Patti Labelle by Eric Liebowitz/NBC
Jeers to NBC for wasting its airtime with Clash of the Choirs. Can we blame the strike for the proliferation of such "unscripted" filler? For two punishing hours, perkily plastic hostess Maria Menounos introduced five bland vocal groups led by celebs like Nick Lachey (whose bio montage averted any mention of ex-wife Jessica Simpson), Patti LaBelle and Michael Bolton (whose former mullet seems to have been transplanted to his overexposed chest). Between the oddly chosen songs ("Livin' on a Prayer," anyone?), the contestants' stories unsubtly jerked tears. How can the same network that produces the sublime 30 Rock and Friday Night Lights proudly present such ridiculous pabulum?• Read and react to Bruce's opinions on the Dexter finale, 30 Rock's Christmas episode and more!• Share your own raves and rants about other shows on the Reader Cheers & Jeers discussion board.• We may feature your Cheer or Jeer on TVGuide.com or in TV Guide magazine!
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Hal Sparks, Wayne Brady, Lucy Lawless and Carly Patterson, Celebrity Duets
You've seen them dance. You've seen them lose weight. You've even seen them ice-skate. Now it's time for celebrities to grab a mike and start singing. The contestants on Fox's Celebrity Duets will have a little help from well-known recording artists such as Clint Black, Macy Gray and Chaka Khan, so we're hoping the audience will be spared the torture of another William Hung. But with Simon Cowell wearing the executive-producer hat, anything is possible.
The show (premiering Aug. 29) is hosted by Wayne Brady and features eight celebrity "nonsingers" — wrestling champion Chris Jericho, actress Lea Thompson, Queer Eye lifestyle expert Jai Rodriguez, Xena's Lucy Lawless, actor Cheech Marin, Olympian gymnast Carly Patterson, Fresh Prince's Alfonso Ribeiro and comedian Hal Sparks. The warbling wannabes will be competing for $100,000, to be donated to the
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Little Richard is a big get for Simon's Celebrity Duets.
As reported earlier this week, Lucy Lawless, Cheech Marin, WWE champ Chris Jericho, Olympian Carly Patterson, Fresh Prince's Alfonso Ribeiro, Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez, Hal Sparks and Back to the Future's
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Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell's arrest on charges of assaulting her maid may have kept her out of the reality-TV kitchen for now, but not forever. Explaining the supermodel's last-minute replacement by Patti LaBelle on NBC's Celebrity Cooking Showdown (premiering April 17), exec producer Ben Silverman tells TVGuide.com, "Naomi clearly has a lot of stuff going on, so it was definitely her decision." He then adds, "Hopefully, she'll be on in our next [round], because she likes to cook."
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R&B legend Patti LaBelle was forced to leave the stage in tears during a weekend concert due to poor health, the Associated Press reports. "I've never been this embarrassed in my life," the "Lady Marmalade" singer told the crowd, explaining that a combination of diabetes, a heart murmur and the cold weather in the outdoor venue had wrecked her voice for the evening.
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