AMERICAN IDOL - STARS SIGN UP FOR COWELL'S CELEBRITY DUETS

AMERICAN IDOL judge SIMON COWELL has recruited CHEECH MARIN, LUCY LAWLESS and LEA THOMPSON for his new reality talent competition CELEBRITY DUETS. Also signing up for the competition are professional wrestler CHRIS JERICHO, Olympic gold medallist CARLY PATTERSON, QUEER EYE FOR THE STRAIGHT GUY's JAI RODRIGUEZ, QUEER AS FOLK star HAL SPARKS and THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR star ALFONSO RIBEIRO. On the show, each celebrity is paired up with a recording star to sing a duet - with one team being eliminated each week. CLINT BLACK, MACY GRAY and PATTI LABELLE are among the recording stars who have signed up to participate in the show. The contestants will be competing for a $100,000 (GBP555,000) cash prize that will be donated to a charity of their choice. The show debuts 29 August (06) on the US Fox network.