Wayne Brady, singer/comedian/host, greeted us with a recap of this week's Celebrity Duets Performance Show. Our six remaining Non-Singing Celebrities (NSC) — Lucy Lawless, Cheech Marin, Carly Patterson, Alfonso Ribeiro, Jai Rodriguez, and Hal Sparks, all of whom shared the dream of being a music star, found out the results of last night's telephone voting. Who was safe and who was in tonight's bottom three? And from there, who was sent home?
As we are reminded of all this, Wayne offers up this fact to keep in mind. Famous people had idols too. Imagine if you had a chance to be on a stage with your favorite singing legend and how that might affect your nerves and your singing. Add the bonus of the possiblity of winning $1,000,000 (USD) to donate to the charity of your own choosing. It's no wonder that Mr. Brady said that tensions were running high backstage last night.
The recap continued and included snippets of the judges' comments and video clips of this week's duets. To me, these snips and clips were a reminder of how we could all watch the same show, but see it differently.
Next up was my least favorite segment and one used often in televised singing competitions — the contestant group sing...a throwback to the old TV variety shows. Shows like The Sonny and Cher Show and The Donny & Marie Show had duets that were smooth and shiny. But if you looked back at a show like the Brady Bunch Variety Hour, you watched primarily amateur singers and awkward choreography with a veneer of glitter and schmaltz. Programming like that would come to my mind whenever a segment like this was aired. Even the participation of my favorites among our NonPros could not have saved me as I cringed through a mangled version of Earth, Wind and Fire's "September."
Thankfully, I was given something else to ponder as the camera pulled back to show a wider view which included the seating arrangements for our panel of Celebrity Judges. What happened to Little Richard? In plain view was singer/author/doll designer Marie Osmond, and next to her songwriter/producer/arranger David Foster. But the outrageous Rock and Roll Pioneer was nowhere to be found. Before I finished a list of things David might have done to him in order to get more time to talk, the group talent segment ended.
I expected the judging panel to be introduced next and Little Richard's absence explained. Instead, Wayne told us that when the commercial break had ended, Jai Rodriguez was slated be the first NonPro to find out whether he was safe, or the first NSC to have earned a place in the bottom three of lowest votes recorded.
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