Shraman Mitra
As the name suggests, Fox’s ‘Don’t Forget the Lyrics!’ is an exciting game show with contestants guessing song lyrics for a chance at a $1 million prize. While each contestant can choose their preferred track from nine different categories representing genres, artists, or periods, they can even bring one backup singer onto the stage. During the game, the system plays a part of the song until the words fade, and the player is asked to guess the subsequent lyrics.
Eventually, beating all nine categories makes a player eligible to challenge for the $1 million prize. As with most game shows, ‘Don’t Forget the Lyrics!’ has been previously accused of rigging and scripting its competition. Moreover, fans have wondered if the participants know the songs they might face during the show. With viewers now eager to learn the truth, we decided to investigate how authentic ‘Don’t Forget the Lyrics!’ is!
Is Don’t Forget the Lyrics! Scripted?
While we are happy to report that ‘Don’t Forget the Lyrics!’ is a primarily unscripted reality show, some factors might be determined before filming. Traditional rules dictate that a show cannot follow a pre-written script if it wants to declare itself as unscripted. Besides, such shows prohibit re-enactment of any sort, and none of the actions are pre-determined or planned. Furthermore, as the participants can be themselves in front of a camera, networks tend to be extra careful regarding a game show, as they do not want to rig a result and end up with a lawsuit.
Returning to the show, ‘Don’t Forget the Lyrics!’ passes its first test of authenticity as the contestants featured are selected from all walks of life. Naturally, a production team has to vet the contestants before they can appear in front of the cameras. Yet, once filming commences, they rarely involve themselves in the narrative, and the participants are given complete freedom to speak their minds.
In addition, though a few sources claimed that each contestant provides their real identity and an authentic backstory from their lives, they are also kept in the dark about the song and category choices they might face during the game. In fact, the game show even refuses to hand out hints about the genres it might cover, and people need to have genuine lyric knowledge to challenge for the ultimate $1 million prize.
Even though the show takes strict measures to maintain authenticity, some factors must be planned and readied before filming. Since one of those is the list of songs the production team prepares before every episode, the hosts also appear to follow a pre-written script for some of their lines, especially the cues and jokes that capture the audience’s interest.
Yet, despite the team of writers, we can confirm that the hosts mostly rely on spontaneous reactions and their own witty comebacks during filming. On top of it, there is the issue of producers making minor edits during post-processing to increase the show’s attractiveness. But since this rarely affects the authenticity, it is pretty negligible, so ‘Don’t Forget the Lyrics!’ is primarily considered an unscripted reality show.
Read More: Where is Don’t Forget the Lyrics! Filmed?
