‘American Song Contest’ Mimics Popular Global Competition ‘Eurovision,’ Bringing The Singing Stateside

It took a quarter of a century, but Ben Silverman finally made it happen.

“I’ve always loved this incredible show,” he says of Eurovision, the long-running, fantastically popular international songwriting competition series.

“I’ve pursued the rights for this for over 25 years. This has been the granddaddy of all music competition shows. It’s not only the first, it’s the most ambitious and unique. Eurovision remains arguably the most popular and important entertainment television show in the world,” says Silverman.

Now, he’s brought the concept to the United States with American Song Contest, explaining, “I think it translates beautifully to America and our diverse culture that is only unified through its music and song.”

In the new iteration artists from all 50 states, five U.S. territories and the nation’s capital perform original songs across different genres as they compete for votes in an eight-week live event that will crown one grand prize winner. Each artist represents either a state, territory, or the District of Columbia for a total of 56 contestants.

Silverman says the American version is ‘filled with regional passion and state‑by‑state brilliance’ and has significant ‘cultural relevance.’

Joining Silverman on the creative team is Christer Bjorkman, who has served as a producer on Eurovision. He says, ‘When we started looking for collaborations in the states, there was someone who called us and literally told us ‘You don’t dare do this without me.’ That was Ben.”

Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg are the hosts of the series.

“I actually found out about Eurovision [when] I was 20 [and] went overseas for the first time,” says Clarkson. “Everybody talked about Eurovision anywhere and I was, like, ‘What is this contest?’ I finally ended up finding out about it, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.”

When the producers suggested to Clarkson that she host, showrunner Audrey Morrissey says that Clarkson said, “‘Oh, my God. Wait. Eurovision in America? That’s the best idea I’ve ever heard of!’”

Clarkson says that Snoop is perfect companion host, “he’s very transparent with people when they are, for lack of a better word, bullshitting. That’s who he is.”

She adds that while the two are from ‘different areas,’ “We both really love people succeeding. We both really love watching people nail it. We both really love supporting other artists, and he’s just fun to work with. So, I know we might seem like the odd couple, but we get along well.”

Combined, Clarkson says the duo are a good representation of a plethora of genres. “He’s done pop. He’s done rap. He’s done all of these other things, and I’ve done country and pop and all of these other things. So, we like a lot of different styles of music.”

Clarkson also points out that geography does not necessarily determine a musician’s style, explaining, “In Texas, where I’m from, you find completely different artists. You’ve got everybody from Destiny’s Child, Dixie Chicks, Norah Jones, [to] Willie Nelson.”

She says that’s ‘what’s cool about the show,’ is that “it’s going to open up all of this conversation and all of this diversity. I feel like we’ve been divided in this country for quite a bit because people have their preconceived notions of who is from where, and that’s just not true anymore, especially in such a digital age.”

While the competition pits state against state, basing advancement on the popular vote, states with smaller populations needn’t worry — the producers assure that there’s a voting mechanism in place to help equate the states.

However, Clarkson truly feels that votes won’t be so much about locale but more about, ‘the song that touches you.’

Silverman agrees, saying, “[Viewers] are rooting to find America’s song.”

Another twist in the competition is that there are a few professional singers competing, such as Michael Bolton, Macy Gray, and Jewel.

Clarkson feels that the fact that these artists are well-known doesn’t really play too much into the narrative of the series, reasoning, “Americans love to discover new people, new musicians, new songs, new everything, and they also love an underdog.” In light of this, she says that she feels like, “the legacy artists are going to have to work harder.”

But, it’s also this aspect that makes American Song Contest different from The Voice and American Idol; that it’s not for amateurs, as Morrissey says. “This is a professional platform. This is for the person who is committed to ‘This is what I’m doing in my life, and I’ve been grinding it and working it for years.’”

Above all else, Bjorkman points out that the artists, “have to be passionate about what you do. You have to deliver your goods. You have 2 minutes and 45. That’s all you have. You have to be there in that moment, and that’s all you need. Famous or not famous, it doesn’t matter.”

Clarkson continues to gush about why American Song Contest is ‘such a cool concept for this country.’

“We are so unfortunately divided. It’s just been a very hard couple of years. So, it’s one of those things where, I think, feeling like you are not isolated and feeling like you are a part of something that’s bigger than your everyday world is so important. And it sounds cheesy, but it’s so important right now for everyone.”

‘American Song Contest’ airs Mondays at 8/7c on NBC and streams on Peacock.