Burlington musician Josh Panda eliminated from 'American Song Contest' - reflects on show

Josh Panda is heading home after the Burlington musician was eliminated Monday night on the NBC music-competition show “American Song Contest.”

Panda, who last week performed his song “Rollercoaster,” did not advance to the round of 22 semifinalists in the show hosted by musicians Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg. Acts from American Samoa, North Carolina, California and New York moved on in results announced on Monday’s show, leaving Panda and 33 other competitors drawn from each U.S. state and territory and the District of Columbia out of the semifinal round.

Unlike most other music-competition shows, “American Song Contest” asks contestants to write and perform their own songs, with judging coming from a panel of music-industry experts as well as the public. Panda wrote “Rollercoaster” with Clint Bierman of Vermont group The Grift.

Panda posted a video to Instagram moments after learning his fate Monday night. Clutching a margarita in a Gatorade bottle, he thanked fans who’ve been following him for several years or for a week as well as those whose weddings he’s played or who attended his frequent gigs at The Skinny Pancake in Burlington.

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“I’m gonna cry. There’s so much love,” he said in the video. “Thank you so much. This has been the opportunity and the experience of a lifetime.”

Panda appeared drained and deflated but upbeat throughout the more than 5-minute video. “We did the best we could,” he said. “We put it out there. I did my thing, I went on that stage with an armful of wood and gasoline and I lit the biggest fire I could light. And some people saw the fire and some people didn’t, and that’s OK because the story’s not over and the journey’s not over.

“Back to Vermont I will come,” Panda said. “We’re gonna have a great summer, we’re gonna have a great 2022 and beyond.” He then shouted that he was going to get “lit uuuuppp!” with friends he made from the show. (An ensuing video several hours later, in which he spoke at length about craving tacos from an eatery across the street from his hotel, provided evidence of a raucous night in the hotel bar.)

Panda noted that he spent much of the pandemic at the Burlington home he shares with his wife, Ruthie Hill, and two sons. He grew emotional when he spoke of how he emerged from the isolation of the pandemic to find that people know his name.

“That really means the world to me,” Panda said in the video, fighting back tears.

Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: 'American Song Contest' musician Josh Panda doesn't advance