BuzzSugar

Separated at Birth: "Don't Forget the Lyrics" and "The Singing Bee"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:15:07 -0700

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?"
Obvious attempt to embarrass the host	Contestants had to sing "Bye Bye Bye"	None yet
Go-go dancers	Yes	No
Descended from	The National Spelling Bee	"Who Wants to be a Millionaire"
Similarity to actual karaoke	6 out of 10	9 out of 10

Photos courtesy of NBC and Fox

Buzz News Roundup, 7/11

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 13:31:40 -0700

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.

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Fox and NBC Launch Karaoke Wars

BuzzSugar — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 08:30:00 -0700

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. Hey, what's better than a karaoke competition show? A poorly conceived karaoke competition show!

I'm guessing the conversation at NBC this week went something like this:

NBC Executive #1: Larry! We have a programming emergency! Fox just totally stole our brilliant idea for the show that embarrasses people by making them forget song lyrics on national TV!

NBC Executive #2: (Heavy sigh) I suppose we should have seen this coming. Nobody knows bad singing like Fox ...

NBC Executive #1: Clearly, someone over there is still crying into his Wheaties because we stole the idea for that boxing show a couple of years back. What are we going to do?

NBC Executive #2: Calm down, Jim. We can get that show on the air in minutes. I mean, all we need are a few idiots to sing, right? We can find those on the streets of LA any day of the week.

NBC Executive #1: You're totally right! Throw 'em on a sound stage, buy some Party Tyme Karaoke CDs, and we're all set!

NBC Executive #2: We'll need a host, though. Hmm, Bob Barker's too dignified for this, and we've already got Howie Mandel occupied. I'm not sure if Penn Gillette got another job after we trashed his last show ... Hey! What about Wayne Brady? He's not doing anything, right?

NBC Executive #1: Sorry, man. Fox got him too.

NBC Executive #2: No prob - I've got Rosie on speed dial. She's cool again, right?

Photos courtesy of Fox and Source

"Stayin' Alive" Keeps Man Alive

FitSugar — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:03:40 -0700

A seemingly silly public service announcement helped Debra Bader save her husband's life. The couple was walking in the woods when 53-year-old Christopher Bader suddenly collapsed from cardiac arrest, the same heart problem that recently led to Michael Jackson's death. Thankfully, Bader recalled the American Heart Association's campaign from last year, teaching people that the Bee Gees song "Stayin' Alive" has a perfect tempo to match the recommended pace of chest compressions. So she called 9-1-1 and started singing.

"I sang the song and gave directions to the EMTs at the same time. It was like, 'Stayin' alive, stayin' alive - take a right here, take a left here - Stayin' alive, stayin' alive - take this path down here - Stayin' alive, stayin' alive,' " Bader remembers.

For 15 minutes Bader, who had never taken a CPR class, beat on her husband's chest until the ambulance arrived and the EMTs delivered a shock to his heart with a defibrillator. Christopher Bader survived, even though 95 percent of people who go into cardiac arrest die before they get to the hospital.

Wow! What a heartwarming story, and don't you love hearing that a funny PSA actually worked? Perhaps it helped that an episode of The Office also featured a riff on the "Stayin' Alive" connection. Want a laugh? Check out the clip.

Ruth and Rob Record For Comic Relief!

PopSugarUK — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 08:00:00 -0800

Comic Relief 2009 launched today, with Ruth Jones, Rob Brydon and Joanna Page taking centre stage at the event in Leicester Square. They were sporting the classic red noses, with a slightly new design for 2009, alongside other celebs like The Saturdays, Jo Brand, Claudia Winkleman, Steve Jones and Alesha Dixon. Rob and Ruth have recorded a special version of their classic Gavin and Stacey song moment "Islands In The Stream" to release as the single for this year's Comic Relief night of music and mayhem which will fall on 13 March this year.

They went to Las Vegas to record the video and Tom Jones and Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb guest star! Rob's pretty well-known for his hilarious Tom Jones impersonation, and this is what he said about recording with him:

"I was really looking forward to it because I think I can sing a bit. But, I got really nervous when we were there because a proper recording studio is very unforgiving of your voice. It's not like singing in the bathroom, you hear every little imperfection. Then they tart it up a bit for you."

I can't wait to hear it, can you?!

To see more photos from the Comic Relief 2009 launch, just read more.

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BigPicturesPhoto.com

Pop Watch: Pushing Daisies, Episode 4 "Pigeon"

PopSugarUK — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 02:00:00 -0700

We're on episode four of Pushing Daisies, and the show's getting more fantastical by the week. I'm really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this latest installment, so make sure you leave some comments after reading some of mine:

Most heartbreaking line of the series so far was from poor Ned – "What's a rooftop full of bees compared to someone who can catch her when she falls?" Bless.
Investigations this week surrounded the reason a crop duster crashed into a luxury apartment, which was far more complicated that it sounded, and Olive pondered what to do about Chuck's secret.
Poor Chuck. She's seemed to be pretty much OK with the no-touching business with Ned, but she didn't hesitate at the chance to hold Lem's hand. Not surprising, I guess – remember her speech about the healing nature of hugs? But it was cause for Ned to get both jealous and worried about their future. What is life without a hand to hold?
I demand more singing in this show – that awesome duet of "Birdhouse in Your Soul" in the back of the car was super-fun!

As always for more of my take on this episode, just read more

Olive and the aunts looked after an "alive again" carrier pigeon aka Pidge ("It's a miracle bird!") who had a message to deliver. Everything eventually converged at a windmill, where it was revealed that the windmill's resident, Elsita, had been keeping up a carrier-pigeon correspondence with Lem that her mother had started with Lem's cellmate. Phew!
I'm still loving Olive, and she got the chance to be both villain and hero this time. She wanted to screw up Chuck's secret - but she's also become close to the aunts on their own, thanks to the pigeon plot and didn't want them to feel shocked or betrayed.
Jayma Mays was brilliant as Elsita in the hostage scene. "You take a hostage like you tie your sneakers." I enjoyed the way she easily scooted out of the bows when Pidge crashed into the window.
Emerson's grumpy nature is still hilarious. As was the (rightfully) suspicious coroner.
How adorable was the beekeeper suit dance? In fact, the entire bee plotline was fab. Chuck: "What happened to the bees that stung you? That's a suicide attack!"
It's been obvious that the show doesn't have the budget it did in the pilot, but I have to say I think this really helps the fantasy elements of the plots. It's all so stylized.
The moment Aunt Lily saw Chuck in the car mirror and the sail of the windmill magically made her disappear gave me chills.

So did you enjoy this week's episode? And who are your favourite characters? I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this lazy Sunday!

Jessica Simpson Loves Burping in Front of Us

PopSugar — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:30:38 -0700

Jessica Simpson played it casual arriving at LAX yesterday while Daisy looked pretty glamorous in her Gucci carrier. Most of you weren't fans of Jess's new beer ad or her comments about Carrie and Tony, but she's still trucking along with a smile. The singer is performing at the California State Fair tonight and talked to the Sacramento Bee to get everyone ready for her performance. Here are highlights:

On her new album, Do You Know: "I hadn't been singing for a long time, and I finally got to that place where I was comfortable opening up again. I'd been going through a divorce, and I wasn't really strong enough to [sing]; I had to go through the hurt and healing. I had to sit back and relax and go through everything like a normal person would. Out of that came the music, and out of that came the record."
On the biggest misconception of her: "I don't know if I could pick just one. Ummm, that I'm just in it for the money and the paparazzi - they really think that what they see in the tabloids is how I live my life. When we did Newlyweds, I felt that people really got to see me for who I am - the fun side of me, the hardworking, normal girl who burps and falls flat on her face."

To hear what Jess has to say about doing more reality TV shows and how people judge her going country just read more.

On whether she'd do another reality show: "No! Oh no! At this point, I'd much rather just share myself on stage, through my music."
On people's judgment of her going country: "They're already judging me - how can they judge someone who's just being honest? I don't do music for money, I do it because I have to."

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Bauer-Griffin Online

Flashback: Bee Gees Stayin' Alive

GiggleSugar — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:20:00 -0700

Word on the street is that the remaining two Bee Gees brothers (RIP, Maurice) are ~~threatening to~~ hinting that they may reunite for a tour. So in anticipation of that sweet moment, I thought we'd take a look at the boys in their prime. It takes a real man to put on tight white high-waisted jeans, blow-dry his hair until it resembles cotton candy, and sing in a falsetto. (Also. . .are these guys part werewolf?) In any case, I love the Bee Gees (Brothers Gibb) with the same, unironic affection I reserve for ABBA and Air Supply. Enjoy!

GiggleSugar Best of the Week

GiggleSugar — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0700

Anderson Cooper: please be my boo!
Spelling Bee kid is hilarious.
News reporter rethinking the whole "live reporting" thing.
The brides (and grooms, and priests) are falling!
Batman sings G'n'R's "Patience." Oh, was that what that was?!
Little girl questions fairytale endings. That a girl!
Carry on, you crazy dancer!
Foul-mouthed chihuahua scarier than he looks.

NBC All Star Party Includes Friday Night Lights Secrets

PopSugar — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:26:40 -0700

The hit stars from NBC's new shows and current shows came out last night to schmooze with the press as their two days at the TCAs came to a close. We saw the cast of Heroes (Ali Larter is gorgeous in person), Las Vegas (yay yummy Josh), John Stamos, The Hoff, all those adorable Friday Night Lights kids and their handsome coach. My new favorite, Zachary Levi from Chuck (more on him soon) won the Singing Bee competition. I was just happy to swoon over him singing on stage. Buzz scored some awesome info on the upcoming season of Friday Night Lights so click here to get excited to see what is in store for all you FNL fans.

For lots more pics of the casts of Las Vegas, Heroes, Bionic Woman, Chuck, Carson Daly, Alana De La Garza in her fab DvF dress and lots more just read more

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Images include Molly Sims, Josh Duhamel, John Stamos, Ali Larter, B.J. Novak, David Hasselhoff, Hayden Panettiere, Masi Oka, Carson Daly, Yvonne Strzechowski, Brian Baumgartner, Sarah Lancaster, Maria Menounos, Tiki Barber, Alana De La Garza, Bill Bellamy, Ant, Michelle Ryan, Kyle Chandler, Minka Kelly, Alicia Witt, Joel McHale, Kristian Alfonso, Alison Sweeney, Moon Bloodgood, Aimee Teegarden, Joshua Gomez, Scott Porter, Kim Lyons, Linda Cardellini, Joey Fatone, Zachary Levi, James Lesure, Camille Guaty, Zachary Quinto

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