Americans say that the first version of the popular song contest was not a television attraction, but the producer believes that it will take time to adopt Eurovision.
The producers at NBC had hoped that the popular Eurovision Song Contest would attract American television viewers.
The first episode aired on the channel live for two hours on Monday, but had to be defeated by another song contest on a rival TV channel.
2.9 million American viewers watched the “American Song Contest” during the live broadcast on NBC, but with the ABC competition, a new episode of “American Idol” received 4.8 million viewers, according to figures from Showbuzz daily.
Artists Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson are the hosts of the American version. 56 artists from 50 US states compete for best song through four TV shows.
As in Europe, the winner is chosen by a combination of the votes of television viewers and a jury with music experts from all over the country.
“Not up to Eurovision”
Hey ho His music editor Lindsey Parker wrote that the first episode of the American Song Contest “failed to deliver on Eurovision’s crazy promise or premise.”
Swedish producer Christer Björkman tells Swedish media that you need some version of the show to really make it work, and that it wasn’t an overnight hit.
Reactions are mixed on social media. Some American TV viewers on Twitter say the songs and the TV show should be better promoted before the premiere.
The United States will be divided
The “Eurovision Song Contest” has been around since 1956, and is attended by 200 million viewers annually. The competition is relatively unknown in the United States, but has been broadcast on American television for several years.
But in recent years, Eurovision has received more attention in the North American media. Many also got an insight into the musical circus after the Netflix Comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Epic Story of Fire.
Christer Björkman and Ola Melzig, who were behind previous editions of the Eurovision Song Contest, announced in 2019 that they had secured the rights to produce their own version of the competition in the USA.
In an interview with Aftonbladet, the responsible producer, Ben Silverman, stated that he hopes the competition will help unite a divided United States.
In Europe, the song contest had a special significance for the unification of Europe in the aftermath of World War II.
“Infuriatingly humble web fan. Writer. Alcohol geek. Passionate explorer. Evil problem solver. Incurable zombie expert.”
