''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' is an international game show in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The American show originally aired on Fox from July 11, 2007, to June 19, 2009, and after a year off the air, a third overall season, and first as a syndicated show, began on June 15, 2010, in daytime syndication and in primetime on VH1 and in primetime on

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

on October 5, 2010. On March 24, 2011, the show was canceled. A new primetime version, hosted by Niecy Nash, debuted on FOX on May 23, 2022. The show has spun off to numerous countries outside America using different top prize or game format. The primary difference between ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' and other music-based game shows is that artistic talent (such as the ability to sing or dance in an aesthetically pleasing way) is irrelevant to the contestants' chances of winning. In the words of one of their commercials prior to the first airing, "You don't have to sing it well; you just have to sing it right".

Gameplay

Each game is played by a single contestant who earns money incrementally based on a payout ladder by completing missing song lyrics on up to ten songs, testing the contestant's memory on songs. The following description of the show is based primarily on the U.S. version of ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'', though the general format applies to all international versions. The contestant is presented and chooses from a set of nine different

genres Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

. Two different songs (some versions presented three) were then presented to the contestant to choose one to sing, then the host inform on how many missing words the contestant must provide. The band or an ensemble will play the music and sings along, karaoke-style until the music stops, in which the monitor will display blank lines. In some versions such as Taiwan version, an alert marker will inform the contestant on the upcoming line. The contestant then fills in the missing lyrics (indicated in ), and chose whether to risk their accumulated winnings by locking-in the lyrics (indicated in ). To advance to the next level, all the lyrics must be correct (indicated in ) without singing any incorrect words (indicated in ), otherwise the game ends and the contestant leaves with the last guaranteed amount or nothing depending on the level they lost. Before locking the lyrics, the contestant can end the game and leave with the current accumulated winnings won up to the point. The contestant is also presented with three "Backups" that help the contestant but may only be used once throughout a game: *Backup Singer: The contestant receive assistance from one of two support members (or depending on version or game, an audience member or a team member) to help the contestant. The contestant may opt to choose their own lyrics or by going with their backup singer's lyrics if it is different. *Two Words: The contestant chooses any two of the missing words to complete the lyrics. In the Taiwanese version, Two Words backup provide only one missing word and is chosen at random. *Three Lines: The contestant is given a set of three lines, among which one line is correct; any common words that shares within the three lines are automatically highlighted green. The contestant has no choice over the tenth and final song (usually with the generic genre mentioning the top prize amount, such as the "Million Dollar Song"), which is not revealed unless they risk their winnings and play on. In most versions, any unused backups before the final song are rendered unavailable to use. If the contestant completes the final lyric correctly, he or she wins the grand prize that varies from country to country. In some versions, notably the Taiwanese version, the contestant is required to sing the lyrics correctly even during the sing-along, but missing too many lyrics while the music plays may prompt the player to stop singing and is given the option to either end the game or try again, or prematurely ending the game with the same penalty as incorrect lyrics given.

International versions

: Currently airing franchise : Franchise no longer in production

Australia

The Australian version was rumoured to be airing on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of fiv ...

in late 2008, with a jackpot of $A 500,000, after strong ratings to the US version over the summer non-ratings period. However, there has never been any confirmation and no production has begun. This may be due to lower ratings for episodes of the US version airing during the ratings period.

Austria

The Austrian version premiered on March 6, 2008, and aired on ATV titled ''Sing & Win''. It is hosted by Rainhard Fendrich. The jackpot for this version is €50,000. So far, only one person managed to win the jackpot: the female singe
Alexandra Poetzelsberger

Croatia

The Croatian version premiered on March 17, 2008, and aired on Nova TV titled ''Ne zaboravi stihove!''. It is hosted by Igor Mešin. The jackpot for this version is kn 500.000.

Denmark

The Danish version premiered 22 March 2008 (Easter Saturday) and aired on TV 2 Denmark titled ''Så det synger'' (So it sings). It is hosted by Michael Carøe. The jackpot for this version is DKr 500.000.

France

The French version premiered in December 2007 and aired on

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...

, titled ''N'oubliez pas les paroles!''. It is hosted by Nagui. The jackpot for this version is €100,000.
Since April 7, 2014, a new version is aired and the jackpot is now €20,000. In the new version, there are 2 contestants and, at the end, only one (the finalist) can try to win at most €20,000, the other is eliminated. The finalist of the previous episode comes back in the next episode and tries to reach the final. When they lose, they keep all the money previously won. In February 2020, Margaux E. became the candidate that won the biggest amount of money (€530,000). In January 2021, Jennifer won the biggest number of episodes (64). A special episode, ''100% Tubes'', aired on 11 June 2016 featuring four pairs of celebrities playing for up to €150,000 to be split among their chosen charities. In the final round,

Gérard Holtz Gérard Holtz (born 8 December 1946) is a French sports journalist. Early life and education Gérard Holtz was born in Paris and grew up in the area of Belleville. At the age of eight, he nearly died from an accident and contracted tubercu ...

