Your Karaoke or Mine...

Part I

All of my close and beloved friends have been eye witness to my "Karaoke Madness" - I LOVE KARAOKE!

It's quite a spectacle to behold and frankly, I can not resist singing in public in front of a crowd for some reason. Had it not been a career in television entertainment, I am convinced that I would have been a singer....That or a professional tennis player (Hey, anytime you want a tennis 'throw-down', let me know).

Having said, too bad there is not a career as a professional Karaoke singer - there should at least be special courses on Karaoke technique...Yale, are you reading?

Part II

The Battle of The Networks
There is always an on-going battle between the Titan networks and this week was no exception as two of the mainstream networks unleashed versions of lyrical singing/karaoke style/ game show programs.

On Tuesday, NBC gave us "The Great American Singing Bee" hosted by Joey "Former boy bander of N'Sync - don't think you can ever get away from that' Fatone. While Fox gave us the slick, "Don't forget the lyrics" hosted by handsome man, Wayne Brady.

For the record, a few years prior, I had an idea for a Karaoke show (Due to my incessant LOVE of the recreation), however, my idea was not as elaborate - here are the final versions of that thought:

Fox's show features contestants singing along with a studio band, the words in front of them karaoke-style. When the music stops and the words disappear, the contestant must continue to sing the correct lyrics. If the contestant correctly guesses nine lyrics in a row, they have one final chance to try for a tenth lyrics and the chance to win one million dollars.

In each episode of the NBC show, contestants must be completely perfect when singing the lyrics to popular songs -- even once the band stops playing accompanying music -- for the chance to win cash prizes.

Confused? Me too...

Stay & Play or Take The Money and Run?
This isn't the first time NBC and Fox (which also created first-to-air Trading Spouses and Nanny 911 knockoffs of ABC's Wife Swap and Supernanny) have battled to premiere shows with similar formats.

Some may also remember, The Contender (Mark Burnett) and The Next Great Champ battles, as well in 2004 - both were very expensive disappointments.

So the above examples teach us that being "First" does not always mean success in the television landscape and you as the viewer will have to decide which one you like best...