# The Winner Is

The Winner Is is an American singing competition television series which aired on NBC. Hosted by Nick Lachey, the seven-episode series featured singers of all ages competing for a chance to win $1,000,000. The concept of the show revolved around a series of "battles", in which two contestants compete for the votes of a jury consisting of 101 music professionals. The show premiered on June 10, 2013.
The winner of the series was Katie Ohh, a nurse who won by a 57–44 decision. For her final song, she sang "The Climb". The runner-up was Sharde Bivans, a teacher, who performed "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" in the series' final battle. The other four finalists in the Final 6 were the performers Amy Showalter, Leah Grace, and the vocal groups Senior Sounds of Touch and The LaFontaines.
With a dismal 1.0 rating/3 share among adults 18–49, NBC announced its immediate cancellation on August 6, 2013, with two episodes remaining.

## Format

Each episode features six contestants, who may be a single performer or a group, and consists of three rounds.

### Round 1

In the first round, the six contestants or groups are paired against each other and perform a song of their choice. After each of the contestants or groups have performed their song, each member of the 101-person jury decide who did better. The voting numbers are then revealed, but the contestants are not told which number is theirs.
The host then presents them with an offer of money, and asks them if they think they have lost or won the battle. If they think they have lost, the contestant will press the button to accept the offer - the first contestant to do so receives the cash amount but is immediately eliminated from the competition, with the win being defaulted to their opponent. If no contestants chooses to take the cash offer, the full results are then revealed, and the contestant with fewer votes is eliminated with no winnings.
The contestant with the highest number of votes, out of the three winners, automatically advances to the final round.

### Round 2

In the second round, the two winners who did not receive the highest number of votes compete against each other in the same format as Round 1, but with a higher cash offer. The winner of this round goes on to the final round.

### Round 3

In the final round, the remaining two contestants compete against each other, with a higher cash offer than in Round 2. The winner of the final round is declared the winner of the episode, and advances to the series finale.

### Series finale

In the series finale, the six winners from the first six episodes (the Final 6) return to compete for the grand prize. The cash offers in each round are higher than those in the normal episodes, and the winner of the finale wins the $1,000,000 prize.

## Contestants
### Preliminary rounds

    – The contestant won the round and continued in the competition.
    – The contestant won the $1,000,000 prize.
    – The contestant lost the round and was eliminated.
    – The contestant took the money offer and was eliminated.

#### Episode 1 (June 10, 2013)

| Money Offered | Song | Competitor 1 (Votes) | Competitor 2 (Votes) | Song |
| Round 1 |||||
| $10,000 | "Lady Marmalade" | LaKisha Jones (33) | Lito Villareal (68) | "Nessun Dorma" |
| $10,000 | "Domino" | Schae (35) | Kalama Brothers (66) | "More Than Words" |
| $10,000 | "Love Is a Battlefield" | Kirbi Jo Long (5) | Katie Ohh (96) | "Independence Day" |
| Round 2 |||||
| $25,000 | "Grenade" | Lito Villareal (13) | Kalama Brothers (88) | "Hey, Soul Sister" |
| Final Round |||||
| $50,000 | "It's Time" | Kalama Brothers (10) | Katie Ohh (91) | "Breathe" |

#### Episode 2 (June 17, 2013)

| Money Offered | Song | Competitor 1 (Votes) | Competitor 2 (Votes) | Song |
| Round 1 |||||
| $10,000 | "Proud Mary" | The Newman Twins (31) | Jesse Pringle (70) | "As Long as You Love Me" |
| $10,000 | "Closer" | Ben Nichols (28) | Gina Wagner (73) | "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" |
| $10,000 | "No One" | Legaci (28) | Leah Grace (73)$^1$ | "Who's Lovin' You" |
| Round 2 |||||
| $25,000 | "It Will Rain" | Jesse Pringle (49) | Gina Wagner (52) | "Total Eclipse of the Heart" |
| Final Round |||||
| $50,000 | "Born This Way" | Leah Grace (20) | Gina Wagner (81) | "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" |
$^1$Leah Grace and Gina Wagner tied for first place at the end of Round 1. Therefore, the 101 voters were asked to vote for who they would like to see "fast tracked" to the final round. The 101 voters decided with a 59-42 vote that Leah Grace would be "fast tracked". As a result, Gina Wagner was forced to compete in Round 2.

