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
Earlier this week, I mentioned that "Don't Forget the Lyrics," Fox's new singing reality show, 
