As the competition is winding down on this season of American Idol, a brand-new competition is about to begin. As announced by Ryan Seacrest on Wednesday night's live results show, the Idol producers have launched a nationwide search for the "best undiscovered group in America."FOX must have been eager to greenlight the new series, tentatively titled "The Search for the Next Great American Band," hoping to take advantage of the Idol cash cow and garner even more of that American Idol ratings magic.
According to sources, the show will most likely air in the fall.
Like its predecessor, American Band will host nationwide auditions. A panel of judges will whittle the thousands of hopefuls down to a handful. The 10 semifinalists will compete live each week. And viewers will once again vote via phone calls or text messaging.
So undiscovered garage bands across America -- are you ready for the one audition that could change your lives? Are you ready to leave obscurity behind and enter the American consciousness right next to Sanjaya's hair? Are you ready to be American Idolized?















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-10-2007 @ 11:23AM
Televinita said...
That sounds even worse than American Idol...at least individual singers have personalities. All bands pretty much sound alike, so unless they're performing their own original songs, I don't care. (and I'm not sure I'd care even then)
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5-10-2007 @ 12:09PM
whawha said...
I'm gonna love hearing the semi-finalist bands on Disco/Bee Gees Night!
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5-10-2007 @ 2:11PM
TVGenius said...
You'd think Mark Burnett and/or CBS would have jumped on that first, given the relative success of Rock Star (the show at least, not necessarily the results)...
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5-12-2007 @ 10:53PM
Ray said...
how can i get my band on the AmericanIdol
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5-13-2007 @ 6:07AM
morally wrong said...
I think its pathetic that American Idol announced this RIGHT AFTER the REAL people were putting thier press release out about THEM doing this idea, WITH original bands, not some idiotic show where a band has to perform other artists material. . . . here is something from americant idol . . .
"If you thought 'American Idol' was intense, wait until you see what a band must go through for its shot at fame," the producers said. Contest details were available online at www.americanidol.com.
that pretty much says it all for american idol, they are going to act worse than they do now . . .
here is what came out probably MINUTES before they announced on the show and webpage that they would be doing a band thing . .
(the web by the way, only mentioned in text on thier page something to the affect of, "we are going to search for americas greatest band next!"
here is the real scoop . . .
SARASOTA, Fla., May 10 /PRNewswire/ -- On Monday Once in a Lifetime Productions and NGM Entertainment announced that "Band America" has begun the search for the next superstar music group.
The television series, created by Leon Gaudin, Tom Murray, and Nick G. Miller, will not only showcase the musical talents of unsigned bands but will be also feature guest appearances and performances by legendary musicians and groups whose music profoundly effected our lives and shaped the music we listen to today.
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Denny Laine is one of the most recognizable voices ever to come from the British music scene. He was and integral part of bands such as "Paul McCartney and Wings", "Ginger Baker's Air Force", and "The Moody Blues". Laine will be one of the judges choosing the bands that will compete in the final competition.
"I've always thought the we should do a television show with bands playing original music and I jumped at the chance when they approached me," says Laine. "Working with The Moody Blues and with Paul McCartney was always experimenting and that's still important today. We all started as singer/songwriters and I want to encourage that."
Joey Molland of "Badfinger" will be working alongside Laine as one of the judges. Molland's "Badfinger" was one of the first bands signed to Apple, a label launched by the Beatles. With numerous gold and platinum albums to his credit he was invited to perform and collaborate on two of George Harrison's solo albums and the John Lennon album "Imagine".
According to Molland, "This show is about finding a band that will knock us all out. And I know that band is out there. We all dream about finding the next great band and there's no doubt that we will find them." He adds, "This is a win-win for everybody and the end result for all the bands chosen for this show is great."
Band America was developed and created by musicians for musicians. According to Co-Creator Leon Gaudin, "The main reason we are doing this show is to help the great bands that just can't get a break or the right deal. We played our hearts out for years and many of us ended up with nothing to show for it. We're going to take these bands and bring them into the public eye and then help them turn their passion into a lifelong career - a career that rewards them for sharing their incredible gift with the world."
"When we were in early development stages of the show we wanted to make sure the viewing audience was going to be exposed to original music by the bands and to also allow the audience to get to know the bands," says Co-Creator Tom Murray. "And this will be the first time that people of all ages will be able to get together and enjoy so many different genres of music and be a part of choosing the next superstar band. We want to bring back the music."
