The Hit is an Irish talent show series that began airing on 26 July 2013 on RTÉ One and sees songwriters showcasing their songs to established artists. The artists then battle one another to find the perfect song they can turn into a hit. It was hosted by Aidan Power and Nicky Byrne.
A pilot episode was aired in September 2012 on RTÉ Two hosted by Laura Whitmore. On 15 March 2013, RTÉ announced that the show had been ordered for a full series to be broadcast in the summer.
On 30 August 2013, Finbar Furey was announced the winner of the series, with the song "The Last Great Love Song". Gerry Fleming, the song's songwriter, won the €20,000 prize.Finbar Furey wins The Hit - RTÉ Ten The show wasn't as successful as The Voice of Ireland and was cancelled after one series.
RTVE, the Spanish public broadcaster, was rumoured to be considering using the format as the selection process for its entry in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.El director de TVE pide "ayuda, ilusión y estabilidad": quiere llegar al 11% de audiencia a final de año
Format In each episode, six chosen songwriters pitch their songs to two established artists in "The Pitching Rooms". The two artists go into each room and listen to the song. Upon exiting the artist can "lock in" their choice or leave the choice open. Each artist must lock in two songs.
The artists meet with both songwriters and discuss possible changes to the song to make it more suitable to the artist releasing the song. The artist produces one song and their choice is revealed when they return to the live show to perform their chosen song.
The two artists then enter a "chart battle" where the song chosen by the artist is available for download. The songs are downloaded using primarily an SMS system and are only available via the system for the week following the broadcast. The song which receives the most downloads goes through to the grand finale, where the songs are performed again with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and viewers then choose "The Song of the Series", thus "The Ultimate Hit". The winning songwriter receives a €20,000 prize.
Episodes
Pilot (6 September 2012) Brian McFadden against Royseven
Series 1 (2013)
Episode 1 (26 July) The Stunning against Julie Feeney
+Songwriters competing on the first episode Songwriter(s) Song Result Alice Lynskey "Run and Hide" The Stunning's choice Niamh Murphy "Land's End" Not chosen Nigel Place "Sad Songs" The Stunning's choice Christy McGuigan "I Was Not Expecting To Be Loved" Not chosen Gary Burke & Katie Carpenter "Dimension Me" Julie's choice Tommy Moore "New Tattoo" Julie's choice
+ Chart Battle Artist Songwriter Song Chart No.>> IRMA << Irish Charts - Singles, Albums & Compilations >> Result The Stunning Alice Lynskey "Run and Hide" 6 Qualified Julie Feeney Tommy Moore "New Tattoo" 9 Eliminated
The following week, "Run and Hide" dropped to #77 in the Irish Singles Chart; "New Tattoo" did not chart in the Top 100.
Episode 2 (2 August) Brian Kennedy against Ryan O'Shaughnessy
+Songwriters competing on the second episode Songwriter(s) Song Result Yvonne McCarthy "You're No Good For Me" Brian's choice Sean Redmond "Try" Brian's choice Gavin Doyle "Blush" Ryan's choice Mark Graham & Francis Mitchell "Who Do You Love?" Ryan's choice Paddy Sharkey "Falling" Not chosen Pat Silke "Dream Be Over" Not chosen
+ Chart Battle Artist Songwriter(s) Song Chart No. Result Brian Kennedy Sean Redmond "Try" 15 Eliminated Ryan O'Shaughnessy Mark Graham & Francis Mitchell "Who Do You Love?" 3 Qualified
The following week, "Who Do You Love?" dropped to #39 in the Irish Singles Chart; "Try" did not chart in the Top 100.
