Say What? Karaoke (also known as SWK, and later SWK 2.0) is a karaoke game show that aired on the American cable television network MTV.[1] The game show is a spinoff of the former MTV show Say What?.

Say What? Karaoke
Also known asSWK
SWK 2.0
GenreGame show
Written byTom Cohen
Matthew C. Mills
Directed byJoe DeMaio
Steve Paley
Liz Patrick
Presented byDave Holmes (1998–2000)
Laura Lifshitz (co-host) (1998–2000)
Teck Holmes
Joey McIntyre (2001)
Danielle Fishel & Steven Hill (2003)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersTony DiSanto
Bob Kusbit
ProducerJennifer J. Carr
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkMTV
ReleaseMay 25, 1998 (1998-05-25) –
July 1, 2003 (2003-07-01)
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Synopsis

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The basics of the show are formatted as a real karaoke machine. Various college contestants compete by singing a popular song (often a pop song) with the music video played at the same time, as well as lyrics playing at the bottom of the screen. At times, there are two contestants that compete together. Afterwards they are rated by the judges on a 1-10 with plastic number signs, the rating number is also the number of points they have earned. Similar to other competitions, the finalists end up in first, second, and third position which depends on the number of points they have earned.

The show began as a special that was extrapolated from the current MTV show Say What?. The original specials were tongue-in-cheek; the hosts even admitted that they thought karaoke was a lame premise for a show. However, the concept turned out to be extremely popular, more so than the show it had originated from.

At different times, the series was hosted by television personality and actor Dave Holmes, Real World alum Teck Holmes, singer Joey McIntyre, and finally co-hosted by actress Danielle Fishel and Real World alum Steven Hill.[2] The series also featured several celebrity guest judges including actor Shia LaBeouf and singers Ashlee Simpson and Trevor Penick.

SWK 2.0

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After the series ended in July 2003, its premise was revamped and aired on MTV on May 12, 2007 with the new title SWK 2.0. The show was hosted by Mikey Day and also featured celebrity judges including Danity Kane singer Aubrey O'Day, American Idol contestant Paris Bennett, and reality show star Tiffany "New York" Pollard, as well as viewer voting in some elements.

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References

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  1. ^ Epstein, Leonora (26 August 2014). "17 Reasons "Say What? Karaoke" Was MTV's Most Painfully Awkward Show". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
  2. ^ Fallon, Kevin (2016-07-03). "Former MTV VJ Dave Holmes: What It Was Like to Be Gay at MTV". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-09-21.