121-489: The American Song Contest was a short-lived American music reality competition television series based on the Eurovision Song Contest . The sole season of the series was hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson ; it consisted of eight episodes airing between March 21 and May 9, 2022 on NBC . It saw acts representing all fifty U.S. states , five territories , as well as Washington, D.C. compete for
242-522: A Mormon splinter group), Breaking Amish and Amish Mafia (the Amish ), and Big Fat Gypsy Weddings and its spinoffs ( Romani people ). The Real Housewives franchise offers a window into the lives of social-striving urban and suburban housewives. Many shows focus on wealth and conspicuous consumption , including Platinum Weddings , and My Super Sweet 16 , which documented huge coming of age celebrations thrown by wealthy parents. Conversely,
363-580: A nuclear family (filmed in 1971) going through a divorce; unlike many later reality shows, it was more or less documentary in purpose and style. In 1974 a counterpart program, The Family , was made in the UK, following the working-class Wilkins family of Reading . Other forerunners of modern reality television were the 1970s productions of Chuck Barris : The Dating Game , The Newlywed Game , and The Gong Show , all of which featured participants who were eager to sacrifice some of their privacy and dignity in
484-403: A sweepstakes for listeners on iHeartRadio stations. Reception for the series was largely mixed, with many critics noting that it did not live up to its Eurovision inspiration; it was ultimately not renewed for a 2023 season. The American Song Contest put artists head-to-head against other representatives in a series of qualifying rounds, leading to the semi-finals and a prime time final in
605-591: A " March Madness " style. The winning act earns the title of Best Original Song. As initially announced in August 2020, the competition would feature professional musical artists such as solo singers, duos, or groups of up to six members from each of the 50 U.S. states. By May 2021, the format had been expanded to include all five populated U.S. territories and the nation's capital and federal district of Washington, D.C. The participating territories were American Samoa , Guam , Northern Mariana Islands , Puerto Rico , and
726-477: A 2003 paper, theorists Elisabeth Klaus and Stephanie Lücke referred to the former category as "docusoaps", which consist of "narrative reality", and the latter category as "reality soaps", which consist of "performative reality". Since 2014, the Primetime Emmy Awards have used a similar classification, with separate awards for " unstructured reality " and " structured reality " programs, as well as
847-454: A Reality or Reality-Competition Program , was added. In 2007, the web series The Next Internet Millionaire appeared; it was a competition show based in part on The Apprentice , and was billed as the world's first Internet reality show. In 2010 the Dutch singing competition show The Voice of Holland , created by John de Mol Jr. , premiered; it added to the singing competition template
968-443: A camera crew on an outdoor adventure , such as hunting , fishing , hiking, scuba diving , rock climbing, wildlife photography, horseback riding, race car driving, and the like, with most of the resulting action and dialogue being unscripted, except for the narration. In the 1966 Direct Cinema film Chelsea Girls , Andy Warhol filmed various acquaintances with no direction given. The Radio Times Guide to Film 2007 said that
1089-584: A celebrity going about their everyday life: notable examples include The Anna Nicole Show , The Osbournes , Gene Simmons Family Jewels , Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica , Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Hogan Knows Best . VH1 in the mid-2000s had an entire block of such shows, known as "Celebreality". Shows such as these are often created with the idea of promoting a celebrity product or upcoming project. Some documentary-style shows shed light on rarely seen cultures and lifestyles. One example
1210-447: A combination of the jury and public votes. Moreover, two artists with the highest streams to this point returned as "redemption picks" and would join the qualifiers in the semi-finals. The first qualifier round was held on Monday, March 21. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Rhode Island to advance to the semi-final. On April 18, it was announced on The Kelly Clarkson Show that Wyoming had advanced to
1331-489: A commercial radio station in New Bedford, Massachusetts , also broadcast the 2018 and 2019 finals, with English and Portuguese commentary. Netflix licensed the video-on-demand rights for the 2019 and 2020 contests. The OTT platform planned to release the musical comedy film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga together with the 2020 contest. However, because of the contest's cancellation due to
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#17327725007101452-464: A density of 111.04 inhabitants/sq mi (42.872/km ), compared to 93.844/sq mi (36.233/km ) for the nation as a whole. While conterminous U.S. has the precise meaning of contiguous U.S. (both adjectives meaning "sharing a common boundary"), other terms commonly used to describe the 48 contiguous states have a greater degree of ambiguity. Because Alaska is also a part of North America , the term continental United States also includes that state, so
1573-441: A state, it was properly included within the continental U.S. due to being an incorporated territory . The term mainland United States is sometimes used synonymously with continental United States , but technically refers only to those parts of states connected to the landmass of North America, thereby excluding not only Hawaii and overseas insular areas , but also islands which are part of continental states but separated from
1694-440: A televised competition. The 1976–1980 BBC series The Big Time featured a different amateur in some field (cooking, comedy, football, etc.) trying to succeed professionally in that field, with help from notable experts. The 15-episode series is credited with starting the career of Sheena Easton , who was selected to appear in the episode showing an aspiring pop singer trying to enter the music business. In 1978, Living in
1815-466: A third award for " reality-competition " programs. In many reality television programs, camera shooting and footage editing give the viewer the impression that they are passive observers following people going about their daily personal and professional activities; this style of filming is sometimes referred to as fly on the wall , observational documentary or factual television . Story "plots" are often constructed via editing or planned situations, with
