of some fans here. Maybe it could even help the contest with its money situation. For many smaller countries it has become just too expansive. We need some bigger countries in Eurovision.
Why Canada and New Zealand? Please ask yourself. Why not Ghana and Bolivia? Jamaica and Bangladesh? If you want to expand the contest, it should be open to everybody.
Canada and New Zealand are not gonna pay the fees for Bosnia & Herzegovina or Montenegro or Slovakia, only alienate all those already absent countries even more. It’s EUROvision. This godforsaken hellhole in Geneva has to focus on bringing EUROPE back into the contest. It’s probably not a money situation, it’s a greed situation.
The cancellation is inevitable…. just hoping Peacock will show Eurovision live this May with Johnny Weir commentating.
I will just stick to watching Eurovision on the SVT player.
Id love to watch it live without the commentator. For me it was a bit distracting.
I’d like to watch it without commentary , but being an American, my options are limited. I can’t access eurovision on YouTube because of the geoblock post 2016, and I’d have to pay for Peacock account to watch it here, so I just go with an iPlayer that’s playable in America, like Ireland or Sweden.
If we Americans can vote now, will the contest stop being geoblocked? Fingers crossed?
It would be hypocritical to keep the contest Geo blocked in several countries that they’re trying to court votes from.
I was frustrated at the way the contest was organized as an American. It felt like Melodifestivalen but with overcrowded staging where people were assigned their states and songs written by a collective group of people. And apart from a few songs (Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, Alabama), they were all average and it got to the point that I WASN’T looking forward to the next state/territory performing. The thing is it could have worked but the entire format was wrong. This wasn’t a song contest. This was a TV program like Idol or the Voice. And you can’t replicate what was… Read more »
Brillant comment indeed!
Come on guys, we all know there is no more American Song Contenst. This time its over for good.
Don’t we have enough of American music influence in our European song contest in the first place?
Also, completely unrelated (but seeing as wiwibloggs was posted of other acts competing on dance shows), Brooke is on Dwts Ireland and did a Samba last weekend to Slo Mo. She’s brilliant in the competition btw, nearly always topping the leaderboard or 2nd.
People here generally think she’s going to win it this year.
its not gonna get renewed though , is it?
Aside from the low viewing figures, one of the biggest red flags to me was that the prize of winning meant performing at an awards show but Alexa didnt perform at it (she did attend though).
The whole idea of an American Song Contest was doomed even before. Do not know why Björkman cannot simply admit it was a flop idea of him and his team to start with it. Nobody is perfect! Just admit you have made a big mistake and do not start giving broadcaster the fault.
I think this is gone for good.
Out of topic, but I am surprised it has not been mentioned by wiwibloggs yet. This evening starts Sanremo. 28 songs. 14 tonight starting at 9pm and ending between 1 and 2am. Broadcast will not be geoblocked on satellite (Eutelsat 13°E) and on RaiPlay web platform (search for raiplay dot it) or download the APP on your Android TV or mobile phone. Chiara Ferragni (wife of Fedez) and Gianni Morandi will be the co-hosts tonight, together with the artistic director and main host Amadeus. Other 14 tomorrow night. Guests will be Mahmood and Blanco and the italian group Pooh reuniting… Read more »
For info, it will cost to RAI around 20 millions and will let RAI Pubblicità earn between 50 and 60 millions euros from advertisement.
Alright, but legends like Depeche Mode shouldn’t really have to share the same stage with people who specialized in commercializing crap like the Black Eyed Peas, that one seems like a bit of an uninspired decision, thanks for the info otherwise.
At least Black Eyed Peas and Depeche Mode they will be in two separate evenings.
I’m surprised…that Christer actually thinks it’s coming back in 2024 ?
its dead!
I mean, they made it “into just another talent competition” that just happened to showcase new songs instead of covers. I can understand how you might prefer to watch the Voice or whatever instead.
The state vs state thing was ridicuous, some were simply “assigned” a state as I understand it. How inauthetic is that? To top it all off there were waaaaay too many episodes. I couldn’t commit to that.
Unless they change all that and impress upon the contestants and the audience what the heart of all this really is… just don’t bother.
I said a year ago it would last one season. It just doesn’t work at all over there. Big difference is with the way broadcasting is made in the USA. the format doesn’t appeal and doesn’t fit into scheduling for advertising. To be honest they should just stop it completely and leave it to Europe.
There will be no 2024 contest. Period. They had all the tools and all the templates (like MelFest and the ESC itself) to get it right the FIRST time, and they screwed the pooch. With the atrociously meager viewership of last year’s contest, an attempt to revive it next year will guarantee that less than ? of the 2022 audience will tune in.
Crap. That ‘?’ should be ‘1/3’.
OR, and crazy thought as an American fan, just cancel it. No one is asking for this. The voting system, the way they select acts, the presentation, it is all so cheap and superficial
Ah, ah!
