Across the United States on Monday evening, many Americans asked a simple question: what is the American Song Contest? The all-live NBC music competition, which aired its two-hour premiere last night, attempts to bring Eurovision to the US. That’s not necessarily an easy task; despite its track record of success overseas – you can thank Eurovision for Abba and Celine Dion – the 65-year-old annual song tournament is not widely understood in the US.
Whereas Eurovision showcases one artist ra country and offers a web of political intrigue and often untranslatable local culture, the American version, somehow not called “Amerivision”, pits original songs by 56 artists from all 50 US states, five territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, US Virgin Islands and Northern Mariana Islands) and the nation’s capital in a bracket-style showdown. The multi-step competition will air over the course of six weeks.
