There is a saying in Nashville that “it all begins with a song.” That concept is the premise for a new TV show that focuses on songwriters — rather than singers and performers. More than a thousand contestants applied to win the $100,000 cash prize along with a publishing deal with Sony Music. A red carpet event and the final competition for Chart Breakers took place in front of a live audience at The Listening Room Cafe in Nashville on November 29, 2023. The complete series will take viewers behind the scenes of the songwriting process as contestants compete for the grand prize.
The idea for the show was conceived during dinner when Jason Sciavicco and Wyatt Durrette first met several years ago and Wyatt introduced himself as a songwriter. Jason (who is a film director and producer) was intrigued as Wyatt told the stories behind some of the songs he had written. One song in particular hit home — Highway 20 Ride. The lyrics convey the heartfelt struggle of shared custody and was a No. 1 single for the Zac Brown Band.
Jason told 615 Notes, “From that point on, I was trying to figure out a way to tell the story about songwriters and the stories behind the songs. Wyatt and I went back and forth sharing ideas for about six months; it’s been almost two years in the making.” Wyatt adds, “We took our time. We wanted to show what happens in Nashville and how hard songwriters work.”
Sixteen songwriters competed at the first event held in Nashville at The Local. The top eight contestants boarded a tour bus to the next city, where they battled against the next group of local songwriters to determine who would get a seat on the bus and move on to the next round of competition. The process continued as the entourage of contestants and production crew traveled from Nashville to Greenville, Marietta, Pensacola, and Statesboro. Then, the top eight songwriters were sequestered at a writing retreat in Blue Ridge, Georgia for two weeks to hone their skills and face songwriting challenges.
Show co-creator and producer Wyatt Durrette —who mentored and co-wrote with the aspiring songwriters at the retreat, described some of the challenges. “One was to write a song about love without using the word ‘love.’ Another assignment was to go to the town square near where we were in the mountains, walk up to a stranger and say, ‘hey tell me a story, I’m gonna write a song about it.’”
After the retreat, the show finale was recorded in Nashville, where the songwriters performed their original songs in front of a live audience and panel of judges. The three judges included hit songwriter and show co-creator Wyatt Durrette; artist-songwriter Filmore; and music publisher Janine Ebach. When asked what the judges were looking for, Janine said, “a great lyric, especially fresh unique phrasing. This is not American Idol. This is not The Voice. We are focused on the craft of songwriting that happens behind the scenes, and that’s what this whole show has been about.”
The show is hosted by Adley Kinsman — a social media personality with more than one billion monthly views. People may also remember Adley from Season 2 of The Voice, when she secured a spot on Blake Shelton’s team. As the host for Chart Breakers, part of her job is to inform the contestants if they are moving forward or being eliminated. Adley jokingly told 615 Notes, “I’m doing all the judges’ dirty work!“ She added, “As a former singer-songwriter, this whole show has been so nostalgic for me to come back to the industry that taught me how to storytell… it feels very full circle and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
The five weeks’ worth of video content will be edited to create about 10-12 episodes. In addition to showing the journey of the songwriters, Chart Breakers will include performances by judges Wyatt Durrette and Filmore, as well as country star Chris Lane, who is best known for his No. 1 hits Fix; I Don’t Know About You; and Big, Big Plans. Chris Lane shares executive producer credits with Jason Sciavicco.
Follow @chartbreakerstv on Instagram for up-to-date info on the new country singer-songwriter competition series. The show is slated to debut in April 2024.
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