The Singing Bee is an Australian game show which is based on the original American version of the same name. By combining karaoke singing with a spelling bee-style competition, contestants have to sing lyrics to songs without making a mistake or risk elimination. The show premiered on Sunday 7 October 2007 on the Nine Network, which has ordered the production of an initial eight episodes. Its recording location is in Richmond, Victoria at the Nine Network's GTV-9 studios. The Singing Bee will follow the basic rules of the American version of the show but some rule changes have been made for the Australian version. On 22 March 2008, it was announced by the Nine Network that The Singing Bee is going back into production for a second season, with filming set to take place after the 2008 Logies. Tim Campbell took over as host from Joey Fatone. The new season premiered on the Nine Network at 8.30pm on Thursday 10 July 2008. The Nine Network has confirmed that The Singing Bee would return in 2009. Host and singers Former NSYNC singer and host of the original US version of the show, Joey Fatone was announced on 24 September 2007 as the host of the Australian version and was at the time in Melbourne for the show. It was originally announced that it would be hosted by Australian musician David Campbell but due to other commitments, he was unavailable to host the show. Other media outlets have mentioned that personalities which were being considered for host included Kate Ceberano, Jon Stevens, Michael Falzon, Toby Allen and Rob Mills. The Nine Network held auditions for the series in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Out of the four regular singers featured on the show, Rob Mills and Andrew De Silva have been announced as two of them. Lucy Holmes, former host of The Mint is also a regular on the show. The 2008 and 2010 seasons were hosted by Tim Campbell. Singers in the house band for Season 2 include Nilusha Baeder, Lucy Holmes, Sandii Keenan, Kelly Wolfgramm, Andrew De Silva and Judd Field. The house band was headed up by Dorian West. Format At the start of the show, the band plays a song and the host randomly gives audience members a chance to sing part of the song. If they sing along to it enthusiastically, they become one of the six contestants