American Song Contest

[midnightsun]

Anyone have a link for the show? I missed it live and was hoping to watch tonight

ESCplus Live

live.esc-plus.com

 

[shameless]

Watching it right now, yeah not so excited about the setting - reminds me of the Bundesvision Song Contest with all the artists talking in their postcards and the hosts announcing each of them. It was though to model this for the US market anyways. Maybe the next two phases in the contest will be more exciting, better produced but I doubt this will be a success by that time.
I wish they would do a live voting in ESC style in the finale but being forced to do it another day is anticlimatic anyway. The good thing is that it reminds me again how much I love the ESC and what an amazing concept it is and hopefully will continue to exist as much as I live.

 

[A-lister]

It took yeaaars for Eurovision to become what it is today, take a look back at 1956. You have to be fair and not have too high standards for it at the start

Lol you honestly compare 1956 with 2022 TV? Now that's not fair if anything, for starters the format and technical solutions we have today aren't even remotely comparable. This is a 2022-American prime time, highly invested, TV event that even had an ad running during the Super Bowl Finally (like the most expensive ad space you can buy in the US), let's not compare it to European post war 1950's radio/television standards.

This really does look and sound mediocre, and hopefully it's going to be a one off thing.

 

[hawadharma]

ASC should have brought in few established artistes to help boost audience for this show's debut.
Or maybe create some unnecessary drama to get people watching. lol.

 

[FilipFromSweden]

Lol you honestly compare 1956 with 2022 TV? Now that's not fair if anything, for starters the format and technical solutions we have today aren't even remotely comparable. This is a 2022-American prime time, highly invested, TV event that even had an ad running during the Super Bowl Finally (like the most expensive ad space you can buy in the US), let's not compare it to European post war 1950's radio/television standards.

This really does look and sound mediocre, and hopefully it's going to be a one off thing.

We're not talking about production value, rather that it takes time to build a brand and a reputation of a tv-show. Doesn't really matter how much money you invest into something, to upbuild a cultural reputation and value takes a lot of time and effort. Did you actually believe that the first season of ASC would be on the level of ESC as we know it today?

I don't know why we should hope it's a one off thing. I hope ASC grows blossoms because I love new music and the idea that people can come together and celebrate each other while also competing

 

[FilipFromSweden]

AMERICAN SONG CONTEST was a flop in audience viewers only 2.500.000 people watch it.

Honestly not that bad for a start, Project Runway had waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay less viewers (barely 1m) when the first season aired and it eventually became huge

 

[midnightsun]

Did you actually believe that the first season of ASC would be on the level of ESC as we know it today?

It will never be on the same level as the ESC because it’s customized for America. It’s completely different and that’s ok for me because I don’t need a second ESC since we already have the "creme de la creme“.
Another high quality song contest would be far too much to get invested in.

I actually like the entertaining factor, it’s more funny and more jokes (not the forced ones like in Eurovision), it’s a bit over the top, the fans so close cheering, the crazy performances…

I think it’s a nice addition to ESC and I will definitely watch it. Already looking forward to heat 2. This is the only downer for me right now. The splitting into different heats. And of course the awful amount of commercials after each song.

 

[A-lister]

We're not talking about production value, rather that it takes time to build a brand and a reputation of a tv-show. Doesn't really matter how much money you invest into something, to upbuild a cultural reputation and value takes a lot of time and effort. Did you actually believe that the first season of ASC would be on the level of ESC as we know it today?

I don't know why we should hope it's a one off thing. I hope ASC grows blossoms because I love new music and the idea that people can come together and celebrate each other while also competing

I understand, but even here we can't compare 1950s with 2020s as back then we didn't have the same accesses, there was no internet or social media to boost public awareness or have things go viral, so if we ignore the production value, it is still a complete different time era. On top of that, we are living in very fast-changing times, so if nothing sticks right away, it might very well get cancelled with just 1 season.

I also love music, but not this concept and I explained earlier on the page why. This is a shallow and ignorant take on Eurovision and it doesn't have any of the fundamental parts to be even mentioned in the same breath. At least the Asian attempt (which also flopped) made sense on paper, this not so much.

 

[shameless]

I also love music, but not this concept and I explained earlier on the page why. This is a shallow and ignorant take on Eurovision and it doesn't have any of the fundamental parts to be even mentioned in the same breath. At least the Asian attempt (which also flopped) made sense on paper, this not so much.

Sorry, but do you mind to link to the comment again? I didn't find it and would like to know.

 

[RevNet]

I watched the premiere live with the family in the hotel room while on our mini-vacation in Downtown Mobile (Mo-BEEL), Alabama. For me, while the songs were good (sans Wyoming's song, but I can appreciate a good troll entry every now and then), none of the performances were that great, but they weren't that bad, either. So all in all, a typical ESC year in my eyes. My parents were less impressed than me with the performances, however.

I saw the final number of viewers (which was 2,899,000 according to showbuzzdaily.com) on the way back home, and I have to say for a brand-new IP as far as the American TV landscape is concerned, that's not a bad number. It could've been better, but also it is the very first episode.

On the one hand, I see how the number of commercials means that a lot of people and companies (Mars {the company that makes M&Ms}, Wells Fargo, etc.) want this show to work, but on the other hand, I agree that they're excessive. I also have a DVR, so if I want to, I can fast-forward through the commercials. I actually feel bad for those that don't. Two solutions that I believe NBC should implement for the next ASC, if there is one, is to either have a second screen experience in between each song or at least present the ASC premiere commercial-free. Because cutting to commercial after one song is not going to work at all.

The postcards were great. They were long enough to sink your teeth into and had less of the sappy stuff that NBC is well-known for, which is also nice to see.

All in all, while NBC has the basics down, they could tweak some things to make it better.

 

[A-lister]

Sorry, but do you mind to link to the comment again? I didn't find it and would like to know.

Here, let's call me a "Eurovision-protectionist", and I am proud of it!

https://www.escunited.com/forum/threads/american-song-contest.22583/page-4#post-2188253

 

[Miss Antartica]

this because they dont reveal the top 4 go to in the final, they reaveal only the jury winner, the others 3 are know delayetedin the 7 days, and this dont give many exitiment to the show.

 

[popavapeur]

basically they could let people vote for the songs after the semi final are done, basically we know all the songs and we listened to them at least twice (as there's no big 5 and yada yada). Then you let them vote till the last performance during the grand finale, you stop the vote, count them and you can make a live result.

So okay for people that are seeing the show like 6 hours after it's less "fair" but it's not "unfair" as they could vote as much at they want before the grand finale even airs for the first time.

 

[Stargazer]

Since this was the very first episode of the very first edition, I think some excuses can be made for its slight awkwardness and smaller scale, compared to Eurovision. It's still trying to find its footing, and if they keep this going annually I'm sure things will improve all around. The songs were mostly so-so, apart from a couple of gems like Rhode Island and Connecticut, but that's OK.

My main issues with the format is mainly the anti-climactic way results will be presented. Why even have a Eurovision-style song contest, if you're not going to have the voting AND the results the same evening?! What's the point of even watching the show live then? And likewise, why isn't the show being broadcast (or at least streamed) simultaneously in all the countries that will be showing it? Does NBC even understand what the spirit of the contest is supposed to be? Even more surprising it's being done this way, when half of the executive producers are from Sweden, but perhaps this was something that even they couldn't influence.

If they do it again next year, they should move it to a larger venue, encourage the audience to bring their state flags to wave and reveal all the qualifiers during the show.

 

[shameless]

If they do it again next year, they should move it to a larger venue, encourage the audience to bring their state flags to wave and reveal all the qualifiers during the show.

I am sure they plan this for the GF like they do on your national GF.

 

[FilipFromSweden]

My two cents

I actually loved it and it's one of my new favorite shows. It did get one thing right that Eurovision has sadly not: we got to know the contestants, I fell in love with pretty much all of them. I know I'm not alone in wanting to get to know the ESC contestants more, which is why NikkiLabs little Youtube show was so well received last year by the community.

Loved Snoop as a host, I think Kelly did a decent job but she came across a bit too intense. I also think that more time should've been devoted towards the results portion. The overall quality of the songs were on a really high level imo. I've seen many ESC semi-finals that were worse. My absolute favorite song came from Hueston (Rhode Island), I got tears in my eyes and it would've easily won any jury final in ESC. My other favorites were Connecticut (Michael Bolton), Alexa (Oklahoma) and that boot guy.

A bit surprised that people are bitching about the stage and the production: it all came across very polished and high-budget. I look at the contest more as an NF rather than a big ESC-event though. I find it sad how many ESC fans let their hate towards the USA and American music come out and that people wish for this to flop? We live in the most dystopian times, something cheerful and unifying like this is just what the world needs. I must also point out the hypocrisy of hoping that ASC fails as there are millions of boring, heterosexual trolls out there who pray and shout for the demise of ESC every year.

I can't wait for the next episode and it overall just made me so happy to watch it, which few shows do. I hope this show blossoms and that we one day live in a future where the winner of ASC gets to represent USA in ESC

 

[A-lister]

My two cents

I actually loved it and it's one of my new favorite shows. It did get one thing right that Eurovision has sadly not: we got to know the contestants, I fell in love with pretty much all of them. I know I'm not alone in wanting to get to know the ESC contestants more, which is why NikkiLabs little Youtube show was so well received last year by the community.

This is one of the worst things, the whole reality show concept... as a side off thing like NikkiLabs it's fine if someone likes that stuff, but not as part of the main show, I dread if Eurovision will turn into a reality singing talent show, we already have other concepts for that, no need to turn everything like that. The focus should be on the songs and entries, not some personality contest.

I find it sad how many ESC fans let their hate towards the USA and American music come out and that people wish for this to flop? We live in the most dystopian times, something cheerful and unifying like this is just what the world needs. I must also point out the hypocrisy of hoping that ASC fails as there are millions of boring, heterosexual trolls out there who pray and shout for the demise of ESC every year.

I am not sure what you're on about, I can't speak for others of course, but I don't dislike this because I "hate" USA or American music" (some of my all time favorite artists are American), I feel like you're missing the points the critics are making here or unwilling to understand them tbh. It's not about hate towards the US.

I can't wait for the next episode and it overall just made me so happy to watch it, which few shows do. I hope this show blossoms and that we one day live in a future where the winner of ASC gets to represent USA in ESC

Oh gosh, I dread this horror and hope it will never ever happen, it would completely destroy Eurovision as a concept, it's already odd as it is that Australia is in. Eurovision is a rare and unique pan-European concept and opportunity to share music across our continental borders and to promote European music, what you wish for is basically USA to take over that as well (as we don't have enough US dominance already? Like do they really need that platform as well? ).

 

[Fluke]

So it seems preview clips are out somehow, as you can hear in these videos, but i don't know where they've gotten them from, anyway it seems they put a lot of visually spectacular and genre-diverse entries in the first heat, and much more "plain" songs in this one.... really not much to say about these snippets except that Enisa (New York) seems to be the outstanding one, also mildly curious about Kansas and Oregon, but we'll see!

 

[DanielLuis]

If Heat 2 is even more play and less diverse than the first one then jesus christ. This is destined to flop me thinks

 

[Fluke]

Live performance previews on the official channel now, i don't think they did that last week?!?
New York looks good, but it's not Alexa-level. Kentucky and Virgin Islands sounds way better than in the studio preview, Oregon brings what seems to already be the ASC standard type of "fun entry" like Yam Haus, and i'm kinda enjoying Maine too, but it's gonna be a bit overly similar with all the "hat acts" which might hurt all of them.