Karaoke battle takes it to a higher level
KARAOKE BATTLE USA - Who will be the next singer to leap from the karaoke circuit to superstardom? "Karaoke Battle USA" shines the spotlight on the best karaoke singers across the country in six one-hour episodes, hosted by Joey Fatone (*NSYNC, "Dancing with the Stars") and premiering FRIDAY, AUGUST 12 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. Credit: ABC/Donna Svennevik
Some amazing talent, including Taylor Swift, has come out of the karaoke circuit. And that struck a chord with Muriel Pearson, executive producer of ABC's "Karaoke Battle USA," which launches with a two-hour premiere tonight at 9.
"I have discovered that the karaoke community is a community, and they frequent bars and create social networks through this experience," Pearson says. "It is a social networking experience to do karaoke. It brings people together. The best karaoke singers in America all know each other from competing in these competitions."
The six-episode show picks up the Karaoke World Championship trials after people have been competing for months. The judges, singer Carnie Wilson, karaoke champion Brian Scott and journalist Joe Levy, pick one man and one woman. Viewers don't vote. 'N Sync's Joey Fatone hosts. (The judges listened to singers in regional contests in Houston, Las Vegas, New York and Chicago.)
TAKING IT UP A NOTCHThis contest chronicles how people take it to the next level with the judges advising them.
"I am looking for a man and a woman that can end up on the stage, and first and foremost sing their tail off," Wilson says. "I am not looking for someone that can mimic the singer of the song they chose. I don't expect someone to get up there and sing exactly like Celine Dion or Mariah Carey.
Singers are judged on voice quality, rhythm and tempo, vocal expression, stage presence and entertainment value, Pearson says.
KEEPING IT REAL The show partners with the Karaoke World Championship, which, Pearson says, keeps the "experience very authentic." In addition to representing the United States at the international contest in Ireland this year, the winner receives a recording contract for a single.
"This whole competition is about real people, not wannabe stars," Pearson says. "It's people who just love to sing. We want to use it as a prism of looking out in America. People come from every walk of life. There is a physicist, a burlesque dancer, a lot of moms and dads, just normal family folk."
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