Hit Me Baby, One More Time: Episode 1
Hit Me Delivers Solid Gold
Recap By Mandy Smith
June 3, 2005
"Hit Me Baby" aired for the first time last night and I don't know about everyone else out there in Reality TV land, but I have been waiting for the start of "Hit Me Baby" for months now. The thought of a show bringing back some of my favorite stars from the past and giving them a chance to showcase what made them famous is a wonderfully fresh idea. There are so many talent shows for the unknown talent out there but nothing to really showcase the stars of years before.
Every week 5 veteran artists from the music scene will be performing in front of an audience to see if they can still "bring down the house." Cue the screaming fans; yelling at the camera which one of the performers is their favorite artist is out of the 5 appearing on this week's show. From first glance, "Hit Me Baby" reminds me of the 80's countdown show "Solid Gold." We have the flashy background, excited fans in the audience, and the brightly lit stage. Out comes our host, Vernon Kay, who hosted the original UK version of the series.
Unlike the UK series where the winner receives a cd single to be produced, the artists performing tonight are singing to win $20,000 to be given to the charity of their choice. The decision of who wins the competition tonight is decided by the audience votes at the end of the night. Each artist/group will first sing the song that made them famous or helped them to reach number 1. The second song is a more recent top 40 hit, chosen by the artist, to be done with their own touch on it.
With that, the show is ready to start without a moment's time wasted. The first performance of the series is the Canadian rock group Loverboy. While a montage of footage from the band plays, those who might need a refresher on who Loverboy is are treated to Vernon's description of the band. Loverboy was well-known for their upbeat rock songs in the 80's and their biggest hit, "Working for the Weekend", helped to sell 16 million albums. The video footage reminds you of how the group looked in their prime, so to speak, while freezing on a photo. Why? Because it's time to see what the band looks like now. Out of the 5 original members, there are only 3 on the Hit Me Baby stage tonight. The band walks out, after rising from underneath the stage in front of a photo of the group then. The crowd is screaming with anticipation as the band begins playing "Weekend." It's been roughly 20 years since their hit so it's understandable that they have aged some since the days of tight red leather pants. The song stars a little off-key vocally but picks up quite well before the first chorus starts. The song is trimmed a bit and after approximately 2 minutes, it's over. Vernon is back on stage and asks the band a question about where the inspiration for the song came from. The lead singer explains the song was written for the working man getting ready to party on the weekend. Vernon then asks what song they will be performing later in the evening. It's going to be Enrique Iglesias' "Hero" for Loverboy and the band leaves the stage with the crowd cheering.
Next up is an artist who grew up in the church choir and now she is worshipped; explains Vernon. It's CeCe Peniston, who we learn was a former beauty queen before releasing her dance floor hit "Finally." We learn that CeCe has performed for President Clinton and was asked to sing at his inauguration in 1993. She had 8 top 10 hits in the 90's and is ready to go for that again. As we see a photo of CeCe from the 90's on a screen behind the stage, the lights dim and CeCe rises from below the stage. She begins singing "Finally" while two male dancers move around on the stage around her. She puts on a great show and her voice hasn't changed at all since the original version of the song came out. 2 minutes seems to be the standard for the songs and the song ends to cheers. Vernon asks CeCe what it was like performing for the president. She explains it was such an honor to do so and it's not something that most people get the privilege of doing. Then we find out what song she is doing later on, which is "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill.
Now it's time for the 80's hair band A Flock of Seagulls. Vernon mentions that it was 22 years ago that hairspray sales soared because of this band. You have to expect a least one hairspray joke considering the creative hairstyles of the lead singer. "Iran" was the group's new wave hit of 1982, which they followed up with "Wishing" and "Space Age Love Song." A photo of the band, in their unique hair glory, is ready and waiting as the band appears from down below the stage. "Iran" is the song they are performing for the crowd tonight and the audience loves it. They sound a bit rough but the lead singer is working the crowd well from behind his keyboard. The group does well, considering 2 of the original band mates are not with the group, and has the crowd's approval. Vernon admits to Mike, the lead singer of the Seagulls, that he was his hair idol. He then asks Mike the question that everyone wants to know: What happened to his hair? Mike is wearing a baseball cap and while his hair is long in the back, his hair is thinning out on the top. Mike answers that all his hair is now in the back. We also learn that A Flock of Seagulls got their name from the book, "Jonathon Livingston Seagull," and their next song of the night is by Ryan Cabrera called "All the Way Down."
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