Like Euro Vision, American Song Contest is a singing competition, where all 50 states, five U.S. territories, and our nation’s capital come to compete to win the country’s vote for the best hit song. Either a talented solo artist, duo, or band represents each country. The show is leading into the Semi-Finals next week and we chatted with the contestants of the last normal weekly competition. No more new states, now everyone must bring their A game to get to the finale, which will air on May 9.
This week, we saw the following states compete for those final spots in the Semi-Final; Ada Leann representing Michigan, Andrew Sheppard representing Idaho, HALIE representing Missouri, Jason J. representing Guam, John Morgan representing North Carolina, Josh Panda representing Vermont, Justin Jesso representing Illinois, Khalisol representing New Mexico, Sisqó representing Maryland, Sweet Taboo representing California and Tenelle representing American Samoa.
Each contestant brought the heat on the final week of the regular competition, making it a hard choice for America to vote. Justin Jesso, who performed for Illinois told us “It was great, I got to open the show tonight, which was a lot of fun and brought a lot of energy. I’m excited to see what happens.” Jesso, who is known for his hit Kygo song “Stargazing,” brought his powerful vocals to the stage.
The show, based in California, which Sweet Taboo represents, is showcasing so much talent. The ladies for the band told us what it was like representing the home field state, “It was incredible representing California. It’s just unreal. We all grew up here. Our roots aren’t there. Our families are here . To be able to share this moment with the whole state that we’re from, that shaped us into who we are. Wow, it’s unreal.” The talented girl group sang their sure to be hit song “Keys To The Kingdom, which they said was about “representing being confident, loving yourself, loving your body, and waking up everyday and just going at it.As three young Latinas, we’re growing up, and there’s a lot of comparing in the world. We want everyone to feel confident in themselves. Love you for who you are and don’t feel the need to change. Be confident, own up to it, and every single time you walk out that door, walk out , stand tall, and put your head high.”
The show airs every Monday, 8PM EST on NBC, make sure you tune into next week’s show so you can start voting and getting your favorites into the finale! Fans at home can vote for their favorite performances on nbc.com/ascvote, the NBC App, and on TikTok. Voting for the Qualifiers will open Monday nights and will close Wednesday morning.