1936-687: A top athlete and celebrity, the brutal nature of the murders, and issues of race and class in Los Angeles celebrity culture, the sensational case dominated ratings and the public conversation. Many reality television stars of the 2000s and 2010s have direct or indirect connections to people involved in the case, most notably Kim Kardashian , daughter of defense attorney Robert Kardashian , and several of her relatives and associates. The series Expedition Robinson , created by television producer Charlie Parsons, which first aired in 1997 in Sweden (and
2057-425: A virtual press conference: "We are so unfortunately divided... and having so many things going on – it's been a very hard couple of years and now it's getting more serious. Feeling like you are not isolated and that you are a part of something bigger than your everyday world is so important. That's what this show is going to do for people. Everyone is being represented. It's a really great concept in general but one that
2178-585: Is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s with shows such as The Real World , then achieved prominence in the early 2000s with the success of the series Survivor , Idol , and Big Brother , all of which became global franchises. Reality television shows tend to be interspersed with "confessionals", short interview segments in which cast members reflect on or provide context for
2299-469: Is actual land, composing 83.65 percent of the country's total land area, and is comparable in size to the area of Australia. Officially, 160,820.25 square miles (416,522.5 km ) of the contiguous United States is water area, composing 62.66 percent of the nation's total water area. The contiguous United States, if it were a country, would be fifth on the list of countries and dependencies by area , behind Russia , Canada , China , and Brazil . However,
2420-542: Is meant to resemble scripted soap operas – in this case, the television series Desperate Housewives and Peyton Place . A notable subset of such series focus on a group of women who are romantically connected to male celebrities; these include Basketball Wives (2010), Love & Hip Hop (2011), Hollywood Exes (2012), Ex-Wives of Rock (2012) and WAGS (2015). Most of these shows have had spin-offs in multiple locations. There are also fly-on-the-wall-style shows directly involving celebrities. Often these show
2541-653: Is shows about people with disabilities or people who have unusual physical circumstances, such as the American series Push Girls and Little People, Big World , and the British programmes Beyond Boundaries , Britain's Missing Top Model , The Undateables and Seven Dwarves . Another example is shows that portray the lives of ethnic or religious minorities. Examples include All-American Muslim ( Lebanese-American Muslims ), Shahs of Sunset (affluent Persian-Americans ), Sister Wives (polygamists from
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#17327725007102662-525: Is still ongoing. The program was structured as a series of interviews with no element of the plot. By virtue of the attention paid to the participants, it effectively turned ordinary people into a type of celebrity, especially after they became adults. The series The American Sportsman , which ran from 1965 to 1986 on ABC in the United States, would typically feature one or more celebrities, and sometimes their family members, being accompanied by
2783-450: Is very needed right now." An online submissions platform was launched in May 2021, allowing eligible artists aged 16 years and older to apply, with or without recording or publishing deals. Participants were required to list all states or territories with which they had "an authentic, deep connection" during the casting process, with the producers having the final say on which state or territory
2904-606: The 2017 competition in Kyiv , Ukraine . Lenhoff brought up the idea, to which Björkman was hesitant, saying: "Why would we do that and how would that work?" Despite the initial rejection, Lenhoff persisted with the concept, adding: "It sounds like a brilliant idea with states competing instead of countries. Americans love music. Americans love competition. Americans love where they come from. They have an awesome amount of pride for their home state, for their hometown." Lenhoff then contacted fellow Swedish producer Peter Settman , who crafted
3025-772: The COVID-19 pandemic , the film was released a month later, on June 26. The film became the most-streamed content on Netflix in the U.S. on its first weekend, and introduced American viewers to the Eurovision format and its popularity in Europe. Furthermore, a song from the film, " Husavik ", was later nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 2021 Oscars . There were plans to develop an American version of Eurovision as early as 2006, with Ben Silverman (then chairman of production company Reveille) developing
3146-523: The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 . Writing for The Guardian , Adam Gabbatt was excited about "the mouth-watering prospect of seeing how politically and culturally opposed states rate the musical output of their rivals." Gabbatt explained how conservative viewers in Texas and liberal audiences in New York could express their mutual dislike for one another, or how voters might turn against Florida due to
3267-654: The Northern Mariana Islands , Puerto Rico , and the U.S. Virgin Islands . The colloquial term " Lower 48 " is also used, especially in relation to Alaska. The related but distinct term continental United States includes Alaska, which is also on North America, but separated from the 48 states by British Columbia in Canada, but excludes Hawaii and all the insular areas in the Caribbean and
3388-582: The Northwest Angle in Minnesota are three such places. Alburgh, Vermont , is not directly connected by land, but is accessible by road via bridges from within Vermont and from New York. By contrast, Hyder, Alaska , is physically part of contiguous Alaska and its easternmost town, but the only practical access is by road through Canada or by seaplane. The 48 contiguous states are: In addition,
3509-531: The Pacific . The greatest distance (on a great-circle route) entirely within the contiguous U.S. is 2,802 miles (4,509 km), coast-to-coast between Florida and the State of Washington ; the greatest north–south line is 1,650 miles (2,660 km). The contiguous United States occupies an area of 3,119,884.69 square miles (8,080,464.3 km ). Of this area, 2,959,064.44 square miles (7,663,941.7 km )
3630-628: The South Pacific Ocean in Polynesia , south of the equator — it is 2,200 miles (3,500 km) southwest of Hawaii . In American Samoa, the contiguous United States is called the "mainland United States" or "the states"; those not from American Samoa are called palagi (outsiders). Apart from off-shore U.S. islands , a few continental portions of the contiguous United States are accessible by road only by traveling through Canada. Point Roberts, Washington ; Elm Point, Minnesota ; and
3751-482: The U.S. Virgin Islands . Acts could consist of solo artists, duos, bands, or a DJ. Each representative performed an original song in the live television program broadcast across the country on NBC. The series lasted eight episodes, consisting of five episodes of qualifying rounds, followed by two episodes of semi-finals and one final. In each qualifying round, a 56-member jury of music industry professionals (one for each state and territory) selected one song to advance to
