# The Singing Bee (Australian game show)

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.
The show premiered on Sunday 7 October 2007 on the Nine Network, which ordered the production of an initial eight episodes. 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.
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. The Nine Network held auditions for the series in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
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.
The 2008 and 2010 seasons were hosted by Tim Campbell. 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.

## 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. 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, 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 Number | Year | Artist | Song | Song |
| Contestant selection | 1983 | Cyndi Lauper | Girls Just Want to Have Fun | Girls Just Want to Have Fun |
| Round 1 | 1985 | Katrina and the Waves | Walking on Sunshine | Walking on Sunshine |
| Round 1 | 1982 | Men at Work | Who Can It Be Now? | Who Can It Be Now? |
| Round 1 | 1981 | Joan Jett and the Blackhearts | I Love Rock 'n' Roll | I Love Rock 'n' Roll |
| Round 1 | 1967 | Marvin Gaye | I Heard It Through the Grapevine | I Heard It Through the Grapevine |
| Round 2 | 1981 | Toni Basil | Mickey | Mickey |
| Round 2 | 1972 | Bill Withers | Lean on Me | Lean on Me |
| Round 2 | 1997 | Aqua | Barbie Girl | Barbie Girl |
| Round 2 | 1979 | Little River Band | Lonesome Loser | Lonesome Loser |
| Round 3 | 1983 | Donna Summer | She Works Hard for the Money | She Works Hard for the Money |
| Round 3 | 1963 | Lesley Gore | It's My Party | It's My Party |
| Round 4 Champion Shane Money won $20,000 | 1998 | Britney Spears | ...Baby One More Time | |
| Round 4 Champion Shane Money won $20,000 | 1979 | Mental As Anything | The Nips Are Getting Bigger | |
| Round 4 Champion Shane Money won $20,000 | 2005 | Ben Lee | Catch My Disease | |
| Round 4 Champion Shane Money won $20,000 | 1980 | Blondie | The Tide Is High | |
| Round 4 Champion Shane Money won $20,000 | 1975 | Kiss | Rock and Roll All Nite | |
| Round 4 Champion Shane Money won $20,000 | 1982 | Billy Idol | White Wedding | |
| Round 4 Champion Shane Money won $20,000 | 1978 | Gloria Gaynor | I Will Survive | |

#### Episode 2 (14 October 2007)

| Round Number | Year | Artist | Song | Song |
| Contestant selection | 1980 | The Romantics | What I Like About You | What I Like About You |
| Round 1 | 1981 | Rick Springfield | Jessie's Girl | Jessie's Girl |
| Round 1 | 1979 | The Pretenders | Brass in Pocket | Brass in Pocket |
| Round 1 | 2005 | Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes | Don't Cha | Don't Cha |
| Round 1 | 1985 | Bananarama | Venus | Venus |
| Round 2 | 1983 | Billy Joel | Uptown Girl | Uptown Girl |
| Round 2 | 1964 | The Drifters | Under the Boardwalk | Under the Boardwalk |
| Round 2 | 2001 | Kasey Chambers | Not Pretty Enough | Not Pretty Enough |
| Round 2 | 1987 | Crowded House | Something So Strong | Something So Strong |
| Round 3 | 1979 | Robert Palmer | Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) | Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) |
| Round 3 | 1981 | The Go-Go's | Our Lips Are Sealed | Our Lips Are Sealed |
| Round 4 Champion Glenn Money won $50,000 | 1978 | John Paul Young | Love is in the Air | |
| Round 4 Champion Glenn Money won $50,000 | 1980 | Blondie | Call Me | |
| Round 4 Champion Glenn Money won $50,000 | 1983 | Pat Benatar | Love Is a Battlefield | |
| Round 4 Champion Glenn Money won $50,000 | 2005 | Bernard Fanning | Wish You Well | |
| Round 4 Champion Glenn Money won $50,000 | 1988 | The Bangles | Eternal Flame | |
| Round 4 Champion Glenn Money won $50,000 | 1977 | Bonnie Tyler | It's a Heartache | |

