From the producers of The Voice, NBC's Songland enjoyed a strong debut on 5/28. All-star producers Ryan Tedder, Ester Dean and Shane McAnally will be searching for the next hitmaker throughout the series; the opener got right down to brass tacks, with the experts giving talented novices practical tips to sharpen their musical hooks and payoffs.

The pilot episode, featuring John Legend as a special guest, had a strong debut, with a 1.2 rating and 5.85m viewers, the best bow for an unscripted summer series in two years. What's more, the song that resulted from the opener, "We Need Love iTunes " (co-written by contestant Tebby) has moved onto the iTunes leaderboard; it sat at #6 by the evening following the premiere.

#Songland premieres TONIGHT!!!! I am so excited to be a part of this show. Can’t wait to see what song John Legend picks tonight! Stay tuned for my episode later this season ðŸŽ¶ @NBCSongland pic.twitter.com/FFNIPAmdKu
— Leona Lewis (@leonalewis) May 28, 2019