American Song Contest - Misplaced Pages Continue
3872-618: The United Kingdom in 1964, the Granada Television documentary Seven Up! broadcast interviews with a dozen ordinary 7-year-olds from a broad cross-section of society and inquired about their reactions to everyday life. Every seven years, the filmmaker created a new film documenting the lives of the same individuals during the intervening period. Titled the Up Series , episodes included "7 Plus Seven", "21 Up", etc.; it
3993-478: The anti-mask and vaccine-skeptic crusade of the state's current governor . Fellow The Guardian columnist Stuart Heritage described the list of participants as "breathtakingly starry," referring to artists who "already have their own Misplaced Pages page," which he took as a sign that the producers are "taking this thing seriously." Reacting to the premiere episode, Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast commented that it
4114-584: The conterminous United States ) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America . The term excludes the only two non- contiguous states, which are Alaska and Hawaii (they are also the last two states to be admitted to the Union ), and all other offshore insular areas , such as the U.S. territories of American Samoa , Guam ,
4235-596: The continental US was in 1971 , while the 1969 contest's broadcast in Puerto Rico was the first for a U.S. territory. The contest was later broadcast in both areas for the 2003 and 2004 contests. U.S. cable network Logo TV broadcast the finals from 2016 to 2018 , featuring commentary from Carson Kressley and Michelle Collins (2016); Michelle Visage and Ross Mathews ( 2017 ); and Mathews and Shangela (2018). Viewing figures were low, ranging from 52,000 viewers in 2016 to 74,000 viewers in 2018. WJFD-FM ,
4356-525: The showrunner . Propagate Content and Universal Television Alternative Studio serve as the production companies for the program. In a press statement, Silverman hoped that focusing on the mutual love and respect for music would unite a " fractional America ." Deadline Hollywood reported that a corporation that centers around the competition has been founded, with former Propagate president Greg Lipstone appointed as President and Chief Operating Officer. The American Song Contest, Inc., aims to "develop and grow
4477-629: The winning act in the 1981 Eurovision ) opined that the competition will not translate well in the U.S., adding that the country "has got a long way to go to get the kitsch, the cheese, and the fun element" of the contest. Baker also suggested that the U.S. should bring a representative to Eurovision instead. When asked about the possibility of competing in the American Song Contest, Flo Rida explained that it would be "a dream come true." The Florida -based rapper performed " Adrenalina " along with San Marino 's representative Senhit at
4598-650: The 1950s, game shows Beat the Clock and Truth or Consequences involved contestants in wacky competitions, stunts, and practical jokes. Confession was a crime and police show that aired from June 1958 to January 1959, with interviewer Jack Wyatt questioning criminals from assorted backgrounds. The radio series Nightwatch (1951–1955) tape-recorded the daily activities of Culver City, California police officers. The series You Asked for It (1950–1959) incorporated audience involvement by basing episodes around requests sent in by postcard from viewers. First broadcast in
4719-662: The 2018–19 and 2019–20 television seasons. The success of the two franchises has led to other globally-syndicated franchises of reality competitions based around guesswork, such as Game of Talents (which began in Spain in 2019) and The Masked Dancer (which began in the United States in 2020). Specialist skill-based TV competitions became popular during this decade with such programs like The Great British Bake-Off , Lego Masters , The Great British Sewing Bee and Forged in Fire shown. Television development across all genres
4840-469: The 21st century, the series is often considered a prototype of reality television programming. In the early 1940s the young German television station, named after Paul Nipkow had staged a show in which a young couple acted as model Aryans and presented their everyday lives without a script to the camera ( Familienchroniken - Ein Abend mit Hans und Gelli ). Even though it was clearly Nazi propaganda and
4961-674: The 49th state of the United States on January 3, 1959. Alaska is the northwest extremity of the North American continent, separated from the U.S. West Coast by the Canadian province of British Columbia . The term Lower 48 has, for many years, been a common Alaskan equivalent for "contiguous United States"; today, many Alaskans use the term "Outside" for those states, though some may use "Outside" to refer to any location not within Alaska. The territory of Hawaii , consisting of
American Song Contest - Misplaced Pages Continue
5082-525: The American Song Contest was partly determined by a 56-member "national jury," with one member representing each state and territory. Their duty was to evaluate each entry based on the live performance, together with its "artistic expression, hit potential, originality, and visual impression." They were then divided into ten regions, namely: Midwest, Upper South, New England, Plains, Mountains, Lower South, Mid-Atlantic, Southwest, Territories, and Pacific. Jurors include: All 56 juries were geographically divided in
5203-403: The American Song Contest would have a mid-season or summer premiere in 2022 after releasing their fall schedule for the upcoming 2021–22 network television season . The producers were able to get NBC on board mainly due to their experience working with music shows such as The Voice and Songland . Silverman serves as executive producer for the program, while Audrey Morrissey is appointed as
5324-425: The American Song Contest, with the original songs in the competition released in batches beginning March 21 at midnight Eastern Daylight Time . In each qualifying round, 11-12 songs competed for four spots in the semi-final, with the outcome decided upon by the votes from a jury panel and a public vote. An automatic qualifier from each round was determined by the juries, while the remaining three spots were decided by
5445-510: The Bounty Hunter , Police Stop! , Traffic Cops , Border Security and Motorway Patrol . Shows set at a specific place of business include American Chopper , Miami Ink and its spinoffs, Bikini Barbershop and Lizard Lick Towing . Shows that show people working in the same non-business location include Airport and Bondi Rescue . Contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially
