A U.S. version of hit music/dating show Love At First Song based on South Korea’s CJ ENM’s TV format is being developed by Critical Content, John Legend’s Get Lifted Film Co. and American Idol and Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings producer Simon Lythgoe and his Legacy Productions.
Love At First Song originally premiered on January 14, 2018, on Vietnam’s VTV3, ranking #1 in its time slot and boosting network ratings.
The hybrid music/dating competition series creates couples through emotional performances in which single singers “virtually” rehearse a romantic duet, then reveal themselves and their potential chemistry during performance. These couples then live together, practice together, perform and compete together, but may swap partners in every episode — for love or music.
Critical Content’s Tom Forman and Jenny Daly will executive produce with Get Lifted’s Mike Jackson, John Legend and Ty Stiklorius, and Lythgoe. The project is part of a previously announced multi-year unscripted production pact between Critical Content and Get Lifted.
“Love at First Song is really the best of two great genres: performance and dating, as contestants literally fall in love and make heartbreaking decisions during their duets,” said Forman and Daly. “It’s the perfect format to come from a love song legend like John, plus a producer like Simon with a proven record of launching both hit shows and huge acts.”
“There’s almost nothing more compelling than watching two vocalists with chemistry sing a love song together on stage,” said Jackson. “This show will take the audience to the next level by bringing them behind the scenes to the laboratory where that chemical reaction began. Critical Content and Simon Lythgoe are the perfect mad scientists for us to partner with to bring this concoction to American viewers.”
“Having worked on some of the biggest reality singing competitions in the world like American Idol and Popstars, this is the first format I’ve seen in a decade that’s a unique hybrid having all the right ingredients to be a huge international success,” said Lythgoe. “And more importantly, Love at First Song has the potential to launch the next great duo like Tim & Faith, Sonny & Cher or Jay Z & Beyoncé.”
Get Lifted Film Co. is represented by WME and Nina Shaw at Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finklestein and Lezcano.
