The Singing Bee (Australian game show)

Last updated

The Singing Bee
SingingBeeLogo.png
The Singing Bee Intertitle
Created by
  • Phil Gurin
  • Bob Horowitz
Presented by
Country of origin Australia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes8+ (list of episodes)
Production
Running time30 minutes
(Including commercials)
Original release
Network Nine Network
Release7 October 2007 (2007-10-07) 
2010 (2010)

The Singing Bee is an Australian game show which is based on the original American version of the same name. By combining karaoke singing with a spelling bee-style competition, contestants have to sing lyrics to songs without making a mistake or risk elimination.

Contents

The show premiered on Sunday 7 October 2007 on the Nine Network, which ordered the production of an initial eight episodes. [1] It was filmed at the Nine Network's GTV-9 studios at Richmond, Victoria. The Singing Bee followed the basic rules of the American version of the show but some rule changes have been made for the Australian version.

On 22 March 2008, it was announced by the Nine Network that The Singing Bee would return for a second season, with filming set to take place after the 2008 Logies. Tim Campbell took over as host from Joey Fatone. The new season premiered on the Nine Network at 8.30pm on Thursday 10 July 2008.

Host and singers

Former NSYNC singer and host of the original US version of the show, Joey Fatone was announced on 24 September 2007 as the host of the Australian version and was at the time in Melbourne for the show. [2]

It was originally announced that it would be hosted by Australian musician David Campbell but due to other commitments, he was unavailable to host the show. Other media outlets have mentioned that personalities which were being considered for host included Kate Ceberano, Jon Stevens, Michael Falzon, Toby Allen and Rob Mills. [3] [4] The Nine Network held auditions for the series in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. [5]

Out of the four regular singers featured on the show, Rob Mills and Andrew De Silva have been announced as two of them. Lucy Holmes, former host of The Mint is also a regular on the show. [6]

The 2008 and 2010 seasons were hosted by Tim Campbell. [7] Singers in the house band for Season 2 include Nilusha Baeder, Lucy Holmes, Sandii Keenan, Kelly Wolfgramm, Andrew De Silva and Judd Field. The house band was headed up by Dorian West. [ citation needed ]

Format

At the start of the show, the band plays a song and the host randomly gives audience members a chance to sing part of the song. If they sing along to it enthusiastically, they become one of the six contestants on the show. [8] This section refers to the original format of the show and not the current celebrity series.

Round 1

The host provides the year the song was released, the performer, and the name of the song. A portion of the song is performed, and then the contestant has to attempt to sing the next line of the song. If they are correct, they advance to the next round are told to walk over to the "musical chairs" and sit down. If the contestant gets the lyrics wrong however, they have to take a step back, and the next contestant in line must sing the same line of the song. This continues until someone gets it right. If no one correctly identifies the exact lyrics, the answer is given, the song is thrown out, and a new song is put into play. The first four people to correctly sing the given lyric go on to the next round, and the other two contestants are eliminated. For the celebrity edition, the contestants are given points, two for a correct lyric, and zero for a wrong answer. No one is eliminated, but the scores carryover into the next round.

Round 2

For round two, the four contestants who advanced through get paired up to play a game chosen at random in each episode from the following games:

Karaoke Challenge

The contestant sees the words to the song in karaoke fashion, similar to Don't Forget the Lyrics!. As the contestant sings the song, they will see blanks in the lyrics being displayed, each representing a word in the song. The person out of the pair who fills in the most blanks correctly (out of a possible 15) wins and goes on to the third round. If both contestants get the same number of blanks filled in each, a tie-breaker is played. For the celebrity edition, there are 13 missing words. For every word correctly sung, the player is given a point. The player who culminates the fewest points in Round 1 and 2 combined is eliminated from the game.

Lyric Scramble

While the band is performing, words from the next line of lyrics to a song are shown scrambled on the screen. The contestant is required to sing the words shown, in their correct order. When one contestant is correct and the other is wrong at any point, the one who was correct moves on to the Championship Round. If both contestants are incorrect, a tie-breaker is played, but if both contestant are correct, the round is repeated.

Round 3 (Chorus Showdown)

The two contestants who advanced through battle each other in a game called the "Chorus Showdown". This follows a similar format to the first round, but instead of singing a line, the contestant is required to sing the entire chorus without making a mistake. If both contestants sing their chorus lines correctly, the round is repeated. If both contestants sing their chorus lines incorrectly, a tie-breaker is played.

Round 4 (The Final Countdown)

The last remaining contestant who advanced through gets to play in the money round called "The Final Countdown", based on the song of the same name. Up to 7 songs are performed in a similar manner to the first round. For each song, if the lyrics are sung correctly for it, the player wins $5,000. If the player gets five songs right, they win $50,000. However, if they sing the lyrics for a song incorrectly, a strike is given. If three strikes are given (three songs are sung incorrectly) at any point during the round, the game is over but the contestant still wins whatever money was accumulated up to that point, if any. All money round contestants receive a trophy regardless of the outcome.

Technicalities

Tie-breaker

Tie-breakers apply only to rounds two and three and are used when contestants get even results while playing the games. In the tie-breaker, the two contestants are given the year and the name of the performer and the first person to answer the name of the song correctly is given the option of singing the song themselves or letting the other contestant sing it. If the singer sings the tie-breaker song without mistakes, they win and move on to the next round. If they make a mistake, the other contestant goes through.

Production

Auditions were held in Melbourne during the weekend of 18–19 August, [5] with some 125 trying out on the Saturday and more the following day. Auditions are done in the style of Round 1 of the show, with five contestants taking turns to complete a lyric of varying degrees of difficulty once the lead-in music stops. Channel Nine's A Current Affair taped a segment on the Saturday, which was then shown on 20 August 2007 to promote the show. Auditions were held in the Temptation studio at GTV-9 in Richmond, Victoria.

Episodes

Series 1

Episode 1 (7 October 2007)

Round NumberYearArtistSong
Contestant selection1983 Cyndi Lauper Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Round 11985 Katrina and the Waves Walking on Sunshine
1982 Men at Work Who Can It Be Now?
1981 Joan Jett and the Blackhearts I Love Rock 'n' Roll
1967 Marvin Gaye I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Round 21981 Toni Basil Mickey
1972 Bill Withers Lean on Me
1997 Aqua Barbie Girl
1979 Little River Band Lonesome Loser
Round 31983 Donna Summer She Works Hard for the Money
1963 Lesley Gore It's My Party
Round 4

Champion
Shane
Money won
$20,000

1998 Britney Spears ...Baby One More Time Gtk-stop.svg
1979 Mental As Anything The Nips Are Getting Bigger Gtk-stop.svg
2005 Ben Lee Catch My Disease Gtk-ok.svg
1980 Blondie The Tide Is High Gtk-ok.svg
1975 Kiss Rock and Roll All Nite Gtk-ok.svg
1982 Billy Idol White Wedding Gtk-ok.svg
1978 Gloria Gaynor I Will Survive Gtk-stop.svg

Episode 2 (14 October 2007)

Round NumberYearArtistSong
Contestant selection1980 The Romantics What I Like About You
Round 11981 Rick Springfield Jessie's Girl
1979 The Pretenders Brass in Pocket
2005 Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes Don't Cha
1985 Bananarama Venus
Round 21983 Billy Joel Uptown Girl
1964 The Drifters Under the Boardwalk
2001 Kasey Chambers Not Pretty Enough
1987 Crowded House Something So Strong
Round 31979 Robert Palmer Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)
1981 The Go-Go's Our Lips Are Sealed
Round 4

Champion
Glenn
Money won
$50,000

1978 John Paul Young Love is in the Air Gtk-ok.svg
1980 Blondie Call Me Gtk-ok.svg
1983 Pat Benatar Love Is a Battlefield Gtk-ok.svg
2005 Bernard Fanning Wish You Well Gtk-stop.svg
1988 The Bangles Eternal Flame Gtk-ok.svg
1977 Bonnie Tyler It's a Heartache Gtk-ok.svg

Episode 3 (21 October 2007)

Round NumberYearArtistSong
Contestant selection1987 Kylie Minogue The Loco-Motion
Round 11982 Hall & Oates Maneater
1983 Cyndi Lauper Time After Time
1991 Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit
2003 Delta Goodrem Lost Without You
Round 21990 Heart All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You
1996 Savage Garden Truly Madly Deeply
2004 Kelly Clarkson Since U Been Gone
1981 Christopher Cross Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)
1996 R. Kelly I Believe I Can Fly
Round 31984 Madonna Like a Virgin
1998 The Goo Goo Dolls Iris
1991 Billy Ray Cyrus Achy Breaky Heart
1973 Billy Joel Piano Man
1971 Daddy Cool Eagle Rock
Round 4

Champion
Melanie
Money won
$15,000

1975 Queen Bohemian Rhapsody Gtk-stop.svg
1979 The Police Every Breath You Take Gtk-ok.svg
1992 Whitney Houston I'm Every Woman Gtk-stop.svg
1988 The Bangles Walk Like an Egyptian Gtk-ok.svg
1964 The Kinks You Really Got Me Gtk-ok.svg
1980 The Romantics What I Like About You Gtk-stop.svg

Episode 4 (28 October 2007)

Round NumberYearArtistSong
Contestant selection1999 Vanessa Amorosi Absolutely Everybody
Round 11984 The Bangles Manic Monday
1975 Rocky Horror Picture Show Time Warp
1985 Mr. Mister Broken Wings
1987 Kylie Minogue The Loco-Motion
Round 21987 Belinda Carlisle Heaven Is a Place on Earth
1984 Mondo Rock Come Said the Boy
1982 Eurythmics Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
1997 Sixpence None The Richer Kiss Me
Round 31975 ABBA Dancing Queen
1979 Kiss I Was Made for Lovin' You
1970 Rod Stewart Maggie May
Round 4

Champion
Sarah

Money won
$50,000

1980 Cold Chisel Cheap Wine Gtk-ok.svg
1978 Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta You're The One That I Want Gtk-ok.svg
1987 The Choirboys Run To Paradise Gtk-stop.svg
1997 Shania Twain Man! I Feel Like a Woman! Gtk-stop.svg
1965 The Righteous Brothers Unchained Melody Gtk-ok.svg
1982 John Cougar Jack And Diane Gtk-ok.svg
1977 Status Quo Rockin' All Over the World Gtk-ok.svg

Episode 5 (4 November 2007)

Round NumberYearArtistSong
Contestant selection1990 John Farnham Chain Reaction
Round 11991 Jimmy Barnes Ain't No Mountain High Enough
1982 The Waitresses I Know What Boys Like
1975 KC and the Sunshine Band That's the Way (I Like It)
1968 Dusty Springfield Son of a Preacher Man
Round 21985 Madonna Material Girl
1973 Steve Miller Band The Joker
1964 Petula Clark Downtown
1982 Culture Club Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?
Round 31977 Queen We Are The Champions
1997John Farnham and Human Nature Every Time You Cry
Round 4

Champion
Vanessa

Money won
$0

1968 Tammy Wynette Stand By Your Man Gtk-stop.svg
1964 Roy Orbison Pretty Woman Gtk-stop.svg
1993 Dannii Minogue This Is It Gtk-stop.svg

Related Research Articles

<i>Name That Tune</i> American music game show

Name That Tune is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being played by an on-stage orchestra or band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joey Fatone</span> American pop singer (born 1977)

Joseph Anthony Fatone Jr. is an American singer, dancer, actor, and television host. He is best known as a member of the boy band NSYNC, in which he sings baritone. The band has sold over 70 million records, becoming one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC reality show Dancing with the Stars. He was the host of the U.S. and Australian versions of The Singing Bee, which aired on NBC in the United States. Fatone was the announcer for the game show Family Feud from 2010 to 2015. Fatone has hosted on Food Network's Rewrapped, Game Show Network's Common Knowledge, Live Well Network's My Family Recipe Rocks, The Price Is Right Live! at Bally's Las Vegas; and appeared as "Rabbit" on the first season of The Masked Singer in 2019.

<i>Game Ka Na Ba?</i> Philippine television game show

Game Ka Na Ba?, formerly Pilipinas Game Ka Na Ba is a Philippine game show created by ABS-CBN. The main goal of the game is to win 2 million pesos by answering trivia questions.

It's Academic is an Australian children's game show which is based on the long-running American version of It's Academic, and pits students from different schools against each other in a test of knowledge covering a number of diverse subjects including English, mathematics, science, geography, sport, music and popular culture.

<i>Musical Chairs</i> (1975 game show) American TV series or program

Musical Chairs is an American game show that aired from June 16 to October 31, 1975, on CBS. Singer Adam Wade hosted, making him the first African-American game show host. Wade had three Billboard top ten hits in 1961. The game show was recorded at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City and sportscaster Pat Hernon was the announcer. The show was created by Don Kirshner.

Latin American Idol was the Hispanic American edition of the popular British franchise of Idols, well known for its American version American Idol. The show aimed to discover the pop idol of the Hispanic American region. The show was filmed in Buenos Aires and was transmitted to over 23 nations in the region via the Sony Entertainment Television network.

The Joke's On Us! is a Canadian game show that aired from September 1983 to 1984. It was hosted by Monty Hall, joined by Sylvie Garant as assistant very early on in the run, with Sandy Hoyt as the show's announcer. Taped at Showline Milton Stage in Toronto, Ontario in association with the Global Television Network, the show was created and produced by two American game show veterans, Willie Stein and Nat Ligerman. Each episode featured a rotating panel of four comedians, which included such famous personalities of the day as Alan Thicke, Nipsey Russell, Arte Johnson and Jo Anne Worley.

<i>Dont Forget the Lyrics!</i> (American game show) American TV series or program

Don't Forget the Lyrics! is an American television game show in which contestants compete to win $1 million by correctly recalling song lyrics from a variety of genres. The program originally aired on Fox from July 11, 2007, to June 19, 2009, hosted by Wayne Brady and produced by RDF USA, part of RDF Media. The premiere of the show prompted NBC to move up the premiere of their similar game show, The Singing Bee.

<i>The Singing Bee</i> (Philippine game show) Filipino TV series or program

The Singing Bee is a Philippine musical karaoke game show premiered on April 21, 2008 on ABS-CBN. It is based on the American version of the same name. A combinination of karaoke singing and a spelling bee-style competition, this show features contestants trying to remember the lyrics to popular songs.

Don't Forget the Lyrics! is the British version Don't Forget the Lyrics! game show franchise, and is based on the RDF USA game show of the same title. It began broadcasting on Sky1 on 11 May 2008, and aired its final show on 9 August 2009. Presented by Shane Richie, the show's contestants compete to win up to £250,000 by correctly recalling song lyrics from a variety of genres.

<i>The Singing Bee</i> (American game show) American TV series or program

The Singing Bee is a sing-along game show that originally aired on NBC and then CMT. Combining karaoke singing with a spelling bee-style competition, this show features contestants trying to remember the lyrics to popular songs. Originally slated to begin with a six episode season during late 2007, it launched early in reaction to Fox's competing Don't Forget the Lyrics!

We Are Singaporeans is a game show that aired on Singaporean English language channel Mediacorp Channel 5 about everything and anything Singapore from history to culture to trivia. Hosted by Hossan Leong, contestants will get the chance to walk away with up to $20,000 every week. The show, which will run for 15 weeks, will feature guest appearances by local celebrities and icons who will ask contestants questions relating to a particular topic.

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.

N'oubliez pas les paroles! is a French televised series based on the international series Don't Forget the Lyrics!. It broadcasts on the television station France 2 as of 15 December 2007 and is produced by Air Productions. The show has already broadcast for more than 5000 episodes. The 500th show was on 23 February 2011. On 5 September 2011, the contest was restructured under a new formula. The 5000th show was on 15 April 2021. On this occasion, the 2 biggest winners of the show, Kevin and Margaux played for the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Association. Some famous French singers also appeared such as Kendji Girac, Vianney, Claudio Capéo and Pascal Obispo.

L'eredità is an Italian Rai 1 game show currently hosted by Marco Liorni. It premiered on 29 July 2002. From 29 July 2002 to 10 June 2006, it was hosted by Italian presenter Amadeus. He was succeeded by Carlo Conti, who hosted the show until 14 April 2014, when he was replaced by Fabrizio Frizzi. Frizzi hosted until 23 October 2017, when he became ill during the taping of the next show and was taken to the hospital. Carlo Conti substituted for Frizzi from 30 October 2017 to 15 December 2017, and he hosted the special episode in tandem with Fabrizio Frizzi when the latter returned to host the quiz. On 16 December 2017, Fabrizio Frizzi resumed hosting the show by himself until 25 March 2018. The next day, Frizzi died of a brain haemorrhage. Following a hiatus due to Frizzi's death, the game returned from 3 April 2018 until the end of the season with the host Carlo Conti. Flavio Insinna presented the show from 24 September 2018 until 2023.

<i>Pasapalabra</i> Spanish TV game show

Pasapalabra is a Spanish television game show, adapted from the British format The Alphabet Game. The title is a portmanteau of the Spanish verb pasar, "pass", and palabra, literally "word".

<i>Ask Me Another</i> (radio program)

Ask Me Another is an hour-long radio puzzle game show that was produced by WNYC and National Public Radio. It was hosted by Canadian American comedian Ophira Eisenberg and featured as its "in-house musician" or "one-man house band" independent rock musician Jonathan Coulton. Episodes of the show were usually recorded at The Bell House in Brooklyn, New York, however the show did go to various states across the country and recorded one or more episodes from those locations. The show was produced by WNYC Studios. During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the show continued taping episodes from the homes of the participants, without a studio audience.

The second season of The Great Australian Spelling Bee premiered on 17 July 2016 on Network Ten. The season sees Grant Denyer and Chrissie Swan return as hosts.

<i>Common Knowledge</i> (game show) American game show

Common Knowledge is an American television game show hosted by Joey Fatone that aired on Game Show Network from January 14, 2019 to August 13, 2021. On April 17, 2019, media reports stated that GSN had renewed the show for a 130-episode second season. On March 25, 2021, GSN renewed the show for a third season, which premiered on May 17, 2021.

<i>People Puzzler</i> American game show

People Puzzler is an American television game show hosted by Leah Remini and broadcast by Game Show Network. It premiered on January 18, 2021. The show is inspired by the celebrity and pop-culture themed crosswords in People magazine.

References

  1. "Nine hopes Singing Bee hums nicely". eBroadcast. 17 July 2007. Archived from the original on 5 August 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2007.
  2. Knox, David (24 September 2007). "NSync star for Nine show". TV Tonight . Archived from the original on 4 October 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2007.
  3. "Kate Ceberano nine's next target?". The Daily Telegraph . 29 August 2007. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
  4. Nine Network (13 July 2007). "Channel Nine smash hit new series The Singing Bee". eBroadcast. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
  5. 1 2 Nine Network (13 August 2007). "Contestant call for The Singing Bee". eBroadcast. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  6. "Paris' ex faces new reality". Herald Sun . 25 September 2007. Archived from the original on 11 July 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  7. Leo, Jessica (9 July 2008). "Campbell a busy Bee". Herald Sun . p. 8. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  8. Davis, Guy (11 October 2007). "Not lost for words". Townsville Bulletin . p. 411. Retrieved 9 December 2021.