MILFORD, NH – If a reality music show hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson is wrong, then who wants to be right?
“America’s Song Contest,” the latest “get discovered on national TV and be famous” reality competition, launched this week on NBC. The gimmick? There’s a contestant from every state and U.S. territory to perform an original song.
New Hampshire’s MARi Burelle, who lists her hometown as Milford, is representing the Granite State.
According to her official bio, MARi is a singer-songwriter with powerhouse pipes and red-carpet-ready fierce fashion that embodies all the makings of a superstar.
Her Cuban and Puerto Rican roots play a large part in her music, as does her hometown in New Hampshire, her larger-than-life personality and her fashion sense (as seen in both New York and London Fashion Week).
MARi is a Billboard top 20-charting artist and has reached the Top 5 in the UK. She has participated in mega-parades and appeared on “Despierta America” (“Good Morning America”) and “La Voz,” the Spanish version of “The Voice.”
Her competition debut song is called “Fly.” MARi wasn’t featured on the premiere, which means you’ll have to follow along to know when she’s in the lineup, and when to vote. But it’s not just up to you. A 56-member jury of music industry professionals (one for each state and territory) selects one song to advance to the semi-finals, while three songs will also advance after a three-day viewer voting period after each live show.
The show, which is broadcast live, airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on NBC or you can watch the next day on Peacock. An Americanized version of the popular “Eurovision,” the eight-week elimination competition will have three qualifying rounds, then semi-finals and the grand finale in which one artist will be the winner.
In one strange twist, there are four artists competing who’ve already been around the musical block a few times – The Crystal Method representing Nevada, Jewel doing her thing for Alaska, Michael Bolton, who was homegrown in Connecticut, and Sisqó, who hails from Maryland. Nobody really explained the how or why of four “seasoned” performers being allowed to compete, but as usual, the reality TV rules were meant to be bent.
Next episode airs March 28.
P.S.: MARi wasn’t featured on the premiere, which means you’ll have to follow along to know when to vote. In the meantime, you can follow MARi on:
The list of all contestants is below:
- Alabama: Ni/Co
- Alaska: Jewel
- American Samoa: Tenelle
- Arizona: Las Marias
- Arkansas: Kelsey Lamb
- California: Sweet Taboo
- Colorado: Riker Lynch
- Connecticut: Michael Bolton
- Delaware: Nitro Nitra
- Florida: Ale Zabala
- Georgia: Stela Cole
- Guam: Jason J.
- Hawaii: Bronson Varde
- Idaho: Andrew Sheppard
- Illinois: Justin Jesso
- Indiana: UG skywalkin
- Iowa: Alisabeth Von Presley
- Kansas: Broderick Jones
- Kentucky: Jordan Smith
- Louisiana: Brittany Pfantz
- Maine: King Kyote
- Maryland: Sisqó
- Massachusetts: Jared Lee
- Michigan: Ada LeAnn
- Minnesota: Yam Haus
- Mississippi: Keyone Starr
- Missouri: Brett Seper
- Montana: Jonah Prill
- Nebraska: Jocelyn
- Nevada: The Crystal Method
- New Hampshire: MARi
- New Jersey: Brooke Alexx
- New Mexico: Khalisol
- New York: ENISA
- North Carolina: John Morgan
- North Dakota: Chloe Fredericks
- Northern Mariana Islands: Sabyu
- Ohio: Macy Gray
- Oklahoma: AleXa
- Oregon: courtship.
- Pennsylvania: Bri Steves
- Puerto Rico: Christian Pagán
- Rhode Island: Hueston
- South Carolina: Jesse LeProtti
- South Dakota: Judd Hoos
- Tennessee: Tyler Braden
- Texas: Grant Knoche
- US Virgin Islands: Cruz Rock
- Utah: Savannah Keyes
- Vermont: Josh Panda
- Virginia: Almira Zaky
- Washington: Allen Stone
- Washington, DC: D.C.: NËITHER
- West Virginia: Alexis Cunningham
- Wisconsin: Jake’O
- Wyoming: Ryan Charles
