5 Reasons American Song Contest Might Be Better Than America Itself

Now that it's debut episode has aired, it seems possible that American Song Contest will be better than America itself. That may seem like a hyperbolic way to describe a weekly music competition — especially one that's inspired by the decidedly foreign Eurovision Song Contest — but take a look at these five supporting arguments and see if you agree.

(1)The Voting System Doesn't Favor Big States

On American Song Contest, 56 original songs will be performed by 56 artists, one from each state and U.S. territory, plus Washington, D.C. For the first five weeks of the show's eight-week run, we'll see 11 or 12 songs performed per night. Out of that group, one artist will autoamtically advance to the next round, thanks to a panel of 56 music industry experts (again, with one expert per state or territory.) After that, three additional artists will be chosen by public vote. Every state awards their top vote-getter 12 points, and whoever gets the most points wins.

In other words, all the states and territories have equal sway. Forget California getting 55 electoral votes and Alaska getting three. The even distribution of influence among both the jury AND the public feels incredibly democratic.

This is already creating juicy results. After the first live episode aired Monday night, the jury selected Hueston, a blues-rock singer from Rhode Island, to move on to the next round.

This was arguably the best performance of the night: The song is simple and poignant, and Hueston sang it well. But more importantly, there are no other songs quite like it in the remaining group. So with the blues-rock contingent already satisfied, who else will be moving on? Will advancement require a coalition of votes from, like, Guam and Missouri? Unlike the presidential election, campaigning will count equally in every region. We'll find out next week which three songs swept the polls.

(2) There's an Exciting Depth of Representation

On the first episode, we got a country singer from Arkansas and a reggaeton performer from Puerto Rico, which is pretty much what you'd expect. But we also got a rapper from Wyoming, a Ugandan-born hip-hop artist who was raised in Indiana, a queer rocker from Iowa, and a K-Pop star from Oklahoma.

And look... nobody is saying that AleXa, the K-Pop singer, is gonna blow up like BTS. To be honest, her song was pretty forgettable, as were an large number of this week's tunes. But, still, it's impressive that she's from Oklahoma. It's also encouraging that the show is committed to highlighting such a diverse range of musical styles. This sets it apart from Eurovision, where most of the songs typically sound like hacky versions of the latest pop hits, give or take a few Finnish chorales.

Plus, it's just a nice reminder that every state and territory in America contains a multitude of voices. We are not a homogeneous country.

(3) Superstars Are Treated Like The Rest of Us

There's already a history of celebrities competing on non-celebrity reality series, and in that spirit, when Michael Bolton took the stage on American Song Contest, he got the same treatment as everyone else.

Sure, they mentioned his Grammys and his multiplatinum records in his intro package, but everybody's introduction featured their career highlights. Bolton's didn't look or sound different, just because he taught us how to cry when he sang "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You." And in another victory for equanimity, Bolton talked about his grandchildren. Here's to cross-generational talents taking the stage!

(4) Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg Are In Charge

Kelly and Snoop are both co-hosts and executive producers on the show. They are leaders who can speak to the people and understand what the folks on stage are doing. They have empathy, experience, and dope hits. Surely these qualities would help the Clarkson-Dogg ticket sail to the White House.

(5) It Knows How to Boot Goof

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is cute, but when Wyoming rapper Ryan Charles took the stage to perform "New Boot Goofin," it was clear that Americans of all stripes had found a new anthem. Who among us hasn't felt the pride of a new boot or similar? Who among us wouldn't like to goof around as we celebrate that pride? These are the boundary-crashing questions that the show is helping our nation to answer.

New episodes of American Song Contest air Monday nights live at 8:00 PM ET on NBC, and stream the next day on Peacock and Hulu.

People are talking about American Song Contest in our forums. Join the conversation.

Mark Blankenship has been writing about arts and culture for twenty years, with bylines in The New York Times, Variety, Vulture, Fortune, and many others. You can hear him on the pop music podcast Mark and Sarah Talk About Songs.