| Clash of the Choirs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Friday TV |
| Presented by | Maria Menounos |
| Judges | Michael Bolton Patti LaBelle Nick Lachey Kelly Rowland Blake Shelton |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Jason Raff |
| Production locations | Brooklyn, New York |
| Running time | 2 hours |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | December 17 – December 20, 2007 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Clash of the Choirs is a reality talent contest miniseries that debuted on NBC in the United States on December 17, 2007. There were four episodes scheduled in the “quick competition”.[1] Maria Menounos is the host of the program, which was performed live from Stage One at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, New York.
The format was developed by Friday TV from an idea from the Swedish singer and choir leader Caroline af Ugglas.[2] Seven seasons of the Swedish version, Körslaget (Driving Style), have been broadcast on TV4 in 2008-2013.
The format was a multi-city "bragging rights" competition between 20-person choirs assembled in the hometowns of the recording artists that support them. In the 2007 competition, the choirs competed for a cash prize of $250,000, backed in part by Sony Pictures in support of its upcoming movie release, First Sunday. The film, about petty criminals using a choir in a neighborhood church as part of their scheme, was released 11 January 2008, in the United States and Canada and throughout Europe in April 2008.[3] The prize was in the form of a contribution to a charity active in the artist's hometown.
The choir led by former 98° singer Nick Lachey won the 2007 competition, which was decided by public vote after four nights of live performances. Patti LaBelle's choir finished second, followed by Blake Shelton's, Michael Bolton's, and Kelly Rowland's. The remaining teams received $50,000 each of donations, courtesy of General Electric, parent company of network owner NBC Universal.
The miniseries aired right as most US primetime broadcast television series had run out of new episodes mainly due to the Writers Guild of America strike.[4][5] Airing the week before Christmas song choices reflected a spiritual tone with one critic speculating that Patti LaBelle's choir was sure to win unless “it’s all a little too much ‘church’ for America”.[6]
NBC announced its 2008-2009 schedule on April 2, 2008, and it also confirmed that Clash of the Choirs would not return for another season.[7] A similar group a cappella competition, The Sing-Off, took place in December 2009 with Nick Lachey hosting.
- ^ "Remaining choirs will raise the roof as competition ends". December 19, 2007.
- ^ "Caroline af Ugglas succé i USA-TV". Svenska dagbladet (in Swedish). 2 June 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
- ^ "First Sunday (2008) - Release dates". IMDb.
- ^ Dos Santos, Kristin (December 18, 2007). "Strikewatch: Dear Santa, Make It Stop".
- ^ Kohanik, Eric; Service, CanWest News. "Clash of Choirs finale goes up against lots of reruns". Archived from the original on 2007-12-25.
- ^ "About Last Night: Clash of the Choirs Is No Contest". December 18, 2007.
- ^ "NBC Makes Big Plans for '08-'09 - Network takes gamble on year-round programming". Zap2it. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012.