November 13, 2007
Unlike the ridiculously epic American Idol season, in which viewers gain a feel for how America votes, who might be receiving more votes than logic would dictate and so on, on The Next Great American Band things are rushed. We don't know who the Sanjaya is on The Next Great American Band (I suspect it's Light of Doom, but I have no idea). Therefore, we can only count on logic and an attempt at objectivity with the faulty assumption that this is what America will base their votes on. Then again, with the abysmal ratings American Band is receiving, it's impossible to know who might be a surprise audience favorite. Regardless, this is who I view as the pretenders and contenders on The Next Great American Band, in as objective a way as possible:
November 9, 2007
Tonight, on The Next Great American Band, each remaining group played one song. That one song was a Billy Joel cover. It's a little weird that bands won't be judged on one of their originals this week, but that's OK, because Billy Joel was an awesome song writer and we got to hear some of his best tonight. The top eight performed tonight and, now that we're down to an hour, the show went by very quickly. Not much filler, which is great, but it felt a bit rushed. However, two hours is too long for any reality show and I'm happy we're down to an hour. The Next Great American Band is doing the same thing they did last week with eliminations: bands wait back stage until their name is called to perform. The two left at the end of the night were eliminated.
November 6, 2007
The Next Great American Band has been an epic ratings failure. The new reality show from the minds of Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe (who brought us American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance) has received CW/On the Lot type numbers in the Nielsens over its first few weeks, certainly far below FOX's expectations. What happened? The Next Great American Band is a carbon copy of Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, only with bands. Who doesn't like bands? America, apparently, and I've got some ideas why.
November 2, 2007
The Next Great American Band comes back tonight with its first elimination episode, an event that, according to the sub-par (read: awful) ratings the show has received, is not highly anticipated. Let's get right into it, shall we?
In the green room (the room is literally green) the twelve bands await their fates. Two are going home, which is one more than I thought would be leaving. So, in a way, it makes me happy. The way they're formatting these eliminations is pretty original: no one knows who will be performing when, so the only way bands know they'll be safe is when they are called to perform. The two bands who don't get to perform are eliminated.
November 2, 2007
Ian 'Dicko' Dickson knows his music. A veteran of the music industry for twenty years, Dickson has for small labels, bug labels and has been integral in bringing many bands to the world's attention. Originally from England (where he was friends with American Idol's Simon Cowell), Dicko moved to Australia a few years back and has been a staple on television ever since, most notably as a judge on Australian Idol. His newest gig has brought him, for the first time, to the United States as a judge on FOX's The Next Great American Band. We talked to him earlier this week about his new job, coming out to the States and the pressures of being the “bastard judge.”
Below you will find the written transcript as well as the full mp3 audio of the interview.
October 30, 2007
We're through two episodes of FOX's The Next Great American Band and we've got a pretty good idea of what each of the finalist bands bring to the table. In fact, I would argue that it's clear who has a chance at winning the whole thing and who is totally out of their league. At first, I thought that FOX had done a respectable job at choosing the finalists, but now I'm not so sure. I refuse to believe that better, more talented, more polished bands didn't send in their tapes. At least three of the finalist bands have no business being in this competition, and only a handful have any sort of star potential. A successful band needs the entire package – technical skill, commercial appeal, songwriting ability, and good performance abilities. After two episodes, it's time to separate the contenders from the pretenders on The Next Great American Band.
October 26, 2007
The Next Great American Band, like American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, is very simple. No frills on tonight's show, no celebrity guests, no filler. A perfect reality show. The Next Great American Band rolled out its top 12 bands tonight and, quite simply, let them play. Each of the finalist bands, over two hours, played two songs each, one original and one Bob Dylan cover. Yep, the theme tonight was Bob Dylan covers. Some were good, some were all right, a couple were great. Overall, FOX has corralled an impressive group of bands.
October 26, 2007
Dominic Bowden is the Southern Hemisphere's version Ryan Seacrest. Hailing from New Zealand, Bowden was chosen to host the new FOX reality series The Next Great American Band, from the producers of American Idol. This is Bowden's first hosting gig in the States, but back in New Zealand he hosted everything from New Zealand Idol to awards shows to Deal or No Deal to his own radio show. Now on The Next Great American Band, Dominic was kind enough to speak with us yesterday about how he got here and how his experience in America has been so far.
Below you will find the full mp3 audio of the interview.