NEW YORK – CBS’ newest recreation present would not ask its contestants to have any expertise — no must sing, dance, prepare dinner or pull a rabbit out of a hat. All it asks from its opponents is adoration — numerous it.
“Superfan,” which premieres Wednesday, gathers one musical act and their followers every week right into a studio and progressively whittles the contestants down to 2, giving viewers the ultimate say on who will likely be topped the final word superfan.
“There’s too many talent shows. It’s too competitive. Some of us are not good at anything except loving the artist we love,” says Keltie Knight, creator, govt producer and co-host. “This is not a talent show. This is a talent-less show.”
“Superfan” has lured some starry first season friends — Kelsea Ballerini,Gloria Estefan,Little Large City,LL Cool J,Pitbull and Shania Twain. Contestants come from everywhere in the nation and even internationally; a Twain superfan from Brazil stated her music helped him study English.
The contestants are winnowed down over the course of an hour by means of a sequence of competitions: Recognizing a snippet of the star’s tune, figuring out considered one of their iconic photographs and getting inside their head for a multiple-choice query, like choosing their singer’s favourite Jennifer Lopez rom-com.
The ultimate two attempt to impress the viewers — and the artists — by lip-syncing to considered one of their hits. For the Twain present, that meant two contestants wearing feather boas and prime hats shimmying to “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”
“I want the fans to have this opportunity to shine and to win, but it’s just as much for the artists. I want the artists to have a safe place, like those amazing ‘MTV Unplugged’ sessions that were just like Kurt Cobain in a sweater and he’s just playing for fans and he’s able to look them in the eye and tell a story,” Knight says. “That’s the vibe we’re going for.”
Along with the title, winners can get all kinds of perks, like tickets to approaching concert events, loads of merch, a non-public take heed to an upcoming album, a signed guitar or a backstage VIP meet-and-greet.
Knight is a correspondent for E! Information with a protracted historical past on the intersection of journalism and music, having previously hosted “The Insider.” She’s interviewed tons of artists and calls the annual Grammys her “favorite day of the year.”
“There’s something about musicians in a room and them all loving on each other and sparkly dresses,” she says, laughing. “I was just like, ‘What if we did that every week and made it for families and made America get to decide who the No. 1 fan is?’”
Knight has spent the higher a part of a decade attempting to get “Superfan” to TV screens, surviving skeptical executives, trade employment churn, well being scares, scheduling modifications and sexism.
“I think it took me 10 years to perfect it because it really is so special,” she says.
To fill a studio viewers every week, she and her staff approached artist fan golf equipment for volunteers, enlisted the singers to recruit contestants on their social accounts and posted on social media, together with Reddit and the platform previously referred to as Twitter, the place the ultimate public voting takes place.
Hundreds of followers utilized for every present and have been requested to submit movies and write essays, sit for Zoom interviews and have background checks. As soon as gathered in Los Angeles, producers picked out 10-15 attainable contestants and revealed the ultimate 5 who would compete as a shock for every present.
“It’s really important that we made sure that not only we had our biggest superfans, but that our viewers at home and the families at home could see themselves in these shows,” says Knight, who shares present creation credit score with Jodi Roth.
Because the first season’s taping, Knight says most of the contestants — these picked to be contestants and even these not — have remained related on textual content chains, assembly up for concert events and occasions starring their favourite celeb.
“There is something so hard about making friends as an adult and I think fandoms allow us to just love something,” she says. “It’s a really easy way to connect with other humans.”
The present she spearheaded is pleasant, inspirational, celebrational, foolish and never very aggressive in any respect, with contestants high-fiving one another and hugging these eradicated.
“It’s a collective chaos right now on Earth. And so I think this show is just a really beautiful coming together of the things that make us alike,” she says. “It’s just the thing that brings you together and I think we really need that right now.”
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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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