5566-590: The District of Columbia who were born in, or can trace their family ancestry to, Puerto Rico. The U.S. Virgin Islands is a U.S. territory located directly to the east of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea. The term "stateside" is used to refer to the mainland, in relation to the U.S. Virgin Islands (see Stateside Virgin Islands Americans ). American Samoa is a U.S. territory located in
5687-635: The Dutch production company Endemol . Although Dragons' Den originated in Japan , most of its adaptations are based on the British version.) In India, the competition show Indian Idol was the most popular television program for its first six seasons. During the 2000s, several cable networks, including Bravo , A&E , E! , TLC , History , VH1 , and MTV , changed their programming to feature mostly reality television series. In addition, three cable channels were started around that time that were devoted exclusively to reality television: Fox Reality in
5808-467: The Eurovision brand globally," which includes creating auxiliary businesses around the reality series, as well as expanding the franchise to countries that are not covered by Eurovision. NBC originally scheduled the premiere for February 21, 2022, but the premiere was postponed in favor of America's Got Talent: Extreme due to COVID-19-related concerns involving the Omicron variant . The first live show
5929-598: The Interior by the American military organizations of the time—the future states of Alaska and Hawaii , then each only organized incorporated territories of the Union, were respectively covered by the Eleventh Air Force and Seventh Air Force during the war. Residents of Alaska, Hawaii and off-shore U.S. territories have unique labels for the contiguous United States because of their own locations relative to them. The vast territory of Alaska became
6050-475: The Past had amateurs participating in a re-enactment of life in an Iron Age English village. Producer George Schlatter capitalized on the advent of videotape to create Real People , a surprise hit for NBC, and it ran from 1979 to 1984. The success of Real People was quickly copied by ABC with That's Incredible , a stunt show produced by Alan Landsburg and co-hosted by Fran Tarkenton ; CBS's entry into
6171-476: The Stars , and the investment franchise Dragons' Den . Several " reality game shows " from the same period have had even greater success, including Deal or No Deal , Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? , and Weakest Link , with over 50 international adaptions each. (All but four of these franchises, Top Model , Project Runway , The Biggest Loser and Dragons' Den , were created by either British producers or
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#17327725007106292-533: The U.S. and is syndicated in over 100 countries worldwide. In 2001, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences added the reality genre to the Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Reality Program . In 2003, to better differentiate between competition and informational reality programs, a second category, Outstanding Reality-Competition Program , was added. In 2008, a third category, Outstanding Host for
6413-473: The U.S. networks used reality series and other unscripted content (including those delayed from their summer lineups) to fill gaps in their schedules while the production of scripted programming resumed. There have been various attempts to classify reality television shows into different subgenres: Another categorization divides reality television into two types: shows that purport to document real life, and shows that place participants in new circumstances. In
6534-491: The U.S. states of Alaska , Louisiana and Texas , shows about cakes, weddings and pawnbrokers , and shows, usually competition-based, whose title includes the word "Wars". Duck Dynasty (2012–2017), which focused on the Robertson family that founded Duck Commander , in 2013 became the most popular reality series in U.S. cable television history. Its fourth-season premiere was viewed by nearly 12 million viewers in
6655-459: The U.S., which they attributed to "The diminishing returns of cable TV's sea of reality sameness". They noted that a number of networks that featured reality programming, including Bravo and E!, were launching their first scripted shows, and others, including AMC , were abandoning plans to launch further reality programs; though they clarified that the genre as a whole "isn't going anywhere." Ratings and profits from reality TV continued to decline in
6776-545: The United States, most of which were in rural markets. Its rural audience share ranked in the 30s, an extremely high number for any series, broadcast or cable. Following from the 1900 House format, the BBC produced a series called Back in Time for Tea in which a family would experience tea time for various decades. In 2014, Entertainment Weekly and Variety again noted a stagnation in reality television programs' ratings in
6897-420: The United States, reality television programs suffered a temporary decline in viewership in 2001, leading some entertainment industry columnists to speculate that the genre was a temporary fad that had run its course. Reality shows that suffered from low ratings included The Amazing Race (although the show has since recovered and is in its 32nd edition), Lost (unrelated to the better-known serial drama of
7018-738: The United States, which operated from 2005 to 2010; Global Reality Channel in Canada , which lasted two years from 2010 to 2012; and CBS Reality (formerly known as Reality TV and then Zone Reality) in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which has run from 1999 to the present. During the early part of the 2000s, network executives expressed concern that reality-television programming was limited in its appeal for DVD reissue and syndication . But DVDs for reality shows sold briskly; Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County , The Amazing Race , Project Runway , and America's Next Top Model all ranked in
7139-471: The appearance and structure of soap operas. Such shows often focus on a close-knit group of people and their shifting friendships and romantic relationships. One highly influential such series was the American 2004–2006 series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County , which attempted to specifically mimic the primetime soap opera The O.C. , which had begun airing in 2003. Laguna Beach had a more drama-like feel than any previous reality television show, through
7260-495: The artists would represent. The website stressed that submissions had to be original songs in any genre and could not have been released commercially. Songs that were released promotionally, such as on SoundCloud and on social media, could be submitted—given that all posts were to be deleted if selected. The producers teased the possibility of filming in Los Angeles or Atlanta between February and April 2022. However, filming
7381-462: The business plan for potential sponsors and TV networks. After announcing in 2019 that they have acquired the rights from the EBU to produce an American version of Eurovision, Björkman and his team received a call from Silverman saying, "You are not doing this without me. Period. That's not going to happen." When America is more factionalized than ever and we are dealing with so many issues that divide us,
