Vote-em-off singing competition lacks an X Factor

SHOULD the makers of The Masked Singer NZ be worried?

As the second season drifts along, revealing a predictable mix of ‘‘performers’’ from Three’s other shows to a scarcely interested public, the wider Warner Bros Discovery stable already appears to be auditioning replacements.

That’s the only explanation for the belated arrival of the BBC’s All Together Now, which aired more than four-and-a-half years ago and was cancelled 15 months later. However, that hasn’t stopped the format being picked up by countries such as Brazil, Finland, Australia, Malaysia and the Ukraine.

Hosted by upbeat British comedian Rob Beckett, the UK original is best described as The X Factor-meets-1 vs 100. Aspiring singers attempt to win over a wall of vocal coaches, tribute acts and other ‘‘professionals’’ (everyone from a mediaeval banquet performer to a singing dentist, and former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell) by belting out a tune with such force and skill that they just have to jump to their feet and join in.

Each of the six heats features 13 contestants, with the one to get the most bums off seats qualifying automatically for the final. Those finishing second and third re-perform with a second song in a sudden-death playoff, while, if there’s a tie between two competitors, ‘‘the 100’’ is asked to choose their favourite.

It’s all light-and-frothy fun, and most get a reasonably enthusiastic response from those judging them, although it is heartwrenching watching those who fail to get early risers frantically try to find a way to turn the tide. Beckett offers the occasional aside while the action unfolds and then gently grills the panel to find why or why not they backed a particular performer.

However, beneath all the family-friendly feel-good facade, there’s a certain amount of cynicism. Not only do episodes feel padded out to a needless 90-minutes via behind-thescenes glimpses of the ‘‘characters’’ among ‘‘the 100’’, but we’re also subjected to inane banter around what Halliwell had during the dinner break (hummus) and her mean impersonation of The Muppets’ Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.

And some of the judges also appear to be playing their own game. Cabaret compere Paulus seemed to delight in deliberately remaining steadfastly seated whatever the situation, sniffily dismissing a Wigan restaurant singer’s crowd-pleasing PucciniGuns’N’Roses mash-up while those around him were losing their minds.

But even he couldn’t resist the less-that-subtle messaging of Gold Kay’s rendition of Lionel Ritchie’s All Night Long (‘‘Once you get started you can’t sit down’’), or the tide of emotion that accompanied the ‘‘final act’’ of the night.

It all felt just a little too convenient – and manipulative. Still, if you enjoy the essential surprise of an unexpectedly strong singer, or the schadenfreude of a confident performer failing to win over a crowd, then this might be an enjoyable enough way to while away a lazy Friday night.

All Together Now debuts on Eden at 8.30pm on Friday, September 30.