#### Episode 3 (July 11, 2013)

| Money Offered | Song | Competitor 1 (Votes) | Competitor 2 (Votes) | Song |
| Round 1 |||||
| $10,000 | "Locked Out of Heaven" | Senior Sounds of Touch (80) | Miranda Rae Mayo (21) | "Set Fire to the Rain" |
| $10,000 | "God Bless the USA" | Kenny Ray Horton (73) | Jesse Mayo (28) | "Glad You Came" |
| $10,000 | "Feeling Good" | The American Bombshells (11) | Douglas Roegiers (90) | "Luck Be a Lady Tonight" |
| Round 2 |||||
| $25,000 | "I Can’t Help Myself" | Senior Sounds of Touch (68) | Kenny Ray Horton (33) | "Chicken Fried" |
| Final Round |||||
| $50,000 | "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" | Douglas Roegiers (41) | Senior Sounds of Touch (60) | "Get Ready" |

#### Episode 4 (July 18, 2013)

| Money Offered | Song | Competitor 1 (Votes) | Competitor 2 (Votes) | Song |
| Round 1 |||||
| $10,000 | "Dog Days Are Over" | Agape Love Ensemble (55) | Thomas Wells (46) | "Bless the Broken Road" |
| $10,000 | "Drops of Jupiter" | Matt Beilis (47) | Joanna Jones (54) | "Try" |
| $10,000 | "Fallin'" | The LaFontaines (87) | The TBA Girls (14) | "The Lonely Goatherd" |
| Round 2 |||||
| $25,000 | "Who Are You" | Agape Love Ensemble (45) | Joanna Jones (56) | "Bleeding Love" |
| Final Round |||||
| $50,000 | "Instant Karma!" | Agape Love Ensemble (7) | The LaFontaines (94) | "Run to You" |

#### Episode 5 (July 25, 2013)

| Money Offered | Song | Competitor 1 (Votes) | Competitor 2 (Votes) | Song |
| Round 1 |||||
| $10,000 | "Hey Ya!" | Crystal Starr & The Bowties (28) | Shaylin Becton (73) | "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" |
| $10,000 | "I'm the Only One" | Amy Showalter (94) | The Cuddlers (7) | "You Make Me Feel..." |
| $10,000 | "Girl on Fire" | Alexa Pantaleo (12) | James Chappell III (89) | "Soul Man" |
| Round 2 |||||
| $25,000 | "Unwritten" | Shaylin Becton (7) | James Chappell III (94) | "When I Was Your Man" |
| Final Round |||||
| $50,000 | "Before He Cheats" | Amy Showalter (45) | James Chappell III (56) | "Breakeven" |

#### Episode 6 (August 1, 2013)

| Money Offered | Song | Competitor 1 (Votes) | Competitor 2 (Votes) | Song |
| Round 1 |||||
| $10,000 | "Alone" | Vanessa Echevarria (42) | Annie McQueen (59) | "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" |
| $10,000 | "Harder to Breathe" | Duwende (59) | Carson Henley (42) | "When You Were Young" |
| $10,000 | "Born To Be Wild" | Charles Glenn (19) | Sharde Bivans (82) | "I'm Going Down" |
| Round 2 |||||
| $25,000 | "Someone Like You" | Annie McQueen (33) | Duwende (68) | "Man In the Mirror" |
| Final Round |||||
| $50,000 | "Blown Away" | Sharde Bivans (61) | Duwende (40) | "You Get What You Give" |

