Don't Forget the Lyrics!

For the original American version, see Don't Forget the Lyrics! (American game show).

Don't Forget the Lyrics!
Created by	Jeff Apploff
Original work	Don't Forget the Lyrics! (United States)
Owner	Banijay Entertainment [1]
Years	2007–present

Don't Forget the Lyrics! is an international music game show. The original American show aired on Fox from July 11, 2007, to June 19, 2009, and after a year off the air, a third overall season, and first as a syndicated show, began on June 15, 2010, in daytime syndication and in primetime on VH1 and in primetime on MyNetworkTV on October 5, 2010. On March 24, 2011, the show was canceled. A new primetime version, hosted by Niecy Nash, debuted on FOX on May 23, 2022. The show has spun off to numerous countries outside America using different top prize or game format.

The primary difference between Don't Forget the Lyrics! and other music-based game shows is that artistic talent (such as the ability to sing or dance in an aesthetically pleasing way) is irrelevant to the contestants' chances of winning. In the words of one of their commercials prior to the first airing, "You don't have to sing it well; you just have to sing it right".

Gameplay

Each game is played by a single contestant who earns money incrementally based on a payout ladder by completing missing song lyrics on up to ten songs, testing the contestant's memory on songs. The following description of the show is based primarily on the American version of Don't Forget the Lyrics!, though the general format applies to all international versions.

The contestant is presented and chooses from a set of nine different genres or categories. Two different songs (some versions presented three) were then presented to the contestant to choose one to sing, then the host informs the number of missing words the contestant will have to provide. The band or an ensemble will play the music and sings along, karaoke-style until the music stops, in which the monitor will display blank lines. The contestant then fills in the missing lyrics and chooses to either risk their accumulated winnings by locking in the lyrics or end the game and keep any accumulated winnings. To advance to the next level, all the lyrics must be correct, otherwise the game ends and the contestant leaves with the last guaranteed amount or nothing depending on the level they lost.

The contestant is also presented with three "Backups" to help, each usable once throughout a game:

• Backup Singer: The contestant receive assistance from one of two support members (or in some versions, an audience member) to help the contestant. The contestant may opt to choose their own lyrics or go with their backup singer's lyrics if it is different.
• Two Words: The contestant chooses any two of the missing words; the correct words for those positions are shown.
• Three Lines: The contestant is shown three lines of lyrics, among which one is correct.

The contestant has no choice over the tenth and final song (usually with the generic genre mentioning the top prize amount, such as the "Million Dollar Song"), which is not revealed unless they risk their winnings and play on. In most versions, any unused backups before the final song are rendered unavailable to use. If the contestant completes the final lyric correctly, he or she wins the grand prize that varies from country to country.

In some versions, notably the Taiwanese version, the contestant is required to sing the lyrics correctly even during the sing-along, but missing too many lyrics while the music plays may prompt the player to stop singing and is given the option to either end the game or try again, or prematurely ending the game with the same penalty as incorrect lyrics given.

International versions

  Currently airing franchise

Country	Name	Host	Channel	Date aired	Top prize
Algeria	اسمع صوتك Essma3 Saoutek	Brahim Ghazali	Samira TV Zahra TV	January 20, 2020 (season 1) March 24, 2023 (season 2)	DA  1,000,000
Austria	Sing and Win!	Rainhard Fendrich	ATV	March 6, 2008 – 2009	€50,000
Bulgaria [2]	Помниш ли текста? Pomnish li teksta?	Kerana	bTV	November 5, 2024 – present	50,000лв
Canada ( Quebec)	On connaît la chanson!	Mario Tessier	TVA	September 25, 2011	Can$ 200,000
Chile	¡No te olvides de la canción!	Rafael Araneda	Chilevisión	August 6, 2012 – December 21, 2012	Ch$20,000,000
Croatia	Ne zaboravi stihove!	Igor Mešin	Nova TV	March 17, 2008	kn  500,000
Denmark	Så det synger	Michael Carøe	TV2	March 22, 2008	DKr  500,000
Egypt	فاكر ولا لأ؟ Faker wella la?	Amir Karara	ERT 2 NTN	2009	LE  250,000
France	N'oubliez pas les paroles!	Nagui	France 2	December 15, 2007 – present	€  100,000 (2007–2013, 2014) €  20,000 (2013–)
Greece	Δεν εχω λογια! Den echo logia! [3]	Giorgos Kapoutzidis	Mega Channel	2015–2016	€10,000
	Don't Forget the Lyrics!	Elli Kokkinou	ANT1	2025 – present	€15,000
India	Bol Baby Bol	Adnan Sami	Life OK	November 9, 2007 – April 11, 2008	Rs.  2,500,000/-
Indonesia	Missing Lyrics	Irgi Achmad Fahrezi	Trans TV	2008–2010	Rp.  100,000,000
Iran	شعر یادت نره Sher yadet nare	Omid Khalili Tajrishi	Manoto 1	September 14, 2012	US$10,000
Italy	Canta e Vinci	Amadeus and Checco Zalone	Italia 1	2007–2008	€250,000
	Don't Forget the Lyrics! - Stai sul pezzo	Gabriele Corsi	NOVE	February 7, 2022 – present	€5,000 (series 1–5) €10,000 (series 6–)
Malaysia	Jangan Lupa Lirik! [4]	Aznil Nawawi	Astro Ria	May 25, 2008 – 2011	RM  1,000,000
Mexico	¿Te la sabes? Cántala	Chuck Pereda	Azteca 7	October 10, 2007	Mex$500,000
Montenegro	Prave riječi	Nikola Đuričko	TV Vijesti	2012	€5,000
Myanmar	Don't Forget the Lyrics Myanmar	Kaung Htet Zaw	MRTV-4	March 2, 2024 – present	Ks200,000
Nigeria	Don't Forget the Lyrics	Kamal Salau	All Major stations	2008	₦20,000,000
Norway	Kan du teksten?	Tshawe Baqwa and Yosef Wolde-Mariam	TV2	2008–2009	NKr  500,000
Poland	Tak to leciało!	Maciej Miecznikowski	TVP2	March 9, 2008 – June 3, 2012	zł  150,000 (series 1–8) zł  100,000 (series 9)
		Sławomir Zapała and Magdalena "Kajra" Kajrowicz (2022–2024) [5]		September 4, 2022 – present	zł  100,000
		Kacper Kuszewski (2024–present)
Portugal	Não te Esqueças da Letra!	João Paulo Rodrigues	RTP1	March 14, 2021 – July 25, 2021	€10,000
Russia	Из песни слов не выкинешь Iz pesni slov ne vykinesh	Vyacheslav Manucharov	NTV	August 31, 2013	Main prize: Flat in Moscow
Singapore	Don't Forget the Lyrics!	Gurmit Singh Adrian Pang (Comic Mayham episode)	MediaCorp Channel 5	November 27, 2008	S$500,000
	我要唱下去	Sam Tseng	MediaCorp Channel 8	August 25, 2009
	我要唱下去 (名人版)	Mark Lee		June 1, 2010	S$50,000
Slovakia	LYRICS - Vyspievaj si milión!	Andrej Bičan	TV JOJ	February 22, 2008	Sk  1,000,000
Spain	¡No te olvides de la canción! [6]	Àngel Llàcer	La Sexta	September 26, 2008	€100,000
Taiwan	百萬大歌星 Million Singer	Harlem Yu	TTV	May 10, 2008 – August 11, 2012	NT$300,000
Tunisia	لسه فاكر Lessa faker	Sami Fehri	El Hiwar El Tounsi	September 22, 2015	DT  20,000
United Kingdom	Don't Forget the Lyrics!	Shane Richie	Sky1	May 11, 2008 – August 9, 2009	£250,000
United States (original format)	Don't Forget the Lyrics!	Wayne Brady	FOX	July 11, 2007 – June 19, 2009	US$1,000,000
		Niecy Nash		May 23, 2022 – present
		Mark McGrath	Syndication	June 15, 2010 – May 27, 2011	US$50,000
Vietnam	Trò chơi âm nhạc – Don't Forget the Lyrics! [7]	Nguyên Khang Quốc Minh	VTV3	November 7, 2012 – December 30, 2015	100.000.000VND

See also

• The Singing Bee (American game show) - another lyrics-themed game show
• The Lyrics Board - another lyrics-themed game show
• Beat Shazam - another music-related game show
• I Can See Your Voice - another music-related game show

References

1. "Programmes". Banijay.
2. "chetiri-novi-rialitita-debyutirat-po-btv".
3. Δεν εχω λογια. Archived from the original on 2020-09-09. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
4. "mSTAR Online - mstar.com.my". Archived from the original on April 18, 2009.
5. "Sławomir poprowadzi reaktywowany program "Tak to leciało!", emisja jesienią w TVP2". www.wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-05-23.
6. "'No te olvides de la canción' llega a laSexta el próximo viernes 26 de septiembre".
7. "Phiên bản mới của Trò chơi Âm nhạc sắp lên sóng". VTV Online. November 1, 2012.