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#17327725007107502-449: The concept of putting strangers together in a limited environment for an extended period of time and recording the drama that ensued. Nummer 28 also pioneered many of the stylistic conventions that have since become standard in reality television shows, including extensive use of soundtrack music and the interspersing of events on screen with after-the-fact "confessionals" recorded by cast members, which serve as narration. Nummer 28 became
7623-500: The contest for NBC to challenge American Idol . Silverman (currently co-CEO and chairman of production company Propagate) admitted in 2020 that he had been trying to pursue this project for 20 years, including when he was chairman of NBC. In an interview with Billboard , Christer Björkman and Anders Lenhoff revealed that they discussed creating an American version of the Eurovision Song Contest after producing
7744-404: The continental United States, and as the 48 contiguous states. The District of Columbia is not always specifically mentioned as being part of CONUS . OCONUS is derived from CONUS with O for outside added, thus referring to Outside of Continental United States. The term lower 48 is also used to refer to the conterminous United States. The National Geographic style guide recommends
7865-503: The entire Hawaiian Islands archipelago except for Midway Atoll , became the 50th state of the United States on August 21, 1959. It is the southernmost U.S. state, and the latest one to join the Union. Not part of any continent, Hawaii is located in the Pacific Ocean , about 2,200 miles (3,541 km) from North America and almost halfway between North America and Asia . In Hawaii and overseas American territories , for instance,
7986-809: The episodes were certainly affected by censorship , in recent years the show has been presented more frequently as the oldest reality TV show in the world. Precedents for television that portrayed people in unscripted situations began in the late 1940s. Queen for a Day (1945–1964) was an early example of reality-based television. The 1946 television game show Cash and Carry sometimes featured contestants performing stunts. Debuting in 1948, Allen Funt 's hidden camera show Candid Camera (based on his previous 1947 radio show, The Candid Microphone ) broadcast unsuspecting ordinary people reacting to pranks. In 1948, talent search shows, such as Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour and Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts , featured amateur competitors and audience voting. In
8107-485: The events being depicted on-screen; this is most commonly seen in American reality television. Competition-based reality shows typically feature the gradual elimination of participants, either by a panel of judges, by the viewership of the show, or by the contestants themselves. Documentaries , television news , sports television , talk shows , and traditional game shows are generally not classified as reality television. Some genres of television programming that predate
8228-576: The favorite or underdog to win. Other criticisms of reality television shows include that they are intended to humiliate or exploit participants; that they make stars out of untalented people unworthy of fame, infamous figures, or both; and that they glamorize vulgarity. Television formats portraying ordinary people in unscripted situations are almost as old as the television medium itself. Producer-host Allen Funt 's Candid Camera , in which unsuspecting people were confronted with funny, unusual situations and filmed with hidden cameras, first aired in 1948. In
8349-493: The film was "to blame for reality television". In 1969, the British rock group the Beatles were filmed for a month during the recording sessions which would become their album Let It Be and released the homonymous film the following year. In 2021, director Peter Jackson created an eight-hour, three-episode television series entitled The Beatles: Get Back . The 12-part 1973 PBS series An American Family showed
8470-502: The first 11 semi-finalists who would compete in the first semi-final. The first semi-final was then held on Monday, April 25. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Washington to advance to the final. The public qualifiers for the final were announced at the beginning of the second semi-final, held the following week, and were Oklahoma, Colorado, Alabama, and Kentucky. Jury qualifier Public vote qualifier The second semi-final
8591-490: The genre was That's My Line , a series hosted by Bob Barker . The Canadian series Thrill of a Lifetime , a fantasies-fulfilled reality show, originally ran from 1982 to 1988. It was revived from 2001 to 2003. In 1985, underwater cinematographer Al Giddings teamed with former Miss Universe Shawn Weatherly on the NBC series Oceanquest , which chronicled Weatherly's adventures scuba diving in various exotic locales. Weatherly
8712-440: The grand final and selected the following spokespersons who announced the 12-point score from their respective regional juries chronologically: NBC News produced a report promoting the casting process of the American Song Contest, which was then distributed to its affiliate stations across the U.S. and its territories. It featured an interview with supervising casting producer Michelle McNulty, stating that they were "looking for
8833-558: The highly successful Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and Duck Dynasty are set in poorer rural areas of the Southern United States . Some documentary-style shows portray professionals either going about day-to-day business or performing an entire project over the course of a series. One early example (and the longest running reality show of any genre) is Cops , which debuted in 1989. Other such shows specifically relating to law enforcement include The First 48 , Dog
8954-430: The late 2010s. The South Korean competition show I Can See Your Voice , which premiered in 2015, showed guest judges attempting to guess which of a group of contestants could sing, and which could not, without hearing them sing. The show was successful, and spawned several imitators, most notably King of Mask Singer several months later. King of Mask Singer was a more traditional singing competition show, but with
9075-547: The like. Justin Kirkland of Esquire predicted that the contest will be "a colossal nightmare," adding that Americans "lack the self-deprecation, campiness, and selfless energy to pull this off." Chris Murphy of Vulture.com pointed out that the television landscape in the United States is saturated with singing and talent competitions, adding that "no one's gonna write a song as catchy as ' Husavik '." In an interview with BBC Breakfast in 2020, Cheryl Baker (member of
