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If you’re a fan of Encanto, you’ve probably heard an example of Carlos Vives’ music without even knowing it; he sang the infectious “Colombia, Mi Encanto” for that soundtrack. The Colombian pop superstar is the star of a new Disney series about a group of singers that are such underdogs, even their principal writes them off.

THE LOW TONE CLUB: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: The busy streets and highways of Bogotá, Colombia. A red VW bus speeds through the streets.

The Gist: Amaranto Molina (Carlos Vives) is going to his first day at a new job, the first new job he’s had in some time. But when he gets stopped in traffic, the sounds of the rhythms all around him, including the calls of an avocado salesman, overwhelm him. The cops see he’s stopped, note the expire registration and tow the car.

It’s the first day of school at Ultranova, the only music-focused high school in the city. The principal is Eduardo Kramer (Julián Arango), a former pop singer who had a big hit decades ago, which he signs on stage at the first assembly. The assembly is an audition for “The High Tones,” singers who Kramer and a panel consider the best of the best, suitable for recording with the Unltranova Records label, who sponsors the school.

Molina stumbles in during the audition, signs for a package, and hangs near the back. There are lots of talented people auditioning — though one, a freestyler named PaPiYón (Kevin Bury), doesn’t even get to open his mouth — but the people picked seem to be the ones everyone thought would get picked.

The last slot goes to a two-person act named Latina. But Kramer only wants the singer, Martina (Catalina Polo). Martina refuses to go without her bestie and drummer Lala (Maria Fernanda Marin). Kramer reluctantly brings a clarinetist named Panchito (Juan Diego Panadero) up on stage, but really it’s just to save face. In the package Molina signed for are jackets for The High Tones, with the five people he chose, including Martina. In other words, the audition was a sham, and one of the students, Romario (Brainer Gamboa), skipped the audition to find that out.

The people who don’t make The High Tones are together in a group called The Low Tones. That’s the group Molina is supposed to teach. Kramer almost lows off Molina, but then kisses up to him when he realizes that he’s who the label sent to teach these students that he seems to dismiss.

Kramer also tries his hardest to get Lala to persuade Martina to join The High Tones, appealing to the idea that she shouldn’t stand in her friend’s way of success. Soon, Martina is in and Panchito is out. Even the other four members of The High Tones know that Panchito was only there as a placeholder.

Back with The Low Tones, Molina’s sensitivity to out-of-rhythm sounds gets to him and the teens take advantage of it, clicking their pens to his distraction. But he comes back with cotton in his ears, has each of them hold a pen, and has them click their way to a reggaeton beat, punctuated by Molina singing the avocado salesman’s cadence from that morning.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The Low Tone Club (Original Title: El club de los graves) is reminiscent of shows like Glee or Rebelde, but with an advantage we’ll talk about below.

Our Take: Carlos VIves of the most beloved pop singers in Colombia, and he brings his on-stage energy to the role of Professor Molina, even if he’s a bit of a mystery when he’s not singing.

Many of the songs on the soundtrack for The Low Tone Club are written by Vives, and they are catchy to listen to. So when Molina is getting The Low Tones in shape to challenge The High Tones at some point during the season and defy what Kramer thinks of them (which is where this show inevitably feels like it’s going), the music that he uses is vivacious and fun.

So far, the teens on The Low Tone Club are OK but blend into one another like you generally see in shows like this. They’re more archetypes than real characters at this point. So even though the show is meant for preteens and teens, the attractions are Vives and Arango, mainly because they’re the show’s good guy and bad guy, respectively.

Arango plays Kramer as a guy who isn’t that bright but knows how to keep his eyes on the prize and how to keep the school’s corporate benefactors happy and writing checks. He has no problem disparaging the students’ talents, especially the ones that he thinks should be in the “carbon mine” of The Low Tones instead of the “diamond mine” of The High Tones — an analogy he sticks to even though Molina and Kramer’s assistant Peter (Juan Manuel Lenis) point out that the two are the same thing.

Watching the two of them face off was the highlight of the first episode, and will likely be as Molina gets more confidence in the job. Hopefully at some point, the teen characters distinguish themselves as characters, which should make the show even better.

What Age Group Is This For?: Like we said, this feels like a show for teens and preteens..

Parting Shot: After having a raucous jam with the class, Molino says, “See? We’re not so grave,” playing on the name of the group.

Sleeper Star: Vives’ daughter Elena plays Amalia, a quiet student who seems to have the talent to be in The High Tones.

Most Pilot-y Line: Could the members of The High Tones have been any meaner to Panchito? They tell him that they’ve already rehearsed their first dance number, and knew if the gawky Panchito tried to do it he’d fall down. It’s a depiction of bullying that we wish was eliminated from shows like this.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Good music by Carlos Vives and a fun vibe created by Vives and Arango sets up The Low Tone Club to be an inspirational show about underdog teen musicians.

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, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.