When ABC favorite Dancing With the Stars returns for it's 18th season, it will be missing 28 familiar faces: those of the in-house band.
In a press statement posted by The Hollywood Reporter , BBC Worldwide and ABC said, "Our talented music director, Harold Wheeler, will not be joining us for season 18 of Dancing With the Stars. Since season one, Harold and his band have performed brilliant music in our ballroom for our dancers and the American viewers at home. We are grateful to him and his band for their amazing work and years of collaboration. We wish him the best of luck." Harold Wheeler, age 70, and band have provided the show with live music for it's entire 17 season run.
In a September interview with Hollywood Reporter , Dancing With the Stars executive producer Conrad Green hinted at the possibility of hiring a new band. Conrad acknowledged that some genres of music are "so produced" that "it's impossible for an 18-piece band to replicate that sound," noting that it would be easier to use recorded music and a smaller live band to capture the sounds of today's hit music.
American Federation of Musicians' president Ray Hair is disgusted by the firing of Wheeler and his band, reports US Weekly. Hair praised the originality of the 28-piece band while slamming ABC's new vision, saying, "The tight, elaborate musical productions that catapulted the show into the top 10 in 17 countries can't be duplicated by recordings and a small combo. Viewers, whether they are young or old, will reject that as artistic fraud."
ABC may have been trying to tap into a new, young demographic of viewers with the decision to switch from an orchestra to a small, electronic band with recorded sounds. A 2012 Yahoo! article found that the median age for Dancing With the Stars viewers is 61 years.
Has ABC traded in artistry for a younger demographic? Viewers will have to wait for the premier of the 18th season on March 17th to find out.
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