9196-470: The long-running reality television show franchises in the United States, such as American Idol , Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor , had begun to see declining ratings. However, reality television as a whole remained durable in the U.S., with hundreds of shows across many channels. In 2012, New York Magazine's Vulture blog published a humorous Venn diagram showing popular themes across American reality shows then running, including shows set in
9317-596: The mainland, such as the Aleutian Islands ( Alaska ), San Juan Islands ( Washington ), the Channel Islands ( California ), the Keys ( Florida ), the barrier islands ( Gulf and East Coast states), and Long Island (New York). CONUS , a technical term used by the U.S. Department of Defense , General Services Administration , NOAA/National Weather Service , and others, has been defined both as
9438-507: The model for many later series of Big Brother and its clones, and Peter Weir's full-length film The Truman Show . One year later, the same concept was used by MTV in its new series The Real World . Nummer 28 creator Erik Latour has long claimed that The Real World was directly inspired by his show. But the producers of The Real World have said that their direct inspiration was An American Family . According to television commentator Charlie Brooker , this type of reality television
9559-402: The necessary viewers to make it worthwhile. (Even in these cases, it is not always successful: the first ten seasons of Dancing with the Stars were picked up by GSN in 2012 and was run in marathon format, but attracted low viewership and had very poor ratings). Another option is to create documentaries around series, including extended interviews with the participants and outtakes not seen in
9680-683: The next big hit single, like those anthem songs... that just get in your head and can't get them out." The Italian rock band Måneskin , winners of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 , performed during the Top 10 episode of The Voice season 21 , in which host Carson Daly promoted the American Song Contest as "the U.S. version of Eurovision." NBC released a promotional video for the American Song Contest on their Twitter account on December 15, 2021, stating that it'll be "the biggest live music event America has ever seen", with songs from all genres competing. An advertisement that introduces Snoop Dogg and Clarkson as
9801-409: The one (thing) that truly unites us is our culture. (The American Song Contest) can unite it by celebrating its diversity, its distinctions, and in pulling everyone around its love of music and its love of song. Ben Silverman, executive producer, speaking to NME.com The European Broadcasting Union announced NBC had acquired the rights to broadcast the competition on May 14, 2021. NBC announced
9922-406: The original airings; the syndicated series American Idol Rewind is an example of this strategy. COPS has had huge success in syndication, direct response sales, and DVD. A Fox staple since 1989, COPS has, as of 2013 (when it moved to cable channel Spike ), outlasted all competing scripted police shows. Another series that had wide success is Cheaters , which has been running since 2000 in
10043-408: The overall viewership tallies for eight consecutive years, from the 2003–2004 to the 2010–2011 television seasons. Another trend was to combine reality TV with a social history angle usually by having contestants taken back to various time periods primarily to see how millennials would cope without modern technology. Examples included The 1900 House , and Bad Lad's Army . In addition to those
10164-699: The reality television boom have been retroactively classified as reality television, including hidden camera shows, talent-search shows, documentary series about ordinary people, high-concept game shows, home improvement shows, and court shows featuring real-life cases and issues. Reality television has faced significant criticism since its rise in popularity. Critics argue that reality television shows do not accurately reflect reality, in ways both implicit (participants being placed in artificial situations), and deceptive (misleading editing, participants being coached on behavior, storylines generated ahead of time, scenes being staged). Some shows have been accused of rigging
10285-416: The results resembling soap operas – hence the terms docusoap and docudrama . Documentary-style programs give viewers a private look into the lives of the subjects. Within documentary-style reality television are several subcategories or variants: Although the term "docusoap" has been used for many documentary-style reality television shows, there have been shows that have deliberately tried to mimic
10406-499: The revamped MasterChef , among others. The 1980s and 1990s were also a time when tabloid talk shows became more popular. Many of these featured the same types of unusual or dysfunctional guests who would later become popular as cast members of reality shows. Reality television became globally popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the successes of the Big Brother and Survivor / Expedition Robinson franchises. In
10527-528: The same name ) and The Mole (which was successful in other countries). But stronghold shows Survivor and American Idol continued to thrive: both topped the U.S. season-average television ratings in the 2000s. Survivor led the ratings in 2001–02 , and Idol has the longest hold on the No. 1 rank in the American television ratings , dominating over all other primetime programs and other television series in
10648-478: The season finale of the series. Ten states and territories participated in the grand final, composed of the two jury qualifiers and the eight public vote qualifiers from the two semi-finals. The contest was won by the state of Oklahoma , represented by the song " Wonderland ", performed by AleXa . As an interval act, Jimmie Allen performed his single "Down Home". Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each region's professional juries. The winner of
10769-486: The second redemption pick. Jury qualifier Combined qualifier Redemption The third qualifier round was held on Monday, April 4. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Tennessee to advance to the semi-final. The final results of this qualifying round was announced on the fourth episode of the contest. Jury qualifier Combined qualifier The fourth qualifier round
10890-413: The semi-final, being the first redemption pick. Jury qualifier Combined qualifier Redemption The second qualifier round was held on Monday, March 28. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Kentucky to advance to the semi-final. During the first semi-final, it was announced that New York had advanced to the semi-final, being
11011-415: The semi-finals, while three songs also advanced after a 35-hour viewer voting period, which tallied votes from a combination of the jury and fans. After the qualifying rounds, the jury also selected two "redemption songs" from the qualifying rounds to join in the semi-finals, bringing the total number of semi-finalists to 22. They were then divided into two 11-participant semi-finals. The same selection process
