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A song is born
Conan
NBC welcomes viewers to ‘Songland’
By Kyla Brewer
TV Media
A song is born: Whether
you’re a fan of country music,
pop, jazz or heavy metal, our
favorite songs serve as the
soundtrack to our lives, and a
new television series is about to
shine a spotlight on the songwrit-
ing process.
Aspiring songwriters get the
opportunity of a lifetime when
they’re invited to present their
songs for a music superstar
and panel of industry experts in
“Songland,” premiering Tuesday,
May 28, on NBC. In each episode,
three songwriters are invited to
work with well-known producers
to adapt their song to suit the
style of a recording artist in the
hopes that it will be chosen as the
artist’s next single.
The show is the brainchild
of Eurythmics co-founder Dave
Stewart, producer Audrey Mor-
rissey (“The Voice”) and director
Ivan Dudynsky (“Hollywood
Game Night”). All three of them
will serve as executive producers
along with Maroon 5 frontman
Adam Levine. Stewart explained
why he’s excited about “Song-
land” in an official release about
the show.
“I’ve been writing songs with
and for other people for 40 years
and it’s always a thrill to hear
those songs interpreted and
recorded by all kinds of artists,”
Stewart said. “I’m excited for
the viewers to see and hear that
magic being created between un-
known songwriters and our panel
of hit-making mentors.”
Levine, who may be familiar
to TV viewers from his role as a
mentor in “The Voice,” weighed
in with his take on the series.
“As a songwriter, I’m all too
familiar with the challenges
that face the music community
today,” he explained. “With this
new series, we are excited to
provide opportunities that will
not only impact these songwrit-
ers’ careers but also give them a
platform to truly showcase their
talent to a global audience.”
Open to anyone and everyone,
the show sought submissions
from songwriters regardless of
20 | Screentime
their training or experience. The
casting phase appealed to music
students, teachers, stay-at-home
moms and bartenders — anyone
who had a song to share. Each
installment of the 11-episode
series features five songwriters
who perform their original songs
in front of a major recording artist
and a panel of three top music
producers.
“Songland” has recruited mu-
sic producers Ryan Tedder, Ester
Dean (“Pitch Perfect,” 2012) and
Shane McAnally to serve on the
panel and mentor the competi-
tors. While the average music lov-
er may not be familiar with these
names, they are responsible for
some of the biggest hits of the
modern music era. Tedder, who’s
also known as the lead singer of
OneRepublic, is a Grammy-win-
ning producer thanks to his work
with such artists as Adele and
Taylor Swift. Dean has earned a
reputation as a “song factory,”
having written No. 1 hits for
Rihanna and Katy Perry. With 38
No. 1 country music albums to his
credit, songwriter and producer
McAnally is one of the genre’s
most successful hitmakers, hav-
ing worked with Kelly Clarkson,
Sam Hunt and Kacey Musgraves.
Each week features new
recording artists looking for
their next hit song. So far, “Song-
land” has snagged the Jonas
Brothers, John Legend, Charlie
Puth, Meghan Trainor, will.i.am,
OneRepublic, Kelsea Ballerini,
Macklemore, Aloe Blacc, Old
Dominion and Leona Lewis to
appear in the series. Along with
the producers, the artists will
consider each song’s lyrics, ar-
rangement, beats, melody and
story as they try to decide which
ones they like best.
After the aspiring songwriters
present their songs, the recording
artist(s) chooses three of them to
move on in the competition. The
episode’s three
finalists
are paired
up with
one of the
May 22, 2019 | East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald
three producers who serve as
mentors to adapt the song to
suit the musical act’s style. What
follows is a fascinating look at
the creative process as the songs
take shape in the studio before
they’re presented to the artists
once more. In the end, one of the
songs is selected to be recorded
and released as a single.
While there are plenty of
music-themed competition
series these days, “Songland’s”
premise offers viewers a unique
perspective by focusing on the
songwriting process. However,
the show will still have plenty
of competition during the sum-
mer’s reality TV-laden prime-time
schedule. Its premiere faces off
against the finale of ABC’s docu-
series “1969,” which chronicles
memorable moments from that
year in history. Fox also serves up
some serious competition with
its culinary competition series
“MasterChef Junior” on Tuesday
evenings before switching to the
new reality TV program “First Re-
sponders” later in the summer.
Luckily, “Songland’s” produc-
ers have reeled in some serious
star power to catch the attention
of TV fans. The premiere episode
features three-time Grammy
nominee Puth, who rose to fame
after he began posting videos
on his YouTube channel. Up-and-
coming songwriters try to woo
Puth with their heartfelt melodies
in the hopes he’ll bring them to a
global audience in the premiere
of “Songland,” airing Tuesday,
May 28, on NBC. The show is slat-
ed to continue on Tuesday eve-
nings until July 2, at which point
it will take a short hiatus. Fans
can then catch the conclusion of
the series beginning Wednesday,
Aug. 14, on NBC.
Shane McAnally,
Ester Dean
and Ryan
Tedder as
seen in
“Songland”
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