Eurovision Comes To The States With "American Song Contest"!

The hit event of the year for Europe, the Eurovision Song Contest, also just known as Eurovision, has produced many iconic songs and well-known artists. Now, artists Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg have decided that it is time to bring the major competition to the States.

NBC first announced in 2020 that it was bringing the global mainstay, the Eurovision Song Contest, Stateside as the American Song Contest. This was delayed and then re-announced to occur last week. Over 200 million people watch the European competition annually, in a celebration of European unity as well as queer culture and camp.

For those of you who either don't religiously tune in to the annual Euro competition, or did not see Will Ferrell in Netflix's Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Eurovision is an international song competition organized annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). allowing participants from different countries in Europe to compete. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed on live television, transmitted throughout Europe, then other countries vote for a winning song. Winning the event is huge for the participants, as they get an encore performance, the iconic glass microphone trophy, and their home country has the honor of hosting the next year’s contest. Previous Eurovision winners include ABBA (representing Sweden) and Celine Dion (representing Switzerland).

For the American version, the Clarkson and Anoop will be hosting the competition while it travels all over the United States to find the next best original hit song.

NBC's "American Song Contest" will feature live performances representing all 50 states, 5 territories, and Washington, D.C. There will be 3 rounds of competition, with audiences set to choose one winning act by popular vote. A solo artist, duo, or a band will represent each location and perform a new original song, celebrating the depth and variety of different styles and genres across America. The three rounds of the competition will consist of a series of Qualifying Rounds, followed by the Semi-Finals and then the ultimate Grand Final where one state or territory will emerge victorious.

Kelly Clarkson told Press Party, "I have been a fan and love the concept of Eurovision and am thrilled to bring the musical phenomenon to America. I'm so excited to work with Snoop and can't wait to see every state and territory represented by artists singing their own songs." 

Snoop matched with Clarkson's enthusiasm: "I am honored to host 'American Song Contest' alongside my Lil sis Kelly Clarkson, aka Miss Texas." 

Beyond the musical talent that will be present at the competition, the contest will present the world with the incredibly different cultures present within the U.S. It will give insight into how different states may look at each other based on what they vote for and how proud they are of themselves and their ideologies. While the states may not have such big conflicts, such as the former Soviet Union countries and the rest of Europe, the United States are very proud of who they are and the possibility of states forming allegiances during the contest is very high. I mean, we don’t envision many New Yorkers voting for country hits from Tennessee, but the possibilities are endless when it comes down to the top spots. The hits are infinite!

There have been some TikTok bangers that came from the Eurovision competition, like “Fairytale” by Alexander Rybak (2009), “Euphoria” by Loreen (2012), “Toy” by Netta Barzilai (2018), and “Arcade” by Duncan Laurence (2019). Most recently, band Måneskin was the 2021 winner with “Zitti E Bouni”.

What talent would the American version bring? Keep your eyes peeled, the all-live series will premiere on Monday, March 21 from 8-10 p.m. ET/PT from the NBCUniversal lot!