11132-476: The show's presenters debuted before the Super Bowl LVI halftime show . Clarkson had previously performed a cover of " Arcade " by Dutch singer Duncan Laurence , the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 , at her talk show . Radio stations affiliated with iHeartRadio have introduced sweepstakes in relation to the American Song Contest to listeners for a chance to win gift cards . The show
11253-403: The show's social media thunder" and it could be "the song of the summer." Yahoo! Music 's editor-in-chief Lyndsey Parker wrote that the first episode of the American Song Contest "failed to live up to Eurovision's wacky promise or premise." Björkman announced in early February 2023 that the series was not renewed for a 2023 season. Speaking to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet , he added that he
11374-683: The term is qualified with the explicit inclusion of Alaska to resolve any ambiguity. On May 14, 1959, the United States Board on Geographic Names issued the following definitions based partially on the reference in the Alaska Omnibus Bill, which defined the continental United States as "the 49 States on the North American Continent and the District of Columbia..." The Board reaffirmed these definitions on May 13, 1999. However, even before Alaska became
11495-648: The terms the Mainland or U.S. Mainland are often used to refer to the 49 states in North America. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea , approximately 1,000 miles (1,609 km) southeast of Miami , Florida . Puerto Ricans born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens and are free to move to the mainland United States. The term Stateside Puerto Rican refers to residents of any U.S. state or
11616-432: The title of Best Original Song. Over the course of the season, 56 competing entries were divided into five qualifying rounds leading to two 11-participant semi-finals, and culminating with a 10-participant final round, which aired as the season finale . Participants advanced from a qualifying round to a semifinal, and then to a final based on votes received by public voting or jury voting, or a combination thereof. The contest
11737-634: The top DVDs sold on Amazon.com . In the mid-2000s, DVDs of The Simple Life outranked scripted shows such as The O.C. and Desperate Housewives . Syndication, however, has been problematic; shows such as Fear Factor , COPS , and Wife Swap , in which each episode is self-contained, can be rerun fairly easily, but usually only on cable television or during the daytime ( COPS and America's Funniest Home Videos being exceptions). Season-long competitions, such as The Amazing Race , Survivor , and America's Next Top Model generally perform more poorly and usually must be rerun in marathons to draw
11858-411: The total area of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, ranks third or fourth. Brazil is 431,000 square kilometers (166,000 sq mi) larger than the contiguous United States, but smaller than the entire United States including Alaska, Hawaii and overseas territories. The 2020 U.S. census population of the area was 328,571,074, comprising 99.13 percent of the nation's total population, and
11979-401: The twist that judges could not see contestants during the initial audition round, and could judge them only by their voice. The show was an instant success, and spawned an entire franchise, The Voice , which has been highly successful, with almost 50 international adaptations. The Tester (2010–2012) was the first reality television show aired over a video game console. By 2012, many of
12100-483: The two semi-finals that took place during the April 25 and May 2 episodes, respectively. In each semi-final, 11 songs competed for five spots in the grand final: an automatic qualifier from each semi-final was determined by the juries, while the remaining four spots were decided by the public votes. From both semi-finals combined, a total of ten performers would advance to the grand final on May 9. On April 19, NBC confirmed
12221-504: The underlying stories are real. Another highly successful group of soap-opera-style shows is the Real Housewives franchise, which began with The Real Housewives of Orange County in 2006 and has since spawned nearly twenty other series, in the U.S. and internationally. The franchise has an older cast and different personal dynamics than that of Laguna Beach and its imitators, as well as lower production values, but similarly
12342-587: The use of contiguous or conterminous United States instead of lower 48 when the 48 states are meant, unless used in the context of Alaska. Almost all of Hawaii is south of the southernmost point of the conterminous United States in Florida. During World War II , the first four numbered Air Forces of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) were said to be assigned to the Zone of
12463-852: The use of higher-quality lighting and cameras, voice-over narration instead of on-screen "confessionals", and slower pacing. Laguna Beach led to several spinoff series, most notably the 2006–2010 series The Hills . It also inspired various other series, including the highly successful British series The Only Way Is Essex and Made in Chelsea , and the Australian series Freshwater Blue . Due to their dramatized feel, many of these shows have been accused of being pre-scripted, more so than other reality television shows have. The producers of The Only Way Is Essex and Made in Chelsea have admitted to coaching cast members on what to say in order to draw more emotion from each scene, although they insist that
12584-479: The voting process. The Eurovision Song Contest is an international song competition organized annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1956, which features participants representing primarily European countries . It ranks among the world's most-watched non-sporting events every year, with hundreds of millions of viewers globally. The earliest known telecast of Eurovision in
12705-440: The wrinkle that the contestants were celebrities who remained masked until they were removed from the show, adding an element of guesswork to the competition. The two shows both spawned successful international franchises, I Can See Your Voice and Masked Singer , respectively. Masked Singer has been especially popular, with over 50 local adaptations; its American adaptation was the third highest-rated series overall of both
12826-452: Was a "big ole meh," while pointing out the performances of Oklahoma's AleXa and Puerto Rico's Christian Pagán as the highlights of the night. Fallon added that while Wyoming's entry "New Boot Goofin'" was "undeniably the worst song of the night," he predicted that its irresistibility would become the show's "greatest success story." Emily Yahr of The Washington Post also wrote praises about "New Boot Goofin'", adding that it "immediately stole
