Jane Krakowski and Randy Jackson Say Music Stars Have No Advantage on ‘Name That Tune’
Fox’s “Name That Tune” is back Tuesday night, but just because the new season features some celebrity contestants from the music world, doesn’t mean they are any better at guessing what song the band is playing snippets of.
“It’s anyone’s game,” “Name That Tune” host Jane Krakowski told TheWrap. “You can’t pre-guess who’s going to be good at the game.”
The new season of the show, which was filmed in Dublin, Ireland, is a celebrity edition with the stars playing for various charities.
“Fuller House” star Jodie Sweetin plays against “Malcolm and the Middle’s” Frankie Muniz. In another episode, “Beverly Hills, 90210” stars Jennie Garth and Ian Ziering face off. Mr. Boombastic, Shaggy, takes on “The Facts of Life” alum Kim Fields. Music star Cassadee Pope plays against music artist and actress Jana Kramer. Krakowski’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” co-star Tituss Burgess joins the fun, squaring off against Spice Girl Mel B. Another episode features Kelly Osbourne vs. JoJo, and still another features Olympians Laurie Hernandez vs. Nastia Liukin. Two former NFL stars will also go head to head — Vernon Davis and Victor Cruz.
While there’s no advantage for the likes of Mel B. and Shaggy, one of the things viewers will see is intense competitiveness.
“Of course, they’re competitive. I mean, listen, they’re on TV,” band leader Randy Jackson said. “They all think that they know. And it’s the funny thing about music … everyone swears they know the songs, but they don’t know how to name them correctly. They may know all the lyrics, but not the name. So that’s the thing that makes this fun and competitiveness is crazy.”
Krakowski said those who did participate brought their A-game.
“I found it fun that a lot of people came on that I have never met before because we had celebrities from all different worlds. It was really just nice to get to know them and they all came with such great spirit,” Krawkowski said.
“They were all great people who showed up and just tried really hard to entertain and to make our show great, which is not lost on Randy and I,” she continued. “We greatly appreciate how far they had to come to do that. And the show carries a lot of the nostalgic weight, which I think is important. I think we’re at a time in the world where we’re needing a lot of nostalgia. It’s getting rebooted for that reason. And what’s lovely is that Randy and I know the show from [the] older incarnations, but whether you do or not, when you watch the show, what’s classic and great about it is still there and what’s new and fresh about how Fox presents these new game shows is there as well.”
“Name That Tune” premieres Tuesday night at 9/8c on Fox.