NBC American Song Contest
In 2021, NBC debuted the new competition show “American Song Contest” with hosts Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg. The show has yet to be renewed, however, leaving fans of it and of “The Voice” in limbo while waiting for official announcements.
“American Song Contest” aired on Monday nights in the spring of 2021 and competed with ABC’s “American Idol.” The show’s ratings did not reach the height that executives may have wanted, hovering at fewer than 2 million viewers per episode for most of the season.
The season finale aired to a total of 2.04 million viewers, which was the second-most watched episode to the season premiere, which reached 2.8 million viewers, according to TVSeriesFinale.
The Show Is ‘In Negotiations’
According to Eurovix World, “American Song Contest” is still in negotiations.
Christer Björkman, who owns the rights to “American Song Contest,” told the outlet that “We are still negotiating and it is, as always, about money.”
The show featured acts from each of the 50 states as well as 5 U.S. territories and Washington D.C. with AleXa and her song “Wonderland” coming out on top.
With the lacking ratings, however, it’s possible NBC will decide to bring back “The Voice” for an extra season rather than take another chance on “American Song Contest.”
“The Voice” is consistently a powerhouse when it comes to ratings for the network, and it holds up against “American Idol” in most cases. Plus, there has been evidence that “The Voice” will be coming back for a spring 2023 season.
‘The Voice’ May Return in the Spring
Season 21 of “The Voice” wrapped in December 2021, and it has been followed by a hiatus of over 6 months from the show. Usually, the coaches begin filming the spring season while the fall season of the show is still airing, however, in 2021, the show announced that it would only be airing once per year instead of twice, per Deadline.
This marks the first time that the show will be on the one-season-per-year schedule since a decade ago, as, since then, it began airing twice per year.
Season 22 of the show returns on Monday, September 19, 2022.
On May 31, 2022, “The Voice” casting announced a new casting call on Instagram.
“VIRTUAL OPEN CALL REGISTRATION OPENS TOMORROW,” the account posted. “Set your reminders and sign up tomorrow for June 8, 9, 21 and 22!”
They added, “We can’t wait to hear what you’ve got!”
They also posted the next day reminding fans to audition for the show.
There’s no telling which coaches could return for a spring 2023 season. The coaches for the fall of 2022 are Blake Shelton, Camila Cabello, John Legend and Gwen Stefani as Kelly Clarkson takes her first season off in nearly a decade.
If the show does return in the spring, it’s possible that there could also be a return by Clarkson as well. She has said that she is taking the summer of 2022 off, which is likely why she did not choose to return to the NBC singing competition for the fall 2022 season.
Some evidence does point to “The Voice” returning for at least the spring season of 2023.
“If you are selected as a participant, you must be willing to travel to and reside at one or more undisclosed locations in the United States for several weeks at any time in October 2022 and May 2023 (or as otherwise scheduled by Producer). Economy travel to be paid for by Producer,” the auditions eligibility page reads.
Those dates would account for the filming of a spring season of “The Voice,” leading through live shows and a May finale, which was the schedule the show generally stuck to before switching to just one show a year.
It’s likely the news will be announced in coming weeks, as the show would begin taping in late fall 2022 for a spring 2023 season.
The Voice” is set to return to NBC on September 19, 2022. The season will feature coaches Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Camila Cabello, and John Legend.
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