Kelly Clarkson Talks New Gig Hosting Eurovision’s US Adaptation American Song Contest

Get ready to find America’s song!

It’s state vs state in NBC’s American Song Contest, a live 8-week event hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson, that brings the Eurovision Song Contest format to the United States. In a virtual producer panel, executive producers Kelly Clarkson, Ben Silverman, Audrey Morrissey, Anders Lenhoff, and Christer Björkman discuss bringing the new music show to life.

Each week will feature two hours of live music celebrating regional passion and state by state brilliance, with episodes showcasing newcomers, as well as legacy artists like Macy Gray, Sisqó, Jewel, and Michael Bolton. Ben Silverman opened up about bringing the 65-year Eurovision Song Contest model to America. “I've pursued the rights for this for over 25 years. This has been the granddaddy of all music competition shows. It's not only the first, it's the most ambitious and unique, and I'm so thrilled that we are all doing it together for NBC,” he said. “Eurovision […] remains arguably the most popular and important entertainment television show in the world, and I think it translates beautifully to America and our diverse culture that is only unified through its music and song.”

Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson serve as hosts for the live show. “I can't wait for how well they do in this kind of live environment but also that they represent such different parts of our country. They are a dream couple and team to drive this show for us,” said Silverman, while Clarkson shared her excitement to team up with Snoop: “I love Snoop. I loved working with him on The Voice. We worked really well together, and the thing I loved most about him is that he really took his time listening and taking [each performance] in. He really cared, and he gave really solid feedback. He was into it, and you can really tell, and America can tell.”

Both Clarkson and Snoop share a diversity in the musical genres they’ve tackled, as well as a love to see new artists thrive, making them the perfect hosting duo for American Song Contest. “[Snoop] covers different music. He's done pop. He's done rap. He's done all of these other things, and I've done country and pop and all of these other things. I was making a joke earlier that I think the only thing we don't have is, like, a polka artist. People are seeing different languages, different styles, different everything,” said Clarkson. “While we are from different areas, we both really love people succeeding. We both really love watching people nail it. We both really love supporting other artists, and he's just fun to work with. So I know we might seem like the odd couple, but we get along well.”

What makes American Song Contest different from other music competitions is that it’s not geared toward discovering amateur musicians. “This show is not for the 15-year-old whose family doesn't know they sing and they are going to come out on The Voice or American Idol or AGT and blow people away. This is a professional platform,” said Audrey Morrissey. “This is for the artists, the person who is committed to, ‘This is what I'm doing in my life, and I've been grinding it and working it on the road for years. I'm kind of a known entity. A&R scouts know about me. Maybe I am about to be signed, or I already have been signed, or I've turned down deals because I want to go it alone.’”

Morrissey continued: “Part of the legacy of Eurovision is that pretty much everybody that does Eurovision is signed, and many of the artists that go out for Eurovision are huge stars in their own right in their home countries. So we really wanted to deliver on that aspect too with this show.”

The creative team shared their confidence that while people might initially show state pride, the pure talent will find viewers rooting for America’s song over anything else. “It's about the song that touches you,” said Clarkson, while Christer Björkman co-signed: “When you sit down to watch the show in the beginning, of course, you root for your home state, but then you are going to fall in love with any song that you like.”

American Song Contest will also maintain the strong production value that Eurovision is known for. “It's unbelievable. Our sets, the spectacle, the costume design, the lighting design, all of the production value,” said Silverman. “One of the great parts of having Christer and Anders and their teams here is we are really informed by that Eurovision finale. All of its ambition, all of its theatrics, all of its spectacle are going to be on our show live.”

But that does beg the question — will legacy artists have a leg up over more up-and-coming artists? “It's one thing to represent yourself in a competition. It's another thing to represent your state,” said Silverman. “And whether you are hearing it from Allen Stone or Michael Bolton or Macy Gray, they are carrying this with so much weight and equity, as is every single participant in this show. And I think that's a huge difference because you do go into it with a lot more behind you.”

“Americans love to discover new people, new musicians, new songs, new everything, and they also love an underdog,” said Morrissey, with Clarkson confirming, “I almost feel like legacy artists are going to have to work harder.”

Clarkson is already thinking ahead on what could be achieved if American Song Contest finds similar success to Eurovision. “There's so many different pockets of the world. Even in Texas, where I'm from, there's so many different pockets. You could find completely different artists. You've got everybody from Destiny's Child, Dixie Chicks, Norah Jones, Willie Nelson,” she shared. “It's going to open up all of this conversation and all of this diversity that I feel like we've been divided for in this country for quite a bit because people have their preconceived notions of who is from where. And that's just not true anymore, especially in such a digital age and the Internet age. We are all very similar more than not.”

American Song Contest debuts on NBC on March 21.