Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Songland’ On NBC, Where Songwriters Compete To Have A Star Record Their Song

We couldn’t write a song if our lives depended on it, so the process of writing a hooky earworm of a pop song is fascinating to us. Songland is a reality competition that brings the alchemy of that process, especially the collaboration between songwriter, producer and artist, out of the shadows. Read on for more about this new NBC reality series….

SONGLAND: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Shots of budding songwriters doing what they do: writing and playing their songs. Also, they’re performing their songs in front of three top songwriter/producers and an artist or band who will record one of their songs at the end of their episode.

The Gist: The idea behind Songland is, in the simple version, exactly what we described above. Four singer/songwriters sing their original songs in front of a panel of top songwriter/producers — Ryan Tedder, Ester Dean and Shane McAnally — and a different artist every week. The artist will pick their final three songs, and each producer will pair off with a songwriter and make improvements to the song for the final round. After performing the hopefully improved song, the guest artist will pick the song they want to record. Of course, by the end of the episode, that recording will be available for download or streaming.

The first episode’s guest artist is John Legend, who is asked to listen to a soul song that seems to be in his wheelhouse, an upbeat, Caribbean-flavored tune, one that’s country-tinged, and one that’s about going home. We don’t get a ton of back story for each contestant, but enough to help the contestants be distinct from one another. After each song is performed, Legend and the panel, give gentle critiques about the melody, the lyrics, and just about anything else that will make the good songs even better.

Other guest artists for this series will be the Jonas Brothers, Meghan Trainor, Charlie Puth, will.i.am, Tedder’s band OneRepublic, Kelsea Ballerini, Macklemore, Aloe Blacc, Old Dominion and Leona Lewis.

Our Take: Adam Levine and The Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart are among the executive producers of Songland, and what we really enjoy about this show is that it gives us a really intimate and inside look at the collaboration process between songwriters, artists and producers. While many top artists write their own songs, many pick songs from outside songwriters, and this gives us a somewhat stylized look at how this process happens. It’s remarkable seeing these songwriters present what seems to be a decent song with some really good elements, and see the artist, plus Tedder, McAnally and Dean immediately suggest improvements that really make the song better.

And we also love the Chopped-style format (something our better half noticed); instead of an endless tournament and breathless exclamations that “You’re going to become a star!”, the winning song is picked and released by the end of each pre-recorded episode. And the fact that each episode will have a different artist or group picking the song they decide to record will let us into each act’s thought process. Legend gives input into all the songs he hears, but he knows which song is something he would do and one he would have to stretch to do. But what’s good for John Legend doesn’t mean it’s good for Meghan Trainor, for instance. And that’s where the show gets interesting.

One thing we hope to see in upcoming episodes that we didn’t see in this first episode is some pushback from the songwriters to the changes the producers want to make. Sure, Tedder, Dean and McAnally have worked with today’s biggest acts and they have a good idea what makes a successful pop song. But the budding songwriters were so agreeable to having their pride and joy songs changed from beginning to end, we were craving some doubt or conflict. It does gloss over how much work goes into polishing these songs, sort of like how cousin show The Voice glosses over just how much rehearsal and voice lessons the singers go through to improve, but it’s still a fun watch.

Sex and Skin: Nothing.

Parting Shot: We see a shot of Legend recording the winning song, and of course the usual pitch to stream it and download it. Oh, and did we tell you that that there’s also a Songland podcast?

Sleeper Star: Just as Blake Shelton got initial doubts that he could work with Voice singers who aren’t country acts, it feels like McAnally, who has mostly worked with country artists like Kacey Musgraves, gets underestimated. But he’s also worked with Kelly Clarkson, so he knows a great pop song when he hears one, too, and the song that comes out of the collaboration with his artist is remarkable (albeit with a very familiar-sounding chorus, as our better half pointed out).

Most Pilot-y Line: A bit more insight into what the artists know about the songs going in might help. We know they have a lyric sheet, but that’s about it. Also, let’s be real: There’s nothing stopping the guest artist from recording the two songs he/she/they don’t pick after the season is over, and in the case of John Legend, we wouldn’t be surprised to hear at least one of the two songs he didn’t pick on a future album.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Songland is a show you can dip in and out of, depending on how much you like the guest artist of the week. But when you do tune in, you’ll get a satisfying reality competition experience.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.

Stream Songland on NBC