Just when you thought every permutation of American Idol had been attempted, NBC has begun gathering up choirs to battle it out in a new singing competition set to air around Christmas. Clash of the Choirs will feature “superstars” like Michael Bolton, Nick Lachey, Patti Labelle, Kelly Rowland and Blake Shelton going to their respective hometowns to recruit twenty “gifted” singers apiece. The assembled choirs will duke it out on television to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” with a chorus being eliminated by home-audience votes (à la AI) over the course of the four-day series. On the finale, scheduled December 20th, the “greatest” choir will be named, which is in all honesty merely the dubious distinction of being “the greatest choir in superstars’ hometowns of Philadelphia, New Haven, Oklahoma City, Houston and Cincinnati.” What does the winning team of twenty receive? A donation to their local community! While the unintentional comedic allure of the show makes it a bit enticing, for us Clash of the Choirs seems more like Clash of Our Fingers Frantically Stabbing at Our Remote Controls to See What’s on Fox.

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