Best.Cover.Ever. Gets Brazilian Treatment

Endemol Shine Brasil has partnered with the country’s largest music festival, VillaMix, and Ambev, part of the brewer AB InBev, to create a branded local production of Best.Cover.Ever.

The Brazilian adaptation, which is titled O Próximo Número 1 VillaMix, is a branded production for AB InBev’s Brahma beer brand. The six-episode series is a celebration of sertanejo music and will whittle down contestants to five finalists who will perform at the VillaMix festival in Brazil. The winner will sign a contract with Brazil’s largest artist management company of sertanejo music, AudioMix.

Echoing the U.S. format, the contestants do not know they will be performing alongside their idols. Luan Santana, a sertanejo musician, is the host of the show. The competition is judged by Santana, alongside artists Jorge & Mateus, Xand Avião and Bruno & Marrone, as well as Marcos Araújo of AudioMix.

The weekly show launched exclusively on VillaMix’s YouTube channel last week and topped 17 million views within 72 hours.

The U.S. version of Best.Cover.Ever. is a YouTube original series produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions, Endemol Shine North America and Columbia Records, debuting in November of last year. The ten-episode show featured a lineup of music stars, including Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Keith Urban, Backstreet Boys, Charlie Puth, Flo Rida and Jason Derulo. The series was hosted by Ludacris.

“O Próximo Número 1 VillaMix is proof that branded entertainment works, no matter which platform,” said Juliana Algañaraz, CEO of Endemol Shine Brasil. “We have globally created formats in our catalog, and even when they are developed for brands, they are able to travel around the world, delivering results to the sponsors and successfully engaging the audience.”