Episode 3 (9 August) Johnny Logan against Duke Special
+Songwriters competing on the third episode Songwriter Song Result Alan Earls "Prayin'" Johnny's choice Joshua Golding "You Love Me Anyway" Duke's choice Louise Killeen "Who's to Say It Is" Not chosen Lorcan Hughes "Heaven Here I Am" Not chosen Aaron Hackett "1969" Duke's choice Jamie Wilson "Rain" Johnny's choice
+ Chart Battle Artist Songwriter Song Chart No. Result Duke Special Aaron Hackett "1969" 5 Eliminated Johnny Logan Alain Earls "Prayin'" 3 Qualified
The following week, "Prayin'" dropped to #90 in the Irish Singles Chart; "1969" did not chart in the Top 100.
Episode 4 (16 August) Samantha Mumba against Republic of Loose
+Songwriters competing on the fourth episode Songwriter(s) Song Result Fiona Harte "Make Or Break" Republic of Loose's choice Mark Keogh & Dave Spiro "Thinking of You" Republic of Loose's choice Liz Seaver "Somebody Like Me" Mumba's choice Simon Bushby "Georgia" Mumba's choice Sandra Clarke "This Love Ain't Enough" Not chosen Declan Landy "Give A Little Love" Not chosen
+ Chart Battle Artist Songwriter(s) Song Chart No. Result Republic of Loose Mark Keogh & Dave Spiro "Thinking of You" 16 Eliminated Samantha Mumba Liz Seaver "Somebody Like Me" 5 Qualified
The following week "Somebody Like Me" dropped to #58 in the Irish Singles Chart; "Thinking of You" did not chart in the Top 100.
Episode 5 (23 August) Mundy against Finbar Furey
+Songwriters competing on the fifth episode Songwriter(s) Song Result Andrew Basquille, Padraic Gillian and Eugene Murphy "Yes To You" Furey's choice Jack Ahern "Hypnotized" Not chosen Karen Alice Dunbar "Waiting For Your Love" Mundy's choice Gerry Fleming "The Last Great Love Song" Furey's choice David McShane "Captured" Not chosen Mark Walsh "Jigsaw Man" Mundy's choice
+ Chart Battle Artist Songwriter Song Chart No. Result Mundy Mark Walsh "Jigsaw Man" 5 Eliminated Finbar Furey Gerry Fleming "The Last Great Love Song" 1 Qualified
Grand Finale (30 August) For the grand finale of the series, the five successful artists returned to perform their song live in the O2, with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and the viewers decided who had the ultimate hit via a public vote.Final line-up of artists for The Hit announced - RTÉ Ten
Artist Song Result Finbar Furey "The Last Great Love Song" Winner The Stunning "Run and Hide" Runners-up Ryan O'Shaughnessy "Who Do You Love?" Johnny Logan "Prayin'" Samantha Mumba "Somebody Like Me"
International versions On 20 November 2013, it was announced that RTL 5 would air a Dutch version of The Hit in early 2014. It began on 24 February 2014, hosted by Dennis Weening.RTÉ Show 'The Hit' to be Remade for Dutch Television | The Irish Film & Television Network The format has also been sold to China, Germany, Finland, Norway, Russia, Spain and Ukraine.
Country Local title Presenter(s) Winners Channel Premiere The Hit Dennis WeeningRuud Feltkamp (Backstage) Season 1, 2014: "Where Do We Go" (Artist: Chuckie feat. Dewi; Songwriter: Robert D Fisher & Dick Kok) RTL 5 24 February 2014 The Hit Marte Stokstad Season 1, 2014: "The Story of Love" (Artist: Trine Rein; Songwriter: Geir Arne Hansens) NRK1 5 September 2014 Хит Alexander Anatolievich & Ivan Chuikov (Season 2)Margarita Mitrofanova & Yuri Askarov (Season 1) Season 1, 2013: "V samoe serdtse" (Artist: Sergey Lazarev; Songwriter: Alexander Penkin)Season 2, 2014: "Davai so mnoy za zvezdami" (Artist: Natali; Songwriter: Alisa Bushueva) Rossiya 1 6 September 2013 Hit - la canción Jaime Cantizano Season 1, 2015: "Me da igual" (Artist: Rosa López; Songwriter: Alfonso Bravo & David Barral) La 1 2 January 2015
References
External links Official website