Alison Hammond lands role hosting new singing show
TV presenter Alison Hammond has landed a role hosting a new singing show called Your Song which gives amateur performers the chance to sing a song close to their hearts and the winner will get the opportunity to play a special gig at a London music venue for their friends and family.
Alison Hammond has landed a role hosting a new singing show called Your Song.
The 51-year-old TV presenter has signed up to front Channel 4's new talent show Your Song alongside pop stars Sam Ryder and Paloma Faith with contestants being given the chance to sing a song close to their hearts to win the opportunity to play a special gig at a London music venue for their friends and family.
A show description from Channel 4 reads: "Across the country, extraordinary people perform the song that tells their story. Alison Hammond and the team give the nation’s hidden voices the audience they deserve."
According to The Sun newspaper, Alison said of her new role: " I just want to do what makes me happy. And if it fills my heart with joy, that’s all I want to do really ...
"It was important to me that it wasn’t exploitative. It’s filmed as live. There’s none of that faking it, what you see is the genuine timeline of what goes on.
"There’s no like: 'Oh, could you do that bit again?' There’s none of that."
The show gives amateur singers the chance to perform a song of their choice and the winner will be given the chance to take to the stage for a special appearance at the Hackney Empire in the UK capital.
Alison's co-host, Eurovision singer Sam, insisted he didn't want the show to feature criticism of the singers, adding: "It’s just treating other people as you’d like to be treated yourself.
"I wouldn’t go anywhere near a show like that [that involves criticising singers], because it’s not worth it. I know how that feels. I’ve been at the receiving end of that kind of criticism.
"It was so important that all these people’s stories were treated as truly sacred and they weren’t treated as any kind of currency."
Alison added: "It’s not necessarily about whether someone’s got a really good voice or not. It’s about connection to the audience and the connection to their story that they’re telling ... I love the fact that it was just about sharing your authentic self with the nation, you know what I mean? Sharing a song that means the world to you."
The first episode of Your Song airs on Channel 4 on Sunday April 12 at 9pm.
