This summer ABC is looking for the next Boy Band with its new music competition series. Rita Ora will host the series premiering Thursday, June 22nd from 8-10 pm ET/PT on the Disney-owned network. The Backstreet Boy’s Nick Carter and Spice Girls’ Emma Bunton have joined the series as architects — experts who will guide contestants throughout their journey to stardom.
ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey made the announcement during the network’s Upfront presentation at David Geffen Hall in New York City on Tuesday (May 16th). The Backstreet Boys followed the announcement with a performance of their hit “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).”
In Boy Band, undiscovered young talent from around the country battle it out to become a member of the next great music sensation. From The Beatles to The Jackson 5 to Backstreet Boys and One Direction, generations around the world have always had an insatiable thirst for boy bands. The ten episode series will chronicle the journey of young male vocalists who will compete for a chance to show the world that they have what it takes to win a coveted spot in America’s next great boy band and receive a recording contract with Hollywood Records.
At the start of the season, thousands of talented singers audition for one of 18 spots in three bands that will need to impress the architects in hopes of evading elimination. Each episode will feature a different theme, and the architects will shuffle contestants to find the best combination of voices to perform, live, for America. Architects will critique each band’s performance and collectively determine two contestants who are up for elimination. After performing solo “survival” songs, viewers at home will vote for their favorite to remain in the competition. In the finale, America’s favorite five band members will be announced, and they will perform their brand-new single together for the first time.
The news comes after the network announced a highly anticipated return of American Idol set for a spring 2018 reboot. Katy Perry has signed on as a judge with others to be announced later.
