Xena's singing impresses on US reality TV show

Lucy Lawless

Lucy Lawless has gone from belting out battle cries as Xena to belting out classic hits on American reality TV.

She follows in the footsteps of model and Dancing with the Stars contestant Rachel Hunter in boosting her United States career through reality television.

The former star of Xena Warrior Princess this week debuted on Celebrity Duets, alongside a pro wrestler, an Olympic gymnast, various comedians and the dorky cousin Carlton Banks from Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

The show, which airs on the Fox network, pairs non-singing "celebrities" with musicians such as Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Michael Bolton, Peter Frampton and Randy Travis. It's like Dancing with the Stars, but singing. Each week, one celebrity is eliminated.

The judges are Marie Osmond, Little Richard and music producer David Foster (he's the nasty one). One of the show's executive producers is Simon Cowell, the acidic judge from American Idol.

Lawless was first up on Monday night (US time), singing Time, Love and Tenderness with Michael Bolton. Her debut was a little off-form, the judges said, but she earned accolades for looking great. By the end of the first half, Lawless looked like a contender to be dumped in the first show.

In her second number, Lawless joined the legendary Smokey Robinson to sing the romantic slow number Baby, Baby. They looked deep into each other's eyes, held hands and even had a little kiss at the end. It was sensational, and well sung, too.

The judges swooned. Osmond described it as beautiful and Little Richard said it made "my big toes shoot up into my boot".

After that performance, Lawless was safe: the judges threw wrestler Chris Jericho from the ring. From next week, the audience will decide the loser.

Lawless' performance comes after a role as a Cylon in Battlestar Galactica. Lawless recently shot the feature film The Darkroom. She will next be heard as the voice of Goldmoon for the animated film Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight with Kiefer Sutherland.

Cowell told media last week he makes no apology for pretty much using the format of Dancing with the Stars. "I thought it was a really fun show. But I always felt it would work better as a singing show."

Cowell said each "celebrity" had a good chance of winning, even Jericho and Jai from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. "I think it's just shut your easy, hold your breath and hope for the best. No one was booked for comedy value."