The Hit (Irish TV series)
The Hit is an Irish talent show series that began airing on 26 July 2013 on RTÉ One and sees songwriters showcasing their songs to established artists. The artists then battle one another to find the perfect song they can turn into a hit. It was hosted by Aidan Power and Nicky Byrne.
A pilot episode was aired in September 2012 on RTÉ Two hosted by Laura Whitmore. On 15 March 2013, RTÉ announced that the show had been ordered for a full series to be broadcast in the summer.
On 30 August 2013, Finbar Furey was announced the winner of the series, with the song "The Last Great Love Song". Gerry Fleming, the song's songwriter, won the €20,000 prize. The show wasn't as successful as The Voice of Ireland and was cancelled after one series.
RTVE, the Spanish public broadcaster, was rumoured to be considering using the format as the selection process for its entry in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.
Format
In each episode, six chosen songwriters pitch their songs to two established artists in "The Pitching Rooms". The two artists go into each room and listen to the song. Upon exiting the artist can "lock in" their choice or leave the choice open. Each artist must lock in two songs.The artists meet with both songwriters and discuss possible changes to the song to make it more suitable to the artist releasing the song. The artist produces one song and their choice is revealed when they return to the live show to perform their chosen song.
The two artists then enter a "chart battle" where the song chosen by the artist is available for download. The songs are downloaded using primarily an SMS system and are only available via the system for the week following the broadcast. The song which receives the most downloads goes through to the grand finale, where the songs are performed again with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and viewers then choose "The Song of the Series", thus "The Ultimate Hit". The winning songwriter receives a €20,000 prize.
Episodes
Pilot (6 September 2012)
- Brian McFadden against Royseven
Series 1 (2013)
Episode 1 (26 July)
- The Stunning against Julie Feeney
| Songwriter | Song | Result |
| Alice Lynskey | "Run and Hide" | The Stunning's choice |
| Niamh Murphy | "Land's End" | Not chosen |
| Nigel Place | "Sad Songs" | The Stunning's choice |
| Christy McGuigan | "I Was Not Expecting To Be Loved" | Not chosen |
| Gary Burke & Katie Carpenter | "Dimension Me" | Julie's choice |
| Tommy Moore | "New Tattoo" | Julie's choice |
| Artist | Songwriter | Song | Chart No. | Result |
| The Stunning | Alice Lynskey | "Run and Hide" | 6 | Qualified |
| Julie Feeney | Tommy Moore | "New Tattoo" | 9 | Eliminated |
The following week, "Run and Hide" dropped to #77 in the Irish Singles Chart; "New Tattoo" did not chart in the Top 100.
Episode 2 (2 August)
- Brian Kennedy against Ryan O'Shaughnessy
| Songwriter | Song | Result |
| Yvonne McCarthy | "You're No Good For Me" | Brian's choice |
| Sean Redmond | "Try" | Brian's choice |
| Gavin Doyle | "Blush" | Ryan's choice |
| Mark Graham & Francis Mitchell | "Who Do You Love?" | Ryan's choice |
| Paddy Sharkey | "Falling" | Not chosen |
| Pat Silke | "Dream Be Over" | Not chosen |
| Artist | Songwriter | Song | Chart No. | Result |
| Brian Kennedy | Sean Redmond | "Try" | 15 | Eliminated |
| Ryan O'Shaughnessy | Mark Graham & Francis Mitchell | "Who Do You Love?" | 3 | Qualified |
The following week, "Who Do You Love?" dropped to #39 in the Irish Singles Chart; "Try" did not chart in the Top 100.
Episode 3 (9 August)
- Johnny Logan against Duke Special
| Songwriter | Song | Result |
| Alan Earls | "Prayin'" | Johnny's choice |
| Joshua Golding | "You Love Me Anyway" | Duke's choice |
| Louise Killeen | "Who's to Say It Is" | Not chosen |
| Lorcan Hughes | "Heaven Here I Am" | Not chosen |
| Aaron Hackett | "1969" | Duke's choice |
| Jamie Wilson | "Rain" | Johnny's choice |
| Artist | Songwriter | Song | Chart No. | Result |
| Duke Special | Aaron Hackett | "1969" | 5 | Eliminated |
| Johnny Logan | Alain Earls | "Prayin'" | 3 | Qualified |
The following week, "Prayin'" dropped to #90 in the Irish Singles Chart; "1969" did not chart in the Top 100.
Episode 4 (16 August)
- Samantha Mumba against Republic of Loose
| Songwriter | Song | Result |
| Fiona Harte | "Make Or Break" | Republic of Loose's choice |
| Mark Keogh & Dave Spiro | "Thinking of You" | Republic of Loose's choice |
| Liz Seaver | "Somebody Like Me" | Mumba's choice |
| Simon Bushby | "Georgia" | Mumba's choice |
| Sandra Clarke | "This Love Ain't Enough" | Not chosen |
| Declan Landy | "Give A Little Love" | Not chosen |
| Artist | Songwriter | Song | Chart No. | Result |
| Republic of Loose | Mark Keogh & Dave Spiro | "Thinking of You" | 16 | Eliminated |
| Samantha Mumba | Liz Seaver | "Somebody Like Me" | 5 | Qualified |
The following week "Somebody Like Me" dropped to #58 in the Irish Singles Chart; "Thinking of You" did not chart in the Top 100.
Episode 5 (23 August)
- Mundy against Finbar Furey
| Songwriter | Song | Result |
| Andrew Basquille, Padraic Gillian and Eugene Murphy | "Yes To You" | Furey's choice |
| Jack Ahern | "Hypnotized" | Not chosen |
| Karen Alice Dunbar | "Waiting For Your Love" | Mundy's choice |
| Gerry Fleming | "The Last Great Love Song" | Furey's choice |
| David McShane | "Captured" | Not chosen |
| Mark Walsh | "Jigsaw Man" | Mundy's choice |
| Artist | Songwriter | Song | Chart No. | Result |
| Mundy | Mark Walsh | "Jigsaw Man" | 5 | Eliminated |
| Finbar Furey | Gerry Fleming | "The Last Great Love Song" | 1 | Qualified |
Grand Finale (30 August)
For the grand finale of the series, the five successful artists returned to perform their song live in the O2, with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and the viewers decided who had the ultimate hit via a public vote.| Artist | Song | Result |
| Finbar Furey | "The Last Great Love Song" | Winner |
| The Stunning | "Run and Hide" | Runners-up |
| Ryan O'Shaughnessy | "Who Do You Love?" | Runners-up |
| Johnny Logan | "Prayin'" | Runners-up |
| Samantha Mumba | "Somebody Like Me" | Runners-up |
International versions
On 20 November 2013, it was announced that RTL 5 would air a Dutch version of The Hit in early 2014. It began on 24 February 2014, hosted by Dennis Weening. The format has also been sold to China, Germany, Finland, Norway, Russia, Spain and Ukraine.| Country | Local title | Presenter | Winners | Channel | Premiere |
| The Hit | Dennis Weening Ruud Feltkamp ' | Season 1, 2014: "Where Do We Go" | RTL 5 | 24 February 2014 | |
| The Hit | Marte Stokstad | Season 1, 2014: "The Story of Love" | NRK1 | 5 September 2014 | |
| Хит | Alexander Anatolievich & Ivan Chuikov ' Margarita Mitrofanova & Yuri Askarov | Season 1, 2013: "V samoe serdtse" Season 2, 2014: "Davai so mnoy za zvezdami" | Rossiya 1 | 6 September 2013 | |
| Hit - la canción | Jaime Cantizano | Season 1, 2015: "Me da igual" | La 1 | 2 January 2015 |