Platinum Hit is a 2011 reality competition series on Bravo, in which 12 singer-songwriters compete through innovative songwriting challenges that tested their creativity, patience and drive. The series was created and produced by Evan Bogart.[1] Every episode featured a different topic – from a dance track to a love ballad – that required the contestants to write and perform lyrics from various genres,[2] for a cash prize of $100,000, a publishing deal with songwriting collective The Writing Camp, and a recording deal with RCA/Jive label. The show ran for one season, and Sonyae Elise was named the winner of that season.
The show was originally to be entitled Hitmakers and was later changed to Going Platinum before settling on its final title.[3]
WIN The songwriter provided the hook for the winning song.
WIN The songwriter was selected as the winner of the episode's Elimination Challenge.
HIGH The songwriter was one of the best song entries but was not selected as the winning song.
SAFE The songwriter was not selected as either a top entry or a bottom entry in the Elimination Challenge, and advanced to the next challenge.
LOW The songwriter was on the Losing Song entries but was not eliminated.
LOW The songwriter was selected as one of the bottom two song entries in the Elimination Challenge and was up for elimination.
OUT The songwriter was eliminated from the competition.
OUT The songwriter was the runner-up.
OUT The songwriter was the second runner-up.
^[I] Sonyae was granted immunity in Week 6 by the judges by contributing the most to the winning song in Week 5. ^[II] There were no hook challenge winners in Week 7 because the remaining songwriters were paired up before they had to present their hooks. ^[III] Scotty won the hook challenge in Week 9 but the remaining songwriters wrote their songs individually. ^[IV] There were no hook challenge winners in Week 10 because the remaining songwriters wrote their songs individually.
Qualifying hooks:
(in parentheses, one-word lead drawn through a card)
Johnny Marnell: "Going Where I Need to Be" / ('Escape'). He chose Brian Judah and Scotty Granger
Jes Hudak: "Home for Me" / ('Free'). She chose Amber Ojeda and Melissa Rapp
Jackie Tohn: "The Road is Where My Heart Is" / ('Road'). She chose Karen Waldrup and Sonyae Elise, joined by Nick Nittoli (passed by both Johnny and Jes)
Non-qualifying hooks (in order of appearance):
(in parentheses, one-word lead drawn through a card)
Melissa Rapp: ('Change')
Amber Ojeda: ('View')
Karen Waldrup: ('Away')
Scotty Granger: ('Pack')
Sonyae Elise: ('Explore')
Nik Nittoli: ('Wheels')
Brian Judah: ('Direction')
Final results:
"Going Where I Need to Be": Johnny Marnell (hook) and Brian Judah and Scotty Granger (contributors)
"Free": Jes Hudak (hook) and Amber Ojeda and Melissa Rapp (contributors)
"The Road is Where My Heart Is" – Jackie Tohn (hook) and Karen Waldrup, Sonyae Elise and Nick Nittoli (contributors)
Sonyae Elise: "Love Me to Life". She chose Scotty Granger and Brian Judah for her team, and as a prize for having the best hook was permitted to assign teams for the team challenge.
Nick Nittoli: "Stuck On You". Sonyae assigned Jackie Tohn and Johnny Marnell to his team
Jes Hudak: "It's You". Melissa Rapp was paired with her after Sonyae did not assign her to another team.
Non-qualifying hooks (in order of appearance):
Melissa Rapp: "Dizzy"
Jackie Tohn: "Before I Get to You"
Brian Judah: "Notice"
Scotty Granger: "Love Me or Not"
Johnny Marnell: "Wake Up to You"
Final results:
"Love Me to Life" – Sonyae Elise (hook) and Scotty Granger and Brian Judah (contributors)
"Stuck On You" – Nick Nittoli (hook) and Jackie Tohn and Johnny Marnell (contributors)
"It's You" – Jes Hudak (hook) and Melissa Rapp (contributor)
Brian Judah: "The Last Candle" – He chose Jes Hudak (but passed on having Nick Nittoli on his team to Scotty)
Scotty Granger: "Reign" – He chose Sonyae Elise and got Nick Nittoli by default
Non-qualifying hooks (in order of appearance):
Jes Hudak: "Underestimate Away"
Nick Nittoli: "Kiss the Flame"
Sonyae Elise: "Tomorrow Is Too Late"
Final Results:
"Reign" – Scotty Granger (hook), Sonyae Elise and Nick Nittoli (contributors) – Nittoli singled out for having the best contribution and will appear in a feature in Spin magazine.
"The Last Candle" – Brian Judah (hook), Jes Hudak (contributor)
After the show, Platinum Hit released the single "My Religion" by the winner Sonyae Elise. She also won $100,000 as a cash prize, an RCA/Jive Records contract, and a publishing deal with The Writing Camp.
Record releases
All released in 2011
This is Platinum Hit (Episode 1)
Dance Floor Royalty (Episode 2)
Wheels Up (Episode 3)
Rap Heroes (Episode 4)
The L Word (Episode 5)
We Are Risk Takers (Episode 6)
Somebody is Lying (Episode 7)
Kiss the Flame (Episode 8)
Make It Pop (Episode 9)
The Finale (Episode 10)
Platinum Hit: The Winning Songs Live (Live Performances from Episodes 1–5)
Platinum Hit: The Winning Songs Live (Live Performances from Episodes 6–10)
