American Song Contest: crowning a decade of success? – Summary 1/3.

The year 2022 will be an interesting year for Eurovision Song Contest fans for a number of reasons – and not just because of the hosting of the contest in Turin. Our focus this week is overseas, as we learn more and more about the US version of the continental contest…

The first news of the American Song Contest came during the 2019 Tel Aviv contest: it was during the last Israeli edition that it was revealed that a French version of the European musical extravaganza was being made. Since our last recap in 2020, more details have emerged about the US version, including that the first edition could take place in the winter months of 2022 and that there could be a multi-round competition leading to an interstate final.

The above news was published in August 2020 by Variety – and then by the EBU itself during Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam – about the American Song Contest, noting that it could easily “suck the magic out of a show that has been around for more than six decades”. In our round-up series, we first look at where the American success might come from and what has given overseas residents a focus on Eurovision.

Europe’s song contest in America

The history of the Eurovision Song Contest in the US predates its popularity in the 2010s. Some literature dates the first broadcast in the United States to 1971, but two years earlier, in 1969, the European continental contest was presented in Puerto Rico before a long break from the competition from 2003 to 2004.

The Swedish victory in 2012 marked a milestone in the history of modern Eurovision when the song contest drew its highest viewership outside Europe – and the participating countries – from the United States. The big global opening, however, dates back to the middle of the last decade, when the traditional Eurovision Song Contest finals became a regular feature overseas, much to the delight of fans.

American Song Contest: from dream to reality

For decades, however, the American Eurovision Song Contest lurked at the bottom of a drawer – in the mind of the creator of the new franchise. Ben Silverman, one of the producers of the American Song Contest, said back in 2020 that he had been trying to make it happen for nearly “20 years”, a statement echoed in a 2006 BBC article.

Of course, in addition to realising the dream, market competition is also in favour of creating an American format: according to the British public service media portal, the format of the music contest was to be pitted against rival FOX network’s American Idol programme by the then-developer NBC television network. (It is interesting to note that the aim is unlikely to change in 2022, as the 20th season of the talent show, which is already on ABC, will still be broadcast on the rival network in March 2022, during the main American Song Contest season, and during the main American Song Festival.)

However, the decade and a half of preparation ended in 2021 – perhaps due to the success of the 2020 Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, but also the COVID-19 crown virus pandemic, which only served to boost the project.

After the announcement during the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, there was no turning back: by May 2021, NBC had acquired the rights and in June the application window for the American Song Contest competition songs was opened…

Illustration by NBC
Source: Eurovision.tv, EBU, BBC, Variety, NBC