The alphabet network’s been churning out a lot of “alternative” programming this summer. The latest offering is a Friday night game show called >Karaoke Battle USA. Is this one a winner that’s on a fast-track for renewal or will it be cancelled like so many others?

Karaoke Battle USA seeks to find the best karaoke singer from across the country by taking the best male and female performers from various regional competitions and pitting them against one another. At the end, the King and Queen of Karaoke are crowned. In addition to the title, the winners also win a trip to compete at the Karaoke World Championships in Ireland and have a recording released through Hollywood Records. The show is hosted by *NSYNC’s Joey Fatone and is judged by karaoke champion Brian Scott, singer/songwriter/comic Carnie Wilson, and music journalist Joey Levy.

The TV series debuted with a two-hour installment on August 12th. It garnered a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 3.74 million viewers. It tied for second place with a repeat of CSI: New York at 9pm and beat a Blue Bloods rerun at 10pm. Both hours were beaten by NBC’s Dateline.

The second episode of Karaoke Battle USA dropped 11% in the demo to a 0.8 rating and 2.92 million viewers. Last week’s installment rose 25% in the demo to a season high with a 1.0 in the demo and 3.68 million.

The show airs on Friday nights so the ratings are understandably lower but these still are terrible. Of the dozen summer series that ABC’s been airing this season, Karaoke Battle USA is in last place. Reruns of lead-in Shark Tank perform better, as do installments of lead-out 20/20.

There’s simply no good reason why ABC should renew Karaoke Battle USA for a second season and the series will probably be cancelled after the remaining two episodes have aired.

But what do you think? Is this a compelling singing competition? Would you like to see it return for a second season or just be cancelled?

Image courtesy NBC.