Here we are, starting week three of Celebrity Duets, the musical reality show pairing Non-Singing Celebrities (NSC) with famous singers together in song for our viewing pleasure. The remaining six contestants this week are: Lucy Lawless, Cheech Marin, Carly Patterson, Alfonso Ribeiro, Jai Rodriguez, and Hal Sparks.
Our host is comedian/singer Wayne Brady and he started out the show with answering the big question — Why? What would possess a celebrity, already famous in his or her own right, to get up in front of millions of viewers and sing? Fame they already have, but this is their chance to fulfill their dream of being singers. To sweeten the deal of being selected as the Champion of Celebrity Duets is the added bonus of being awarded $1,000,000 (USD) as a donation to the charity of their own choosing.
Every week our NSCs are partnered up with a big-time musical entertainer. After the first show of any given week, the viewing audience votes by telephone. Votes are tallied and, on the following night, the Non-Pro with the least amount of callers gets the boot.
But, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Tonight is Performance Night. Just prior to each song, the NCSs each give us a view into what is going on in their minds as they prepare to entertain us. Now, they don't tell us with whom they'll be singing. For that part, we are kept in suspense about until shortly into each song.
To help us out by sharing their thoughts on each duet is the panel of celebrity judges. Marie Osmond, singer/dollmaker/entrepreneur has been as sweet and lighthearted as her image has been from the beginning of her career. The highly original Rock-and-Roll pioneer Little Richard tells it like it is, in a vernacular that only he can create. Phrases like "My, My, My, my big toe shot up again in my boot" and "Don't let your voice write a check your rhythm can't cash" are the bane of the third judge, producer/arranger/songwriter David Foster, as he often left with barely enough time to utter a couple of words.
This week's duets? As they say, on with the show...
Lucy Lawless/Dionne Warwick In the pre-song interview, Lucy let us know that after only singing with males in prior weeks, she's ready for a change-up and work with a woman this week "to get a bit of girl power goin' up on the stage." After reading who her partner is, she admitted that she is now "completely freaked out" and it's no wonder she's scared. Ms. Warwick is old school Diva (yes, with a capital D!) and they sing one of her signature pieces "Say A Little Prayer." Excellent job, I think; they blend well together in the harmonies and then kick it up a notch during their solo parts. Marie took off her gloves this week by calling Lucy's singing timid. David Foster kind of liked it, but he'd like to hear her sing in a higher vocal register. Little Richard's assessment was that he did like it, not in so few words, of course. A side-note to the producers of the show: please, give us a DVD of all of Little Richard's comments for the run of the series. I'd watch it forever if I thought a bit of his "cool" would rub off on me.
Article comments