New karaoke television reality show will air on ABC in August

Texas is the second-best state in the United States for karaoke talent, falling exact behind the nation's best karaoke state, New Mexico. The title was given by Wendell Payne, president of KWCUSA. He's organizing a competitive countrywide karaoke championship that will, for the foremost time, air on ABC in August as a reality series named Karaoke Battle U.S.A.The contest is part of a bigger series called the Karaoke World Championships. "It's kind of like the Olympics of karaoke," said Payne.

The singing challenge starts at the local level. In Dallas, auditions for Karaoke Battle U.S.A. are Tuesday, May 31 at House of Blues. Two winners will be selected, and they'll go onto the state level. From there, if elected, they must battle throughout national and regional levels.

Taping by ABC commence at the regional level. Houston will be the first region show on Karaoke Battle U.S.A.'s debut episode on August 8 on ABC. The program will run for six weeks: Four weeks focused on each of four regions, and two weeks for the nationwide competition in Hollywood.

"When I started this thing, I never dreamed it would start there at the national level," said Payne. "I always thought the finals would be picked up by the local stations. I never dreamed it would start off at this place."

Think you've got the pipes? Participants in the karaoke battle will be judged in five categories: sound quality; rhythm & vocal expression; stage presence; and entertainment value. At the regional and national levels, judges will comment "like American Idol: Give a critique and tell them how bad they were or how good they were," Payne said. Former karaoke champion Brian Scott will be one of the three judges on the ABC show at the regional and national level, but Payne wouldn't reveal the other two judges yet. He assured us: "They're two great people!" And yes, they're famous.