Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg have been revealed as hosts for the upcoming American Song Contest. The new US adaptation of the Eurovision Song Contest will debut on March 21.
US broadcaster NBC revealed the hosts during the Superbowl with a short commercial promoting the show. The contest will be broadcast live from Universal Studio Lot in California and will run for 8 weeks until the Grand Final on Monday 9 May. (Yes, the same week as the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin!)
Kelly Clarkson won the first season American Idol in 2002 and has since become a Grammy Award-winning artist and Emmy-winning talk show host. She recently covered Eurovision 2019 winning song ‘Arcade’ on her talk show.
‘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.’
Kelly Clarkson
US rapper Snoop Dogg needs little introduction as an internationally recognised artist. His achievements include 40 million albums sold worldwide, number one many times on international Billboard charts and 20 Grammy nominations.
‘I am honored to host American Song Contest alongside my lil sis Kelly Clarkson, aka Miss Texas. 🎤🎬👊🏾👊🏾’
Snoop Dogg
‘American Song Contest’
All fifty states in the USA will take part, as well as Washington D.C. as a district. Furthermore, five U.S. territories will also be taking part. They are American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.
The series will be produced by Propagate in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio. (a division of Universal Studio Group)
The Eurovision Song Contest has shown that it can unite different countries and artists for a few nights every year to focus on their mutual love and respect for music. Bringing The American Song Contest and the Eurovision brand to the U.S. is an incredibly ambitious project, but one worth doing, since we think these inherent values are intrinsic to uniting a fractional America through its greatest export and global impact … culture!!
Ben Silverman, Chairman and Co-CEO of Propagate
A whole new world…
With the American Song Contest confirmed, the Eurovision brand is crossing the Atlantic in a massive way. Of course, Netflix released a surprise hit film about the contest, titled Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga in 2020. You can read our team’s thoughts on the movie here.
Plans for the contest had been in the making for a while, with Christer Björkman announcing in March that talks were ongoing. The first reports about the ideas came out in May 2019, with both Björkman and Ola Melzig hosting a press conference. Ola Melzig will also be involved in the first edition for 2022. Soon after the first announcement, organiser Peter Settman confirmed that multiple broadcasters had an interest in the rights. This presumably included NBC, who have ended up landing the gig.
Are you looking forward to the American Song Contest? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify and YouTube to see interviews and reactions during the 2022 national final season.
