‘Songland’ Premiere Time & Channel

NBC 'Songland' logo

Songland premieres tonight at 10/9c on NBC. The competition series provides “one talented winner per episode with the opportunity to have their song recorded and released worldwide by chart-topping artists”, according to the official website. The series is produced by former Voice coach Adam Levine.

The series will feature appearances from chart-topping artists like Charlie Puth, Meghan Trainor, will.i.am, OneRepublic, Kelsea Ballerini, Macklemore, Aloe Blacc, Leona Lewis and the Jonas Brothers. While the guest artist for each week will change, the main trio of producers will return for each episode. John Legend will be the guest for the series premiere.

The Songwriting Competition ‘Songland’ Premieres at 10 P.M. ET on NBC

The first panelist is Ester Dean, a Grammy nominee who has produced for artists like Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry and is an actress in the Pitch Perfect franchise. The second panelist is Shane McAnally, a Grammy-winning songwriter who has worked with Kacey Musgraves and Kelly Clarkson and who has 38 number one country records. He was named the 2019 ACM Songwriter of the Year. The final panelist is Ryan Tedder, the frontman of OneRepublic who moonlights as a songwriter for superstars like Beyonce and Taylor Swift.

The format for Songland is different than most singing competitions, as there will be four different songwriters each week. The songwriters will perform their original work in front of the panelists and one guest artist whom the song is intended for. After giving their feedback, the three songwriters will be selected to work with a producer in order to work on the track and make it fit the singer’s style. NBC states that “In the end, a winner will be chosen and their song will be recorded and released for a global audience.”

The Series Will Feature Different Guest Artists Like John Legend & Charlie Puth Each Week

McAnally talked to Rolling Stone about the show, and what initially drew him to it. “There is an element of competition, but what sort of evolved as we were doing it — because we had collaborated so much — we realized that we really were there to just find the best song for the artist,” he explained. “And it wasn’t about who ‘won’ because there are so many different opportunities for these songs once they get rewritten and rerecorded, even if it’s not right for John Legend.”

“We want to do the very best job and we all helped on so many things,” McAnally continued. “There are so many times when I was in the studio and I would call Ester and say, ‘I’m stuck on this chorus. What would you do here?’ And then Ester might call me and say, ‘Hey, remember that thing you came up with? Can you remember what that was, because I want to use that.’ It was just this very free-flowing collaborative process.”

Tedder told Official Charts that Songland stands out from other shows because it gives viewers insight into the creative process. “I can’t compare it to The Voice, or X Factor because it is so unlike any of these shows. This is the first show in my opinion that has cracked the code on music,” he said. “At the end of a cooking show, you don’t get to taste the food. At the end of Songland, you get to taste the ‘food’ – you get to hear the song.”