UPN’s comedy “Half & Half” will incorporate a reality-show element into its plot this season, giving aspiring singers a shot at national television exposure.

Several characters in the show work at a record label, and early in the season Mona Thorne (Rachel True) will come up with the idea for a nationwide, “American Idol”-style contest for undiscovered singers or bands. That will then lead to a real contest in which people can submit videotapes of a performance to win a shot at appearing on the show.

As the season progresses, Mona and her co-workers at the fictional Delicious Records, Adam (Alec Mapa) and Spencer (Chico Benymon), will review some of the submissions on the air. They (or, more accurately, the show’s producers) will pick five finalists to come to Los Angeles to appear on an episode of “Half & Half” set for February sweeps.

Swapped wives control prizes

Apparently switching mates is a more lucrative business on Fox than on ABC.

In the midst of the recent intellectual property controversy pitting ABC’s upcoming “Wife Swap” against Fox’s earlier arriving and similarly themed “Trading Spouses,” supporters of the Fox show kept insisting that their offering had a financial reward component that set it apart. On the verge of its show’s premiere, Fox has unveiled that monetary twist in the hopes of some last second publicity.

“Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy,” sneaked onto screens Tuesday night, more than two months ahead of ABC’s “Wife Swap.” While the families in the ABC unscripted program are given only a small and unrevealed stipend for their participation, both of the two families on Fox’s show will receive $50,000.

The twist is that the surrogate spouses will determine who gets the money in their new family and how it will be spent.