RTÉ /Vision Independent Productions
The Hit is an Irish talent show series that began airing on July 26, 2013 on RTÉ One. The format sees songwriters showcasing their songs to established artists. The artists battle each other to find the perfect song to turn into a hit and giving the songwriter a chance to win a prize of €20,000.
In each episode, six songwriters perform their songs in the “Pitching Rooms”. Both artists take turns to go into each room and listen to the song. If the artist likes the song they “lock in” their choice by hitting a button as they leave the room. Or they decline the song and leave the choice open. Each must lock in two songs. Once chosen, the artists then meet with their songwriters and work on the song to prepare it for release. The artist produces the song and their choice is revealed when they return to the live show to perform.
Each song is then made available for download and the one with the greatest number of downloads goes through to the grand finale, where the songs are performed alongside the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. Viewers vote for “The Song Of The Series” and the “The Ultimate Hit”.