The Eurovision Song Contest is coming to America. The iconic European cultural event is a televised, annual singing competition with contestants representing their home country. The show is a worldwide phenomenon, drawing more annual viewers than the Super Bowl. The U.S. version, titled the American Song Contest, will arrive in late 2021.
Producer Ben Silverman said in a press release:
For more than 20 years, I’ve tried to bring the Eurovision Song Contest to the United States because it is the greatest and most successful format yet to be adapted. Before I found Who Wants To Be A Millionaire or there was a Pop Idol, Eurovision was dominating the ratings and charts. Put simply, there is nothing else like it on television. The sheer spectacle is amazing. It is a pure celebration of the best in music and the best of what music can be, produced by the world’s elite artisans in all fields of production. 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!!!
The producers will create The American Song Contest Academy, which will be a jury of artists and music industry veterans to select artists to compete. Viewers will also partake in that process through voting.
Watch the show announcement video on their website, and read our guide to Eurovision here.
