How Does 'Don't Forget the Lyrics!' Work? Here's What We Know

Season 2 of Don't Forget the Lyrics! premiered on May 23, 2023, and host Niecy Nash is just as excited as the contestants for the latest run of the game show. Niecy spoke to the New York Post about the Fox musical competition and teased a promising second season of the show.

“It’s such a fun season,” Niecy exclaimed. “I just love being able to connect with the contestants. I’m biting my nails; I’m wringing my hands. You want them to do well.”

In 2021, the show was rebooted as a primetime series, with Niecy taking the reigns as the new host. And while Don't Forget the Lyrics! has been on television screens nationwide for some time, new viewers may be wondering exactly how the musical competition works. Here's what we know.

The competition on Fox’s Don't Forget the Lyrics! is much more complex than its name implies. Single contestants are tasked with singing the correct lyrics to 10 songs. Players must pick songs from categories like pop, country, R&B, and even one-hit wonders. As the game progresses, the prize value rises from $2,500 to $1 million. Lyrics to the song appear on the screen, with an in-studio band accompanying the song. Then, the music stops and contestants must finish the lyrics acapella.

Like most game shows, Don't Forget the Lyrics! includes game-saving backups. Contestants bring along a family member to assist with the competition who they can call on for assistance once during the game. Also, players are given a three-word clue that they can use to help them uncover the winning answers.

In the first stage of the game, contestants are simply left to fill in three lyrics from a song. But as the cash prize increases, so does the game’s difficulty. Players are tasked with completing longer stretches of song lyrics as they progress up the money ladder. The final round is worth $1 million.

The latest inception of the show, with Niecy as the host, has yet to see a player walk away with the $1 million grand prize. However, there were several big winners in Season 1 of the popular game show. As contestants progress up the money ladder, they must choose to continue competing for $1 million or walk away with the cash obtained from previous rounds.

Fletch Walcott, who appeared in the series premiere, won $150,000. The final competitor in the season, Kade Hamilton, walked away with $100,000.

Niecy’s addition to the popular game show comes over a decade after Don't Forget the Lyrics premiered. The original inception of the show, which aired from 2007 to 2009, saw actor Wayne Brady in the role as the game’s emcee. In 2010, former Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath took over the charge as host, where he remained for one season. Mark’s version of the show, which aired as a part of Fox’s daytime lineup, was cancelled in 2011.

Don't Forget the Lyrics! airs on Fox on Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST.