Show of the Week: Fake

Music competition format in which ten singers perform in front of three celebrities who have been tasked with working out whose voice is behind each song. Though each contestant appears to be singing their heart out when the music starts, only one really is, with the other nine just lip-synching.

“There has been a lot of interest in gameshow formats lately and since singing competitions are popular genres, I wanted to combine the two,” explains Izzet Pinto, CEO & founder of show producer and distributor Global Agency.

“I wanted to create an interactive format for the audience. While creating this, it wasn’t supposed to be an easy game, so a different idea came to my mind. We put one bad singer among nine talented singers. The goal is to find this Fake in the final round.”

In the first round, all 10 contestants lip-synch for 45 seconds to four songs back-to-back, and celebrities must identify the actual singer in each song, watching the performances as close ups on a video clip. They will win €1,000 for the charity of their choice if they guess correctly.

Following each song and guess, the actual singer performs on stage, behind a curtain – the curtain is lifted during the performance, bringing a moment of revelation – and just six contestants remain as the round comes to an end.

In the second round, there are three more song performances, while in the final round, only three singers remain and one of them is a fake. Making things harder, they are placed into an isolated booth where their voices are distorted.

With €10,000 going to the charity of whoever identifies the impostor, the pressure is on. And if the celebrities fail to guess the fake singer, it’s the faker who takes away the €10,000.

“It’s usually very difficult to pick out the fake, because sometimes we can hear a male voice from a woman, a woman’s voice from a man, and sometimes even an adult voice from a child. This difficult process also makes the game surprising and enjoyable,” says Pinto.

“The peak moment of the show is when the real performer comes to the main stage. We still don’t know who that person is, as the spotlights are off at the time. When the stage spotlights are turned on, the performer starts to sing and the curtain goes up, leaving everyone shocked, including the celebrities.”

Pinto says that the show will appeal to all ages and can easily be produced to “affordable budgets”. What makes this format unique, he says is its “surprise and entertainment elements,” explaining: “The show combines guessing, entertainment and competition elements with great singing performances. Right before the singer’s reveal, the TV audience can also guess who the real performer is, so this brings interactivity to the show.”

Producer: Global Agency
Distributor: Global Agency
Synopsis: Music competition format in which a celebrity panel attempts to work out who are the real singing talent and who are the lip-synching ‘fakes’, to raise money for charity