12947-659: Was a series consisting of archeologists and historians running a farm though various historical periods, most notably Victorian Farm . Internationally, a number of shows created in the late 1990s and 2000s have had massive global success. Reality-television franchises created during that time that have had more than 30 international adaptations each include the singing competition franchises Idols , Star Academy and The X Factor , other competition franchises Survivor/Expedition Robinson , Big Brother , The Biggest Loser , Come Dine with Me , Got Talent , Top Model , MasterChef , Project Runway and Dancing with
13068-520: Was also broadcast in multiple European countries, as well as in Australia and Canada: The concept of producing an American version of Eurovision was initially met with lukewarm reactions. Andy Kryza of Time Out wrote that the American Song Contest's biggest challenge is "the relative homogeneity of the American musical landscape," that its pop stars need to be paired with colorful performers like drag queens, wrecking crews, clowns, gospel singers, and
13189-442: Was an Australian show that depicted a family, similar in concept to An American Family . The 1994–95 O. J. Simpson murder case , during which live network television followed suspect Simpson for 90 minutes being chased by police, has been described as a seminal moment in reality television. Networks interrupted their regular television programming for months for coverage of the trial and related events. Because of Simpson's status as
13310-759: Was disappointed in the way the program was organized, specifically the promotion of it and the lack of building awareness that the event was occurring. Following the event, only the winning song " Wonderland " by AleXa managed to place on the Billboard charts, with most remaining songs only gathering a few thousand streams each. In a press conference held during the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool , executive supervisor of Eurovision, Martin Österdahl , added that "partners in America are looking at other options." Reality competition Reality television
13431-401: Was enabled by the advent of computer-based non-linear editing systems for video (such as produced by Avid Technology ) in 1989. These systems made it easy to quickly edit hours of video footage into a usable form, something that had been very difficult to do before (film, which was easy to edit, was too expensive to use in shooting enough hours on a regular basis). Sylvania Waters (1992)
13552-532: Was facilitated in the semi-finals to determine the 10 acts to compete in the final. The final results were presented in Eurovision style , with each jury member awarding their maximum 12 points, followed by the awarding of points from viewers. The viewer votes were weighted , with each state and territory being worth 12 points much like in Eurovision, thus giving all regions equal voting power while preventing populous states like California and Texas from dominating
13673-491: Was held on Monday, April 11. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Washington to advance to the semi-final. Jury qualifier Combined qualifier The fifth qualifier round was held on Monday, April 18. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Michigan to advance to the semi-final. Jury qualifier Combined qualifier The 22 semi-finalists were split into
13794-411: Was held on Monday, May 2. At the end of the broadcast, it was announced that the jury had selected Tennessee to advance to the final. On Wednesday, May 4, it was announced on E! Network that the public qualifiers to the final were Connecticut, American Samoa, Texas, and North Dakota. Jury qualifier Public vote qualifier The grand final took place on May 9 and served as
13915-409: Was impacted in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic , which forced many reality competition series to suspend production (and in some cases curtail a competition already in progress, such as Canadian and Malayalam versions of Big Brother ), until such time that production could recommence with appropriate health and safety protocols approved by local authorities. Due to their quicker turnaround times,
14036-607: Was later confirmed to take place on the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California . Previously, Björkman had stated during an interview in The Euro Trip podcast that Las Vegas , Tampa , and Orlando were also considered to be the first host city. NBC revealed the 56 competing artists on March 3, 2022, through an interactive map. Atlantic Records served as the exclusive music partner of
14157-501: Was later produced in a large number of other countries as Survivor ), added to the Nummer 28 / Real World template the idea of competition and elimination. Cast members or contestants battled against each other and were removed from the show until only one winner remained (these shows are now sometimes called elimination shows). Changing Rooms , a program that began in the UK in 1996, showed couples redecorating each other's houses, and
14278-756: Was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in informational programming. COPS , which first aired in the spring of 1989 on Fox and was developed due to the need for new programming during the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike , showed police officers on duty apprehending criminals. It introduced the camcorder look and cinéma vérité feel of much of later reality television. The 1991 television documentary on "typical American high schoolers", Yearbook , focused on seniors attending Glenbard West High School, in Glen Ellyn , Illinois and broadcast prime-time on Fox . The series Nummer 28 , which aired on Dutch television in 1991, originated
14399-471: Was the first reality show with a self-improvement or makeover theme. The dating reality show Streetmate premiered in the UK in 1998. Originally created by Gabe Sachs as Street Match , it was a flop in the United States. But the show was revamped in the UK by Tiger Aspect Productions and became a cult hit. The production team from the original series later created the popular reality shows Strictly Come Dancing , Location, Location, Location , and
14520-509: Was then rescheduled to March 21, with the finale moved to May 9, the same week as the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 . Rapper Snoop Dogg and pop singer Kelly Clarkson were introduced as presenters of the show. In a statement, Clarkson said: "I have been a fan and love the concept of Eurovision and am thrilled to bring the musical phenomenon to America. I'm so excited to work with Snoop and can't wait to see every state and territory represented by artists singing their own songs." Clarkson added during
14641-474: Was won by the state of Oklahoma , which was represented by the song " Wonderland ", performed by AleXa . NBC acquired the rights to broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest in the United States starting in 2021 and shortly after announced the American Song Contest with a 2022 premiere date. Promotion for the series was organized by NBC and included a commercial during the 2022 Super Bowl and
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