What do you get when American Idol (A.I) producers Fremantle Media North America teams up with Country Music Television (CMT)? A great music talent show... with a few twists.
For Open Audition Day, aspiring country music duos hit Nashville for their chance at the big brass ring. The spin on the contest is the possibility some of the couples may be split up. One or both could find themselves paired up with someone new. Single artists can also give it a go in the hopes they will find will a harmonious partner to enter the competition with. Callback Day will give the judging panel a second look at all the performers, both duos and singles, that made it through the first set of tryouts. By the end of this process, twenty singers will remain, a mixture of already paired duets and single players. As the weeks continue on, eventually one couple will emerge as the top duet and win a contract with a Nashville-based record company.
I watched the first season of Can You Duet last year and really enjoyed it. It shared a lot of elements withA.I. and was very easy to get hooked on. When it came down to the Top Ten duos, I was pretty impressed with almost all of them. But there was one that I felt stood hands and shoulders above the rest, Caitlin & Will. Put together by the judges, it was amazing to see how they gelled as a team and they certainly deserved to win. Okay. I'm not going to lie to you. It felt pretty good to have my fave singing duo win the whole enchilada.
Fast forward a year (and a week) from last season’s finale. Tonight, the first episode of Can You Duet's second season premiered. It started out with a brief recap of last year. Then, it was onto a rundown of the specifics of the competition and the end result for one pair, a recording contract with Big Machine Records (Taylor Swift, Trisha Yearwood, Jack Ingram).
Next up was the introduction of this season’s judging panel. Speaking of the label tied to promoting the winning duo, its founder, president, and CEO Scott Borchetta is on for the duration. In his CMT blog, here’s what he had to say about the duties he took on: “There was no desire for me to be a judge. There was a desire to work with the platform and see if we could break an act out of it.” I like the way that he thinks and it makes perfect sense to me. I’m really looking forward to his input during the whole show and then seeing how Big Machine Records works with the winning duo.
Article comments
1 - Tashina
I think Jamie & Keeira should have been kept together...they were awesome for just meeting that day in the singles room!
2 - tink
Right, Tashina. Especially because they were together for such a short period of time!
It'll be interesting to see how the judges pair them. I seem to remember that last year Caitlyn & Will both had several partners after being split from the ones they came with.
I'd like to hear what you think about how they're paired up this coming Saturday.
3 - joseph
And Jamie and Keeira were both beautiful....looked good together and could have gone far; fun personalities!
4 - can you duet fan
I agree & also think leith & matt should have stayed as a couple too!
5 - tink
Hi Joseph and CYD fan!
I think you both have good points, although I must say that I think Keeira and Matt have a certain spark when performing together.
So...then, what do you think about the new duos we have left?
6 - Diana
I am actually a first time viewer as of tonight (7/7/09) and I am actually appalled that the judges even question the talent of the last couple that performed. They greatly out performed the other singers, hands down. They have talent, good harmonies and are both down-to-earth personalities. The only reason I can imagine for their negativity to this couple is the fact that they are racist... and this makes me extremely disgusted. I understand it is country... but being from an interracial couple, this makes me ill.
7 - tink
Hi Diana and thank you for writing in.
I agree with you that they are both talented. However, the contest is to find the best duo, not solo act. And as Matt himself said, they are both lead singers. Considering that fact, they were both fighting to be leads which can only result in their harmonies not blending well. I stand by my comment that they need to get into a groove as a singing partnership.
I've looked back over my notes and re-read my review. I don't understand why you are saying the judges were being negative. I even watched the show again, but didn't see one negative response to Matt & Keeira's performance. I thought the judges were quite encouraging and had they not liked them to some extent, the pair surely would have been let go that night.
I am left confused by your comment and it's inflamatory accusation of racism, made without knowing the parties involved or having proof of fact. If there was a problem regarding racism, wouldn't they just kept Matt or Keeira, or both of them, off of the show? You see, since you didn't mention any names, I'm not sure as to which of the two you felt was being abused. And I would hate to assume incorrectly as to whom it is you are talking about.
8 - joseph
I still think that the connection between Jamie and Keeira was much better than Matt & Keeira and Keeira even eluded in one of her comments that everything had to be Matt's way...no connection felt there. Jamie & Keeira were awesome for just meeting and would have gotten great if kept together, in my opinion. I think one certain judge was hard on girl duos...
9 - tink
Well, don't be shy now Joseph. C'mon. Which judge did you think was being harsh and what happened that led you to think that way?
I'm trying to think back to the beginning and nothing is coming to mind. Let us know!!