Brown, Fatone to host 'Singing Office'

Employees show off vocal talents in new show

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Melanie Brown and Joey Fatone have a new role to add to their scarily similar resumes: TLC host.

The duo will co-host "The Singing Office," a tongue-in-cheek singing competition that pits different groups of employees against each other.

Both Brown and Fatone were members of chart-topping pop quartets; both finished in second place on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars"; and both have starred in "Rent" on Broadway.

"It's not like `American Idol' or `Dancing With the Stars,'" Brown told The Associated Press while filming at the Long Beach Airport. "It's not a serious competition. It gives people a break from their everyday lives to have some fun with their co-workers."

In each episode, Brown, 32, and Fatone, 31, surprise employees at two separate workplaces with impromptu vocal auditions. They then pick the five best singers. The makeshift groups are trained by pros to perform a song-and-dance routine and compete in front of a studio audience.

"I couldn't have thought of a better pair to do this," said executive producer Scott Sternberg. "Both of them did really well on `Dancing With the Stars,' so I think America really knows them and is rooting for them now."

Brown recently wrapped up the Spice Girls reunion tour. Fatone, who performed with `N Sync, has been hosting NBC's "The Singing Bee," which wasn't included on the network's fall schedule.

There's one more thing they have in common: Brown said they're both scheduled to return to the "Dancing With the Stars" ballroom May 6 to dance for the show's 100th episode.