Over the last few months we have been drip fed news about the American Song Contest, which will be held in the United States of America. We now have a confirmed US broadcaster on board and submissions for the contest have officially opened.
But what will the contest look like, who is behind it and who is allowed to compete?
We run through what we know so far...
Who will broadcast the contest?
Back in May this year just before the 'Eurovision Song Contest 2021' it was announced in a press release that the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) has been secured the broadcasting rights to air the 'American Song Contest'.
NBC is a commercial broadcast television and radio network that has its headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. The network broadcasts an array of well known shows including 'Law & Order', 'America's Got Talent', 'The Voice', 'Weakest Link' and 'Saturday Night Live' just to name a few.
Who can compete in the contest?
The contest is set to feature unknown and up-and-coming artists with assistance from record companies, with independent artists also encouraged to submit music.
Submissions are now open for the contest with the following requirements:
Entries will be accepted from all the US states including the US territories, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and the capital Washington, D.C.
Artists must be 16 years old and over
No more than six members in each act
Contestants must be legal residents of the United States or the US territories
Each song entry must be original, no cover songs or tribute bands will be accepted
The producers are looking for an array of artists and songs from different genres from across the US
So we could get a lot of new artists and possibly previously known artists competing in the contest. As during the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 Semi Final 2 press conference US rapper Flo Rida, who competed at Eurovision this year for San Marino with Senhit for the song 'Adrenalina' was asked about the American Song Contest. He was asked if he would take part in the American Song Contest to which he responded:
"I would love to, That would be a dream come true because I am excited with what is going on here for it to go over to America would be amazing"
When will it be held?
The inaugural American Song Contest is set to take place in 2022. NBC is only planning to air one cycle of 'The Voice' during the 2021-2022 season instead of the two cycles the broadcaster usually runs each season. Unfortunately for 'The Voice' its ratings have dropped by 12 percent and by a whopping 25 percent in adults aged 18-49 years old. This frees up NBC's season to feature new content.
The network has the 'American Song Contest' as part of seven new shows that it plans to debut in 2022. The other shows include 'America's Got Talent: Extreme', an AGT spinoff featuring stunts, 'Home Sweet Home', which is a social experiment by Ana DuVernay, 'The Wheel' a game show, a documentary series produced by Dick Wolf called 'LA Fire and Rescue', 'That's My Jam' hosted by Jimmy Fallon and the return of the genealogy series 'Who Do You Think You Are?'.
What will the contest look like?
With the prospect of 50+ states and territories being invited to enter songs for the contest there will be more entries than we have ever seen at the Eurovision Song Contest. So the 'American Song Contest' will consist of three rounds. Firstly there will be a series of Qualifying Rounds. Then successful acts will proceed to the Semi Final stage. The final stage will be the Grand Final where there will be one winner.
Where will it be held?
There is no confirmation yet as to where the show will be filmed and or take place. Though we do know that just like Eurovision the 'American Song Contest' will be broadcast live.
Who is behind the American Song Contest?
Plans for the contest were first revealed back in 2019 during the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. Christer Björkman, Anders Lenhoff, Ola Melzig and Peter Settman will serve as producers with Ben Silverman as executive producer. Silverman is responsible for having imported shows like 'The Office', 'Weakest Link' and 'Big Brother' from Europe into the United States.
These producers may sound very familiar to you as they have worked in over twenty Eurovision Song Contests between them. They acquired the format rights for the American Song Contest from the EBU. They partnered with Propagate to take the show to the United States. They have also partnered with the Universal Television Alternative Studio.
So while the teams behind the American Song Contest still working on the show, we will bring you more news as it comes to light.
Watch the previous American Song Contest promo here: