“The Singing Bee” is Coming Back
NBC’s The Singing Bee really didn’t last long. It was an original concept that didn’t really steal from Who Wants to be a Millionaire? like the more successful Deal or No Deal so of course it didn’t last long because viewers weren’t that interested. Amazingly the show will be coming back soon, though. Some casting notices went out and the show’s website had some messages about it coming back. We talked to our sources connected to the show and it is indeed returning with a new country flare which should be…entertaining?
All that I was told is that the format is going to be tweaked and it’ll be a country music edition taped for CMT. CMT’s been trying to get a game show for some time. They tried Name That Tune, as did MTV and VH1, but it never took off beyond pilot stage. If you think you know your country music, click here to apply.
Am I the only one who just really didn’t enjoy the show? I understand it’s an interesting format and I totally understand why people enjoy it. It never did much of anything for me, though. Mostly because, and it’s completely my own fault, I enjoy for lack of a better term a more “eclectic” style of music and it has absolutely no chance of showing up. You aren’t getting Pixies or Throwing Muses on those shows. I can’t remotely stand country music so I’m totally out of this one. But it’s on a network whose audience enjoys the genre. It was a fun format and they are really going after the right crowd with it. I don’t see how it won’t work out for them.
I was so excited when I saw the tweet about this blog entry… then I read the post.
I loved the show and honestly thought it was more entertaining than Don’t Forget… But seeing that it’s going country, count me out.
If it does go there and does well, maybe (just maybe) VH1 will pick it up like they were going to do with Name That Tune. (Wishful thinking probably!)
“I loved the show and honestly thought it was more entertaining than ‘Don’t Forget…’ But seeing that it’s going country, count me out.”
My thoughts exactly.
I watched singing bee a couple of times but I was never really blown away by it, Joey Fatone was a stiff host, the format was flawed and the atmosphere just seemed really corny to me. But this might work on a smaller budget for a cable netowrk. say if the grand prize was $5,000 or $10,000. I can’t see CMT willing to payout $50K.
I’ll admit it — I liked Singing Bee. It was a throwback that was fun and had a great play-at-home factor to it. Fatone was stiff early on, but I thought he improved as the shows went on. It was a refreshing change of pace to the “by-the-numbers” prime time efforts we’ve seen the last few years (7-figure payouts, money trees, lifelines, weird editing, gimmicks up the wazoo, etc.).
From what I’ve read, the format will be 60% country, 40% other genres. Obviously, the fact the format will be country-heavy will cause some wannabes to resist trying out. However, it is a change of pace from similar musical games (shows like NTT, Face the Music and What’s That Song were usually pop and standards based).
I’m curious what kind of country tunes will be featured in “The CMT Bee.” The NBC version, as well as DFTL, didn’t feature many country tunes, but when they did, would target songs that successfully crossed over onto Top 40 and AC/Hot AC radio (Achy Breaky Heart, Devil Went Down to Georgia, How Do I Live). Would these be the type of tunes we’d expect to hear, or will CMT Bee showcase tunes from country artists/groups that have not crossed over? I can’t imagine CMT Bee throwing out, say, “classic country” tunes from Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins or Kitty Wells, to contestants. The 80s TNN game shows (Fandango, Top Card, 10 Seconds) ran the gamut of country music trivia — I’d like to see CMT Bee do the same, but I doubt that will happen.
Since the southern U.S. has long been the hotbed for country music, I would hope the new Bee does a contestant search in the South (Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta, Charlotte). Don’t restrict this to Los Angeles.
I wasn’t enamored at all with THE SINGING BEE. Joey Fatone is no game show host IMO; his presence was a very much a liabilty (if it were up to me, I wouldn’t even let him emcee a karaoke night at Club Sandwich!).
If you remember one element of the NBC version, where contestants had to sing a given song, and get the lyrics right as they sang; surprise! this is nothing new. Back in the early ’60s, ABC ran a long-since-forgotten musical game show which ran both in primetime and daytime. It was called “Yours For A Song.” It was hosted by Bert Parks (the guy best nown for hosting the Miss America pageants all those eons ago). Two contestants competed for small-scale cash prizes by simply singing a song; six random words were blanked out on a screen from which the contestants would read along (not unlike karaoke). If they missed, they’d be given a few chances to get it right, with a little help from Mr. Parks. Each time they filled the blank with the right word, they win money. After the contestant finsished his/her part of the round, Parks woiuld engage the studio audience in-you guessed it- (the dreaded) singalong. After a couple of rounds, the player with the most money, also won the game, and would face a new opponent. Sound dull? By 2009 standards, yeah. But, from Novermber, 1961 to March, 1963…
I suppose I’ll be one who speaks up for those readers who thoroughly enjoy country music. I was raised on country, so I’ve been hooked on it for a while. :) Yes, I applied to be on the show, but I don’t see why being ‘country-heavy’ should deter many people from applying. Part of the fun of DFTL and NBC’s TSB was/is that you don’t necessarily have to be able to sing, just get the right words. Assuming they stick to popular country songs, theoretically, even those with just a passing knowledge of the genre should be able to do moderately well. One of the biggest turn-offs for me about DFTL was the lack of country songs, though I did love seeing most contestants either choosing the category to “get it out of the way”, or avoiding it like the plague. But I’ve rambled enough. Sorry, I do have a tendency to go off on tangents. I really hope this sees the light of day.
Better question: How did Deal or No Deal “steal” from Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
Also how can you, in the same paragraph, say you didn’t enjoy the show and then call it “fun”? Make up your mind!
YES! “Country is America’s true form of Music” Oprah even did a show on how it has overtaken pop music.
Thank you CMT for picking up this fun show.