Other guests and performers in negotiations to appear in the series include David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Alan Parsons (The Alan Parsons Project) Brian Ferry (Roxy Music), Dez Dickerson (Prince & The Revolution), and many others. According to Denny Laine, "I've been in contact with many of the friends I've worked with over the years and they're jumping at the chance to appear on the show. Band America is going to snowball!"
Nick G. Miller is Executive Producer of the series. When asked about the recent announcement of American Idol's proposed television series involving a nationwide search for bands he replied, "We knew that when we made the announcement on Monday that some other company would quickly respond announcing a musical show with bands. I didn't think it would be the American Idol group. We're honored. They've obviously done a great job with their series. But our show is not American Idol. Band America is about people coming together and making original music that moves the listener. Our goal with this series is to find a group of people that can collectively create music that is current today, next week, next year, and ten years from now." He adds, "The content of each episode, the talent, and the sincere passion of the contestants and the guest artists will drive this series to the top, not the marketing. That in and of its self is what really sets Band America apart."
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5-13-2007 @ 2:28PM
morally wrong said...
worst case scenario, they will merge, but I honestly hope not, as the latter seems to be much more in the interest of the bands, instead of tv ratings, (which they WOULD still get) I think the whole drama show thing is out of hand, especially when you consider almost all of what people watch, and think is really raw emotions, is actually scripted materials, Reality shows in general suck because they arent reality at all, of course, that is just my opinion.
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5-15-2007 @ 4:49PM
Cox said...
What is the deadline for the video/dvd to be mailed?
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5-16-2007 @ 1:06PM
dirtnut48 said...
So where does it say that they will be doing cover songs and not their original music? Persoanlly I think it's a great idea for the local bands who may have never have been given a chance for fame.
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5-16-2007 @ 10:33PM
ed myles said...
What is the address for mailing the band videoes?
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5-17-2007 @ 8:25AM
Liz Finn-Arnold said...
The mailing address is:
Band Show Casting Department
8391 Beverly Boulevard
PMB #464
Los Angeles, California 90048
You can get the rest of the details at the official American Idol website.
http://www.americanidol.com/news/view/?pid=835
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5-17-2007 @ 10:03AM
Rick said...
"Each week, the bands will be challenged to take on different music themes and styles."
They aren't looking for an original band, they want a lounge act.
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5-31-2007 @ 8:38AM
Paul said...
When is the deadline to submit a DVD?
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7-23-2007 @ 5:23PM
Nikki said...
when is the deadline to send in the DVD's?
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6-01-2007 @ 10:27PM
Musician said...
there is no deadline yet, theres hardly anything been said about it, ive been looking and all ive found was in that article... not much... and i disagree, all bands do NOT sound alike (even tho a lot do) and the whole theme thing is to see how diverse each band can be, like if they can play hardcore rock one night and something out of the boondocks the next, ok maybe not that extreme but u get the picture, i think it will be pretty fun to actually be one of those bands, my band is very diverse in itself
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6-17-2007 @ 1:31PM
Tragic Circus said...
Wow , iv'e been searching for info on this event and wanting to participate .. so were gearing up and getting ready to submit our sH*^% ,, The Circus Is Coming ....Duck (vocs) TC
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6-17-2007 @ 2:25PM
Tragic Circus said...
Well i think this is a great avenue for bands looking to just go put themselves out there and see what happens all while having the times of their lives ,, i know my band is down for it ..I mean we all want it . 3 of us are fathers and me personally iv'e strived for stardom for as long as i can remember and it's been a hellofa ride ..lolol..to all the other bands participating from all over good luck to you ..and believe .happy fathers day ... Duck (lead voc)Tragic Circus .
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7-10-2007 @ 10:24AM
vadamom said...
I think this is great ieda.. I just wish there was more information about when they will be "choosing" the bands etc. Our young boys sent in their application and DVD in May. Just curious about when they will be finished picking the bands for try-outs.
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7-23-2007 @ 12:09AM
roro said...
I'm so excited about the American Idol Band,I have submitted my favorite band Midline and I sure wish all the hard working bands out there one hell yeah and good luck, keep your dream dont lose sight of it !!!!!
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8-02-2007 @ 12:35PM
cassie helms said...
DO THE CONTESTANCE HAVE TO PLAY EXISTING BAND'S SONGS? OR WILL THEY BE ABLE TO PLAY THIER OWN SONGS? IF THEY DO PLAY OTHER PEOPLE'S SONGS THIS SHOW WILL SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE LET THEM MAKE THEIR OWN MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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