Chris Willman Music WriterAs “American Song Contest” approaches its March 21 premiere date, the “Eurovision Song Contest”-inspired NBC show has announced 56 artists that will compete in representing the 50 U.S.
states, along with a new deal with Atlantic Records to release the upcoming series’ original songs.Some familiar names pop up on the stage-by-state list of competitors — including Jewel (representing Alaska), Macy Gray (Ohio), Michael Bolton (Connecticut), the Crystal Method (Nevada), Sisqo (Maryland) and Allen Stone (Washington) — along with dozens not so well known outside their local territories.Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg were recently announced as co-hosts for the show.
The first episode will air from 8-10 p.m. on March 21, telecast live from the NBCUniversal lot, with the finale slated for May 9.
Every Monday night, there’ll be a batch of songs released along with the airing of a new episode, as Atlantic will issue the original songs from that episode at midnight ET/9 p.m.
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