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The latest singing competition show has hit the airwaves and it’s either going to bring the whole country together — or keep it ever divided.
American Song Contest debuted this week on NBC and the show pits one contestant from each of the 50 states, five U.S. territories and the nation’s capital against each other to win the country’s vote for the best hit song. If the concept sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a riff on the popular Eurovision Song Contest that takes place every year and has made household names out of recent winners like Duncan Laurence and Maneskin. In fact, American Song Contest actually comes from some of the producers behind both Eurovision and The Voice.
Hosted by Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg, the show has already lit up social media, with fans cheering on their favorite contestants — and home states.
Want to watch American Song Contest on TV or stream it online? Here’s what you need to know.
When Does American Song Contest Air?
American Song Contest airs every Monday night from 8-10pm ET/PT on NBC. The series premiered on Monday, March 21 and will run for eight weeks, with the Grand Finale scheduled for May 9.
How to Watch American Song Contest on TV
If you want to watch American Song Contest on TV, you’ll need a cable package that gets you NBC. Conversely, you can also pick up a basic digital antenna, like the one below, and hook it up to your TV.
The indoor antenna gets you a 250-mile range, which is more than enough to pick up your local NBC affiliate. Get the antenna to watch American Song Contest on TV on NBC.
Amazon
Each new episode of American Song Contest premieres on NBC on Monday nights but will also repeat on NBCUniversal channels like Bravo and E! throughout the week. So if you missed the original air date, you can still watch American Song Contest on Bravo and E! when it re-airs.
How to Watch American Song Contest Online
If you want to watch American Song Contest online, there are ways to stream it live on NBC or watch it on-demand the next day.
1. Watch American Song Contest on Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV is best place to watch American Song Contest live online. The streaming service gets you more than 70 channels of live TV — including NBC — so you can use it to live stream American Song Contest each week.
A Hulu + Live TV subscription costs just $69.99 a month and gets you access to NBC, Bravo, E! and 70+ other channels plus access to all of Hulu’s on-demand offerings. Right now, your subscription also includes access to ESPN+ and Disney+ — a huge value for the $69 price point.
Missed the live airing of American Song Contest? Hulu will stream the latest episodes on-demand the next day.
2. Watch American Song Contest on Peacock
Another way to stream American Song Contest online? You can catch episodes of the reality competition show the following day on Peacock. Peacock is the official streaming home to NBCUniversal shows, which also include The Voice, Saturday Night Live and old favorites like The Office.
While Peacock offers a free tier, you’ll only be able to watch American Song Contest free a week after the episode premieres. A better deal: sign up for Peacock Premium for just $4.99 a month and get access to the entire site with no viewing restrictions or waiting. Your Peacock Premium subscription will let you stream American Song Contest the following day on your phone, tablet, computer or TV through the Peacock app.
3. Watch American Song Contest on fuboTV
One of the best streaming services for sports and entertainment, fuboTV gets you 100+ live TV channels that you can stream online — including NBC.
Use the fuboTV app on your connected TV, phone or computer to watch American Song Contest live on NBC each week. Don’t have fubo? Try it out free with a 3-day trial then continue on at a $69.99/month price — a decent value for the number of live TV channels that you can stream.
How to Watch American Song Contest Online Free
Don’t want to pay to stream American Song Contest online? There are a couple ways to watch American Song Contest online for free.
You can get a 3-day free trial to fuboTV and time it to Mondays to watch American Song Contest live online free. Once your free trial ends, you’ll be prompted to sign-up for a monthly plan, or you can choose to cancel.
Another way to watch American Song Contest online free? Sling TV offers NBC as part of its channel lineup in select markets, and Sling also offers a 3-day free trial here. Use it to watch American Song Contest online free and then continue on for a $25/month price (it’s currently discounted from $35) or choose to cancel.
As mentioned above, Peacock offers a free tier which will let you watch American Song Contest free a week after the latest episode premieres. There’s no contract or subscription plan and you can watch each episode of American Song Contest on demand.
American Song Contest: How It Works, Contestants, Voting
Hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson, American Song Contest brings together both big names and new acts alike from across the country as they compete to win America’s vote. Per a release from NBC, “this amazing musical spectacular combines the competitive spirit of rooting for your favorite sports team with the joy of watching a live performance of an original song.”
Here’s how American Song Contest works: 11-12 acts perform on each episode and the jury advances one act, while the public votes for three acts to move forward. A total of 30 acts move onto the semifinal round before the jury and viewers vote on who makes it to the finale.
The live competition consists of three rounds, followed by the semifinals and the ultimate “Grand Final” where one state or territory will emerge victorious. The American Song Contest jury is comprised of music execs, radio hosts and fellow artists.
While most reality shows feature amateur artists and unknowns, there are some well-known artists competing on American Song Contest, including Macy Gray (representing Ohio); Michael Bolton (representing Connecticut); former teen star and R5 singer Riker Lynch (representing Colorado); and Sisqo (repping Maryland).
There have already been some breakout stars too like the K-pop singer AleXa, who was born in Tulsa but has been living in South Korean for the last four years. AleXa is now representing Oklahoma in the competition.
Watch American Song Contest live on TV on NBC each week and stream it online on Peacock.com.