Good riddance.
Wouldn’t mind Mexico being invited for one year, but only if they’d manage to convince someone like Natalia Lafourcade to go, not if they’d send some annoying reggaeton instead…
Mexicans don’t do reggaeton bruh
No? Thought that thing was all over Latin America, but I stand corrected then. What’s your opinion on Natalia tho?
Yes, it is. But most reggaeton artists are from Colombia and Puerto Rico, with some more from Panama and Dominican Republic.
As for my opinion about Natalia, she’s a great artist and it would be surreal in a good way to have her at ESC.
Indeed, very nice to see and Mexicans should be really proud of Natalia as she truly is a special artist, had heard of her before but only actually discovered her music last year with the latest (amazing) album, already listened to it front-to-back multiple times and I’ve also got to say that “Pajarito colibri” and “El lugar correcto” in particular are honestly two of the most beautiful songs ever heard. Sorry for “fanboying” a bit over here but you’re probably the only Mexican user on this site so I felt the need to show my appreciation, haha.
Don’t worry, have you heard “hasta la raíz” or “nunca es suficiente?” Those are my favorite songs from her 🙂
Not at all surprised.
It just didn’t feel like “Eurovision” I guess we could say it was more of an American version of Melfest?
Kind of suspected it wouldn’t last. Just felt like another reality singing show, of which the USA is completely saturated with.
We’ll see how ESC Canada and ESC Latin America turn out, but I won’t hold my breath.
Didn’t care for this thing at all either, went through them briefly at the time and the only true highlight was Allen Stone from Washington State, so he’s the moral winner of this only ever edition for me.
Not surprised but it’s really sad since I love a lot of songs there like and discovered some great songs from the artist.
With that being said, if it does come back next year, I hope they’ll get a better marketing manager and a schedule that isn’t a death sentence (I also had this idea that there should have been four semifinals with 14 competing entries each and a grand final, basically just get rid of the quarter finals).
They are already merrily participating everywhere with the most military bases in the world. Eurovision really doesn’t need any more American “help”, thank you very much.
Shall we act surprised that an American melodifestivalen with entries and stagings that were mostly dark and similar failed?
Why would they do that? They don’t have that right, in the same way that England can not invite the USA.
There’s not too many Mexicans in Spain. In fact, Mexicans are the least numerous Latin American community in Spain.
As for Spaniards in Mexico, I agree, there’s a lot of them here.
It was nothing like Eurovision they made an abomination that nobody wants.
Pretends to be shocked
Well if it doesn’t get renewed at least AleXa can say that she’s the first and only artist to win the American Song Contest… there is categorically no one else who can say that.
Sorry if this is rude but I hope this gets cancelled.
Love AleXa tho.
It’s a pity because there were some gems including my own personal favourite song of the year. But it didn’t seem like a proper contest, more like a series of America’s Got Talent acts with too much focus on the hosts and shoehorned reaction footage. I fear that The Eurovision Song Contest is going the same way thanks to the likes of Bakker and Österdahl.
Bakker is such a terrible guy. He doesn’t understand anything about music. People like that should never run a music show. Many years ago he already declared in an interview with the NDR Eurovision site that he could totally imagine a full playback Eurovision.
What is the motive in trying to go global? I’ve never understood. Money? How does this serve the members of the EBU?
it’s nothing but a disservice to the unique brand of Eurovision. It doesn’t serve the members at all and they they should really start speaking up. I feel like most countries who keep Eurovision alive and don’t damage its reputation are just along for the ride and don’t wanna cause a ruckus.
But we need them to do just that because if they don’t, individuals like Björkman and Bakker will act like they own the contest and do whatever they please with it.
“Rest in Piss bozo you won’t be missed”
– American televisers, probably
I like the Måneskin recall of the video Mammamia.
OT, when will the Czech winner be announced, and is there something to stream to see?
Happy, happy, happy.
Team Markéta?
This mellow emotional feel good stuff is a style I like a lot. She was my fave in Iceland last year, too. The lyrics are a bit thin here, I think I’d love an instrumental version of this. The introvert guy stood out to me, I like his lyrics. I think all five are at least decent, I can’t remember thinking anything bad when went through them. Nothing great, either, but nothing bad. I think Vesna has this in the bag, though.
I voted for Rodan.
I didn’t vote because I don’t approve choosing for another country but I’d be happy, happy, happy with Rodan winning. I can kinda see why the broadcaster let’s everyone vote because the Czech friends I have barely know Eurovision exists but I still don’t like it.
I don’t approve of it either, unless they specifically ask. Which in this case they did.
Tomorrow evening, on the YouTube channel for the Eurovision Song Contest. Link here: https://www.youtube.com/live/bogk3TW8WG8?feature=share
Thank you. For some reason, I thought the winner was being announced tonight.