(sports journalist for France 2) and

Amir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

(French representative at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2016 The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the 61st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song " Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw. Organised by the European Broadcastin ...

) worked together to win €90,000 for the four charities.

Greece

The Greek version premiered in November 2015 and is airing on

Mega Channel MEGA Channel, also known as MEGA TV or just MEGA, is a television network in Greece, that broadcasts a mix of foreign and Greek programming. It is the first and the oldest private television network in Greece. History Mega Channel (1989–2018) ...

, titled ''Den Eho Logia'' (I Have No Words). It is hosted by Greek actor and scriptwriter,

Giorgos Kapoutzidis Giorgos Kapoutzidis (Greek Γιώργος Καπουτζίδης; , Serres) is a Greek screenwriter and actor. He is the creator of the critically successful television series '' Saturday born '' (original title "Σαββατογεννημένες ...

. The jackpot for this version is €10,000.

India

The Indian version premiered on November 9, 2007, and aired on

STAR One Star One was an Indian pay television network based in Mumbai. It was launched on 1 November 2004 and was it owned by Star TV and distributed worldwide by Fox International Channels. In November 2006, Star One was launched in the UK on Sky. ...

titled '' Bol Baby Bol''. It is hosted by

Adnan Sami Adnan Sami Khan (born 15 August 1971) is an Indian singer, musician, music composer and pianist. He performs Indian and Western music, including for Hindi, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil movies. He has been awarded with Padma Shri (India's fourth hi ...

The jackpot for this version is

Rs. Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

2,500,000/-. They have had one winner of the grand prize so far.

Indonesia

An Indonesian version, titled ''Missing Lyrics'', airs on

Trans TV Trans TV is an Indonesian free-to-air television network based in South Jakarta that was launched on December 15, 2001 and owned by Chairul Tanjung. Programming consists of newscasts, movies, drama series, variety shows, quiz shows, and childre ...

. The top prize for this version is Rp. 100,000,000 (about US$10,000).This version was hosted by Irgi Ahmad Fahrezi and Fitri Tropica.

Iran

The Iranian version of Don't Forget the Lyrics called "Sher yadet nare" premiered on September 14, 2012, and aired on Manoto 1.Hosted by Omid Khalili Tajrishi. فارسى The jackpot for this version is US$10,000.

Italy

The Italian version aired for a pilot in December 2007 on

Italia 1 Italia 1 (Italian pronunciation ) is an Italian free-to-air television channel on the Mediaset network, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is oriented at both young and adult people. Italia 1 was launched on 3 January 1982 and, originally, was o ...

titled ''Canta e Vinci'', then it had a season split between Spring and Summer. It is hosted by Amadeus & Checco Zalone. The jackpot for this version is €250,000. The game show has come back on the air from 7 February 2022, on Nove presented by Gabriele Corsi, aired from Monday to Friday in access prime time with the title ''Don't Forget the Lyrics! - Stai sul pezzo''.

Malaysia

The Malaysian version premiered on May 25, 2008, and aired on

Astro Ria Astro Ria is a 24-hour Southeast Asia Bahasa Malaysia television channel exclusive to the Astro satellite television provider. It was one of the first 22 channels to be launched on Astro in 1996. Astro Ria offers a variety of shows including ...

titled ''

Jangan Lupa Lirik! Jangan Lupa Lirik! or JLL! is a Malaysian quiz show format of Don't Forget the Lyrics! with a jackpot of RM 1,000,000. It is currently shown on Astro Ria since April 28, 2008. Merdeka Edition The Merdeka edition was produced in 2008 and the p ...

''. It is hosted by

Aznil Nawawi Datuk Aznil bin Nawawi (born 6 November 1962), better known as Aznil Nawawi (sometimes he credited as Aznil Haji Nawawi, Aznil or Pak Nil), is a Malaysian TV host. He won the Best Talk Show Award at the Asian Television Awards 2005 in Singapo ...

The jackpot for this version is RM 1,000,000.

Mexico

The Mexican version was aired on

TV Azteca TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V. is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as some local operators. It owns two natio ...

and it is called ¿Te la sabes? Cántala.

Norway

The Norwegian version is hosted by Tshawe Baqwa and Yosef Wolde-Mariam from the Norwegian hip hop/rap band

Madcon Madcon is a Norwegian musical duo formed in 1992 by Yosef Wolde-Mariam and Tshawe Baqwa. They have released eight albums as of 2022. They are best known for the 2007 cover of "Beggin'" by The Four Seasons and the 2015 single " Don't Worry" fe ...

