Show: “Building the Band”
– B2-C2 (intermediate to advanced) –
Practice Your Listening Comprehension
Practice Your Reading Comprehension
For decades music producers and record labels have formed bands using singers and musicians who do not know each other but must learn to work well together, as colleagues under the guise of “friendship.” Such a process has made some of the most successful bands in western music history, but Netflix is now proposing something different: to allow the band members to choose themselves under the development of real friendship and actually shared musical interests and goals; no producers, no labels, just authentic connection and musical talent.
To make things more interesting, “Building the Band” takes the combined formats of famed reality TV shows “The Voice,” “Love Is Blind,” and “The Circle.” 50 contestants are isolated in private rooms where they must choose only 10 fellow artists whom they would like to potentially join in the creation of a new musical group. They do not know what each artist looks like, what their style is, or what their musical preferences are. All they know is their voice and whether they believe that they can blend their own with them to make music magic. Once a contestant has selected another artist to potentially work with, they are allowed to have phone calls to get to know each other better, to see if a friendship develops. But the key to staying in the competition isn’t just finding friends, its finding friends with whom you actually choose to form a band. If contestants do not have enough friendships, or their friendships have gone in a different direction choosing other artists to be in a group with, then those contestants are sent home. Only six bands of three to five members can be formed. And only once you form your band can you meet your band mates in real life during your first group performance. From this point on, the six bands compete for the final prize: US$500,000 and a chance to become the next big thing in a new generation of bands.
To guide these artists are contemporary pop legends: AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys; Nicole Scherzinger, star of The Pussycat Dolls and co-creator of One Direction; the late Liam Payne, member of One Direction; and Kelly Rowland of the trio Destiny’s Child, which birthed arguably one of the most famous musical artists in American history, Beyoncé.
WHAT TO LEARN
While watching “Building the Band,” there are a variety of English language elements that you can practice and learn, including:
listening comprehension (American English, AAVE, Australian English)
informal language
slang
music jargon
polite language
present simple
present perfect
past simple
vocabulary related to:
music
goals
interests
decision making
collaboration
business
relationships (friendship, family, dating, coworkers)
conflict resolution
emotions (excitement, happiness, rejection, disappointment, sadness, concern, surprise, impression, etc.)
and much more…!
Do you like watching singing competitions? Who is one of your favourite contestants or winners from one? Why do you like them? Practice your English by letting me know in the comments below.