#### Episode 3 (21 October 2007)

| Round Number | Year | Artist | Song | Song |
| Contestant selection | 1987 | Kylie Minogue | The Loco-Motion | The Loco-Motion |
| Round 1 | 1982 | Hall & Oates | Maneater | Maneater |
| Round 1 | 1983 | Cyndi Lauper | Time After Time | Time After Time |
| Round 1 | 1991 | Nirvana | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Smells Like Teen Spirit |
| Round 1 | 2003 | Delta Goodrem | Lost Without You | Lost Without You |
| Round 2 | 1990 | Heart | All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You | All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You |
| Round 2 | 1996 | Savage Garden | Truly Madly Deeply | Truly Madly Deeply |
| Round 2 | 2004 | Kelly Clarkson | Since U Been Gone | Since U Been Gone |
| Round 2 | 1981 | Christopher Cross | Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) | Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) |
| Round 2 | 1996 | R. Kelly | I Believe I Can Fly | I Believe I Can Fly |
| Round 3 | 1984 | Madonna | Like a Virgin | Like a Virgin |
| Round 3 | 1998 | The Goo Goo Dolls | Iris | Iris |
| Round 3 | 1991 | Billy Ray Cyrus | Achy Breaky Heart | Achy Breaky Heart |
| Round 3 | 1973 | Billy Joel | Piano Man | Piano Man |
| Round 3 | 1971 | Daddy Cool | Eagle Rock | Eagle Rock |
| Round 4 Champion Melanie Money won $15,000 | 1975 | Queen | Bohemian Rhapsody | |
| Round 4 Champion Melanie Money won $15,000 | 1979 | The Police | Every Breath You Take | |
| Round 4 Champion Melanie Money won $15,000 | 1992 | Whitney Houston | I'm Every Woman | |
| Round 4 Champion Melanie Money won $15,000 | 1988 | The Bangles | Walk Like an Egyptian | |
| Round 4 Champion Melanie Money won $15,000 | 1964 | The Kinks | You Really Got Me | |
| Round 4 Champion Melanie Money won $15,000 | 1980 | The Romantics | What I Like About You | |

#### Episode 4 (28 October 2007)

| Round Number | Year | Artist | Song | Song |
| Contestant selection | 1999 | Vanessa Amorosi | Absolutely Everybody | Absolutely Everybody |
| Round 1 | 1984 | The Bangles | Manic Monday | Manic Monday |
| Round 1 | 1975 | Rocky Horror Picture Show | Time Warp | Time Warp |
| Round 1 | 1985 | Mr. Mister | Broken Wings | Broken Wings |
| Round 1 | 1987 | Kylie Minogue | The Loco-Motion | The Loco-Motion |
| Round 2 | 1987 | Belinda Carlisle | Heaven Is a Place on Earth | Heaven Is a Place on Earth |
| Round 2 | 1984 | Mondo Rock | Come Said the Boy | Come Said the Boy |
| Round 2 | 1982 | Eurythmics | Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) | Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) |
| Round 2 | 1997 | Sixpence None The Richer | Kiss Me | Kiss Me |
| Round 3 | 1975 | ABBA | Dancing Queen | Dancing Queen |
| Round 3 | 1979 | Kiss | I Was Made for Lovin' You | I Was Made for Lovin' You |
| Round 3 | 1970 | Rod Stewart | Maggie May | Maggie May |
| Round 4 Champion Sarah Money won $50,000 | 1980 | Cold Chisel | Cheap Wine | |
| Round 4 Champion Sarah Money won $50,000 | 1978 | Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta | You're The One That I Want | |
| Round 4 Champion Sarah Money won $50,000 | 1987 | The Choirboys | Run To Paradise | |
| Round 4 Champion Sarah Money won $50,000 | 1997 | Shania Twain | Man! I Feel Like a Woman! | |
| Round 4 Champion Sarah Money won $50,000 | 1965 | The Righteous Brothers | Unchained Melody | |
| Round 4 Champion Sarah Money won $50,000 | 1982 | John Cougar | Jack And Diane | |
| Round 4 Champion Sarah Money won $50,000 | 1977 | Status Quo | Rockin' All Over the World | |

#### Episode 5 (4 November 2007)

| Round Number | Year | Artist | Song | Song |
| Contestant selection | 1990 | John Farnham | Chain Reaction | Chain Reaction |
| Round 1 | 1991 | Jimmy Barnes | Ain't No Mountain High Enough | Ain't No Mountain High Enough |
| Round 1 | 1982 | The Waitresses | I Know What Boys Like | I Know What Boys Like |
| Round 1 | 1975 | KC and the Sunshine Band | That's the Way (I Like It) | That's the Way (I Like It) |
| Round 1 | 1968 | Dusty Springfield | Son of a Preacher Man | Son of a Preacher Man |
| Round 2 | 1985 | Madonna | Material Girl | Material Girl |
| Round 2 | 1973 | Steve Miller Band | The Joker | The Joker |
| Round 2 | 1964 | Petula Clark | Downtown | Downtown |
| Round 2 | 1982 | Culture Club | Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? | Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? |
| Round 3 | 1977 | Queen | We Are The Champions | We Are The Champions |
| Round 3 | 1997 | John Farnham and Human Nature | Every Time You Cry | Every Time You Cry |
| Round 4 Champion Vanessa Money won $0 | 1968 | Tammy Wynette | Stand By Your Man | |
| Round 4 Champion Vanessa Money won $0 | 1964 | Roy Orbison | Pretty Woman | |
| Round 4 Champion Vanessa Money won $0 | 1993 | Dannii Minogue | This Is It | |