. It is aired on

TV 2 (Norway) TV 2 (''TV to'') is a Norwegian terrestrial television channel. Its headquarters are located in Bergen. TV 2 began test broadcasting on 13 November 1991, and a year later, it was officially launched on 5 September 1992, becoming Norway's first co ...

Poland

The Polish version premiered on March 9, 2008, and aired on TVP2 titled '' Tak to leciało!'' (It was sung like that!). It was hosted by Maciej Miecznikowski. The jackpot for this version is zl 150,000. The reboot is planned for Fall 2022 on one of the main TVP channels with Sławomir Zapała as the host.

Singapore

The Singapore version, hosted by Singapore Idol host

Gurmit Singh Gurmit Singh Virk Chainchal Singh (born 24 March 1965; pa, ਗੁਰਮੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ, Gurmīt Siṅgh; ) is a Singaporean actor, comedian and television personality. He was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1994 to 2014. A f ...

, premiered on 27 November 2008 on MediaCorp Channel 5. It airs every Thursday night at 8.00pm. Contestants will sing their way to the top prize of S$500,000 (S$50,000 for the second Chinese version). Two Mandarin version of Don't Forget the Lyrics () were aired, both airing on 8pm every Tuesdays. The first version premiered on 25 August 2009 was hosted by Taiwanese host

Sam Tseng Sam Tseng (, born January 29, 1968) is a Taiwanese television host and actor. Tseng graduated from Shih Hsin School of Journalism and entered the entertainment scene in 1990 as an actor. His career took off during the late nineties, when he ...

(), and the series produced 14 episodes, four of which were celebrity episodes. The second version which featured entirely celebrities premiered on 1 June 2010, and was hosted by Singaporean comedian Mark Lee.

Slovakia

The Slovak version premiered on February 22, 2008, and aired on TV JOJ titled ''LYRICS - Vyspievaj si milión!''. It is hosted by Andrej Bičan. The jackpot for this version is now €100,000 because Slovakia is joining the

Eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU pol ...

, which results in the 1,000,000 crown prize being dropped.

Spain

The Spanish version premiered in September 2008 with the name "No te olvides de la canción" (Don't forget the song). It is aired at

La Sexta La Sexta (; "The Sixth"; stylized as laSexta) is a Spanish free-to-air television channel. It is privately owned and was originally founded on 18 March 2001 as Beca TV that began broadcasting on 1 April 2001, that same year. By 21 July 2003, the ...

and hosted by

Operación Triunfo ''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements. Format There are many versions of t ...

academy's former director

Àngel Llàcer Àngel Llàcer Pinós (born 16 January 1974 in Barcelona, Spain) is a Spanish actor, television presenter and drama teacher, known for being member of the jury of the Spanish reality show Tu cara me suena (Spanish TV series), Tu cara me suena. ...

. The jackpot prize is

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

100,000.

Taiwan

The Taiwan version is called "" (''Million Singer''), hosted by

Harlem Yu Harlem Yu (; born 28 July 1961) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, television host and businessman. He is particularly well-known for singing the theme song, ''Qing Fei De Yi'', for the 2001 television drama, '' Meteor Garden''. He made a cameo i ...

. This program is aired in Taiwan Television Enterprise, Ltd. (TTV) and TVBS Asia. The top prize is NT$300,000. The Taiwan version premiered on 10 May 2008 and ended on 11 August 2012. Unlike other versions, there is an alert system to indicate on the next line, and using a no-guarantee progression level (the contestant may not leave the game at any point, and the contestant loses half of the winnings won up to the point for any incorrect lyrics).

United Kingdom

The UK version premiered on May 11, 2008, and aired on

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

titled ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!''. It is hosted by

Shane Richie Shane Patrick Paul Roche (born 11 March 1964), known as Shane Richie, is a British actor, comedian, television presenter and singer. Following initial success as a stage and screen performer, he became best known for his portrayal of the charac ...

. The jackpot for this version is £250,000.

United States

There have been three U.S. versions of ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' * The original ran from July 11, 2007, to June 19, 2009, airing on Fox. It was hosted by

Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...

with a $1,000,000 jackpot. * The second version premiered in September 2010 as a daily syndicated game show from

20th Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...

, and was hosted by

Mark McGrath Mark Sayers McGrath (born March 15, 1968) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of the rock band Sugar Ray. McGrath is also known for his work as a co-host of '' Extra'', and he was the host of '' Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' in 2010. ...

with a $50,000 jackpot. * The revival version premiered on May 23, 2022, on Fox. It is hosted by

Niecy Nash Carol Denise Betts (née Ensley; born February 23, 1970), known professionally as Niecy Nash-Betts (), is an American actress, comedian and television host, best known for her performances on television. Nash hosted the Style Network show '' C ...

with a $1,000,000 jackpot.

References

{{Don't Forget the Lyrics! series Banijay franchises Television franchises