#### Episode 7 – Finale (August 8, 2013)

| Money Offered | Song | Competitor 1 (Votes) | Competitor 2 (Votes) | Song |
| Round 1 |||||
| $50,000 | "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" | The LaFontaines (19) | Katie Ohh (82) | "Cry" |
| $50,000 | "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" | Senior Sounds of Touch (74) | Leah Grace (27) | "Price Tag" |
| $50,000 | "Gunpowder & Lead" | Amy Showalter (13) | Sharde Bivans (88) | "I Have Nothing" |
| Round 2 |||||
| $100,000 | "You and I" | Katie Ohh (84) | Senior Sounds of Touch (17) | "What Makes You Beautiful" |
| Final Round |||||
| $200,000 | "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" | Sharde Bivans (44) | Katie Ohh (57) | "The Climb" |

## Artists who appeared on previous shows

* Lakisha Jones competed on the sixth season of American Idol. She finished in fourth place.
* Kai Kalama of the Kalama Brothers competed on the eighth season of American Idol. He was eliminated in the Top 36.

## U.S. Nielsen ratings

Episode list :
| No# | Episode | Air date | Rating/share 18–49 | Viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 6 Songs to a Million | June 10, 2013 | 1.9/6 | 6.59 |
| 2 | Million Dollar Mistake | June 17, 2013 | 1.9/5 | 6.68 |
| 3 | Million Dollar Dreams | July 11, 2013 | 1.1/3 | 4.03 |
| 4 | Million Dollar Surprise | July 18, 2013 | 0.9/3 | 3.89 |
| 5 | Million Dollar Shock | July 25, 2013 | 0.9/3 | 3.84 |
| 6 | Million Dollar Temptation | August 1, 2013 | 1.0/3 | 4.29 |
| 7 | Million Dollar Finale | August 8, 2013 | 1.4/4 | 5.19 |

## International versions

| Countries/regions | Title | Host | Network | Top prize | Premiere |
| Netherlands (original version) | The Winner is... | Beau van Erven Dorens | SBS 6 | €1,000,000 | January 26, 2012 |
| Arab world | The Winner Is... | Nadia Bassat | Al-Hayat Dubai TV LBCI | US$500,000 | Season 1 : September 21, 2013 |
| Brazil | O Melhor | Ratinho | SBT | R$10,000 | Season 1 : May 4, 2022 |
| China | 女人如歌 Nuren ru ge | Qiū Qǐmíng & Zhū Dān | Hunan TV | Unknown | Season 1 : November 2, 2012 |
| France | The Winner Is | Benjamin Castaldi | TF1 | €100,000 | Season 1 : August 2, 2014 |
| Germany | The Winner Is... | Linda de Mol | Sat.1 | €1,000,000 | Season 1 : April 12, 2012 |
| Italy | The Winner Is... | Gerry Scotti | Canale 5 | €150,000 | Season 1 : November 17, 2012 Season 2 : June 15, 2017 |
| Nigeria | Star The Winner Is... | Uti Nwachukwu | Africa Magic | ₦10,000,000 | Season 1 : July 19, 2014 |
| Russia | Победитель Pobedytel' | Dmitry Nagiyev | Channel One | ₽3,000,000 | Season 1 : May 19, 2017 – August 4, 2017 |
| Thailand | The Winner Is Thailand | Sarawut Martthong | Channel 3 | ฿10,000,000 | Season 1 : April 13, 2014 Season 2 : April 5, 2015 |
| Turkey | Ve Kazanan | Uraz Kaygılaroğlu | Star TV | ₺500,000 | Season 1 : February 21, 2015 |
| Vietnam | Tôi là... người chiến thắng | Bình Minh (season 1) Hoài Linh (season 2) Đại Nghĩa (season 3, ep 2) Ngô Kiến Huy, Vũ Ngọc Hoàng Oanh (season 3, ep 1) | HTV Hanoi TV | 300,000,000 ₫ | Season 1 : May 25, 2013 Season 2 : July 12, 2014 Season 3 : July 11, 2015 |