Singing Bee

Wait, let's get it out of the way -- I'm not PROUD that I watched this show. I do find it entertaining, though, because I'm a bit of a lyrics-a-holic, and I know way more lyrics than it is useful for a grown woman to know. Anyway, I was watching it last night, and I'm pretty good at it. I'd perform well, I think. But something struck me as unfair last night.

One guy's prompt was "We're losing control
Will you turn me away or touch me deep inside?
And before this gets old, will it still feel the same?
There's no way this will die
But if we get much closer, I could lose control
And if your heart surrenders, you'll need me to hold"

Now, by itself you might not recognize it, but with the music, it was clear that this was Pat Benetar's "Love is a battlefield."

What does he have to sing in response?

"We are young, heartache to heartache we stand
No promises, no demands
Love is a battlefield

We are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong
Searchin' our hearts for so long, both of us knowing
Love is a battlefield"

That's right -- six lines of the song. In fact, when the music kept playing after he sang the first bit, he even made a WTF? face.

Now the guy that he was battling against had to get a lyric right in order to stay in the game. Let's look at his prompt:

"It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry if I want to."

And what the other dude had to sing in response? "You would cry too if it happened to you."

How is that fair? One dude sang 40 words from a song that, while far from obscure, is also not exactly dripping from everyone's lips. The other guy had to know NINE words from one of the most pervasive songs I've ever heard. How could you NOT know that line?

Okay, I feel better.