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Separated at Birth: "Don't Forget the Lyrics" and "The Singing Bee"
Fox and NBC kicked off their karaoke wars this week with the premieres of "The Singing Bee" and "Don't Forget the Lyrics." While I was secretly hoping the shows would slink away into "National Bingo Night"-style obscurity, "The Singing Bee" became the summer's most-watched program on Tuesday, and "Lyrics" held its own on Wednesday (it also airs another new episode tonight). Lest you be confused by the similar-sounding shows, I've put together this handy guide to help you tell them apart:
"The Singing Bee"
"Don't Forget the Lyrics"
Network
NBC
Fox
Host
Joey Fatone
Wayne Brady
Prize Money
$50,000
$1 million
Cute Mascot
Cartoon bumblebee
None
Use of "Walk Like an Egyptian"
Yes
Yes
Philosophy
"You don't have to sing it well; you just have to sing it right"
"Can you keep singing when the music stops?"
Buzz News Roundup, 7/11
- Kevin Spacey is all set to reprise his role as Lex Luthor in the next Superman movie — though the film won't go into production until director Bryan Singer completes his movie based on the life of Harvey Milk, says Variety.
- According to Hollywood Reporter, Guy Pearce and Don Cheadle will star together in an espionage thriller called Traitor.
- "The Knights of Prosperity" will return to TV for its final four episodes in August, writes the Futon Critic.
- Bruce Springsteen is planning to release another album with the E Street band, Fox News reports.
- Claire Danes is set to play Eliza Doolittle in a stage production of Pygmalion, the play that inspired the musical My Fair Lady, Variety reports.
- Peter Berg will adapt his cousin Buzz Bissinger's Barbaro story into a movie, Zap2it reports; a similar arrangement between Bissinger and Berg spawned the Friday Night Lights movie.
- Breakout hip-hop star T.I. is dominating the music charts, according to Billboard.
- The AP reports on a new James Bond novel titled Devil May Care, written by Sebastian Faulks and due to come out in 2008.
- TV Guide tells us that Tuesday's premiere of "The Singing Bee" was the most-watched network program in six weeks, ever since the "House" season finale.
Fox and NBC Launch Karaoke Wars
Earlier this week, I mentioned that "Don't Forget the Lyrics," Fox's new singing reality show, sounded an awful lot like "The Singing Bee," a similar show that NBC has planned for fall. Well, NBC thought so too, and it's going to hustle and throw its show on the air early, so it will premiere July 10 — beating Fox's show by one day. Given that it wasn't supposed to air till fall, the show currently has no host, prizes or rules.
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