It was on, then it was off, and now it’s most certainly on. Simon Cowell’s Ultimate DJ has officially been announced.
X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent aren’t exactly swarming with genuine, top-level talent nowadays so it’s no surprise the high-waisted music mogul’s prying into the dance music world to fill up that piggy bank of his.
We knew the Syco Entertainment creation was coming soon and the show’s partner, Yahoo, yesterday announced it would be teaming up with Ultra Records. Cowell also said it’d be directed by Hamish Hamilton, the man behind Beyoncé’s Super Bowl halftime show in 2013.
Yahoo’s chief marketing officer Kathy Savitt has even compared it to the world’s biggest sporting spectacle.
“Ultimate DJ will be very much like the World Cup of EDM – country against country, DJ against DJ, fanbase against fanbase. And with all the voting happening on Tumblr, it’s yet another example of the growing convergence and synergies we are finding between the two platforms.”
With a Sony Music record deal up for grabs, entrants will take part in a number of online production tasks before live challenges and performances.
Not everything went to plan, though. Fatboy Slim turned down a chance to be a judge, saying dance music’s “not something that can be scripted”, while the Gorgon City boys called it a “bad thing”.
To be fair to Cowell, he did say the show would be “made with respect” on Twitter. We’ll see about that, Si.
What are your thoughts on a DJ competition like this? Lets get some feedback whether you think it’s a good idea or not.
