The Masked Singer (American TV series)
| The Masked Singer | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality television Game show |
| Directed by | Alex Rudzinski |
| Presented by | Nick Cannon |
| Judges | |
| Opening theme | "Who Are You" by The Who |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Production location | CBS Television City |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox |
| Release | January 2, 2019 – present |
| Related | |
| Masked Singer franchise I Am a Singer franchise | |
The Masked Singer is an American reality singing competition television series. The series premiered on Fox on January 2, 2019. It is based on the South Korean format King of Mask Singer.[1][2][3][4]
The show is hosted by Nick Cannon and features celebrities singing in head-to-toe costumes and face masks which conceal their identities from other contestants, the panelists, and the audience.
Format
Twelve celebrities compete on the show anonymously in costumes over ten episodes. Each episode, a portion of the competitors are paired off into face-off competitions, in which each will perform a song of his or her choice. From each face-off, the panelists and live audience vote; the winner is safe for the week, while the loser is put up for elimination. At the end of the episode, the losers of the face-offs are then subjected to the earlier votes of the panelists to determine who will not continue; the eliminated singer then takes off their mask to reveal their identity.
In addition to the singing competition, hints to each masked singer's identity are offered during the show. The panelists are given time to speculate the identity of the singer after the performance and ask them a single question to try to determine their identity. The competitors are said to have a combined 65 Grammy nominations, 16 multi-Platinum albums, 16 Emmy nominations, 9 Broadway shows, 4 Super Bowl titles, and 4 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[5]
Host
Panelists
Guest panelists
- Joel McHale (episodes 3–5)
Contestants
| Stage name[6] | Celebrity | Notability | Episodes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| Alien | TBA | RISK | TBA | |||
| Bee | TBA | WIN | TBA | |||
| Lion | TBA | WIN | SAFE | |||
| Monster | TBA | RISK | SAFE | |||
| Peacock | TBA | WIN | SAFE | |||
| Poodle | TBA | RISK | TBA | |||
| Rabbit | TBA | WIN | TBA | |||
| Raven | TBA | WIN | TBA | |||
| Unicorn | TBA | WIN | SAFE | |||
| Deer | Terry Bradshaw | NFL player/commentator | RISK | OUT | ||
| Pineapple | Tommy Chong | Comedian | OUT | |||
| Hippo | Antonio Brown | NFL player | OUT | |||
Episodes
Week 1 (January 2)
| # | Stage name | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peacock | "The Greatest Show" by Hugh Jackman | WIN |
| 2 | Hippo (Revealed as Antonio Brown) | "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown | OUT |
| 3 | Monster | "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen | RISK |
| 4 | Unicorn | "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten | WIN |
| 5 | Deer | "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons | RISK |
| 6 | Lion | "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)" by Fergie | WIN |
Week 2 (January 9)
| # | Stage name | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rabbit | "Livin' la Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin | WIN |
| 2 | Alien | “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man | RISK |
| 3 | Raven | “Rainbow” by Kesha | WIN |
| 4 | Pineapple (Revealed as Tommy Chong) | “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor | OUT |
| 5 | Poodle | "Heartbreaker" by Pat Benatar | RISK |
| 6 | Bee | "Chandelier" by Sia | WIN |
Week 3 (January 16)
| # | Stage name | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lion | "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone | SAFE |
| 2 | Deer (Revealed as Terry Bradshaw) | "Get Your Shine On" by Florida Georgia Line | OUT |
| 3 | Peacock | "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic | SAFE |
| 4 | Unicorn | "Oops!... I Did It Again" by Britney Spears | SAFE |
| 5 | Monster | "I Don't Want To Be" by Gavin Degraw | SAFE |
Reception
Critical response
Platforms including Hollywood Life claim it to be "...TV's biggest musical mystery." [8] USA Today also claims that "...it might just be the only reality TV show that doesn't manufacture its fun." [9]
The premiere episode received mixed reviews. Vulture felt that the series was more entertaining, yet "weirder, sillier, and stupider" than other U.S. music competition programs, and described the format as having the "vibe" of
what if [Philadelphia Flyers mascot] Gritty walked out on a soundstage made to look like an arena concert, belted out Sam Smith's 'Stay With Me,' was described as 'a professional' by Jenny McCarthy, took off his head to reveal he was Joey Fatone, and the entire experience felt three clicks away from an episode of Black Mirror?[10]
The judges were considered to be "weak" and "[approaching] their jobs with all the insight and acumen of an America's Next Top Model contestant trying to decipher the Tyra Mail",[10] and that the performances were "underwhelming" (using Ryan Reynolds' surprise appearance on the Korean version singing "Tomorrow" as a "low-rent" unicorn as a benchmark) due to the contestants not always being singers.[10] However, the format was deemed to have depth for being "a pretty fascinating examination of celebrity culture, mass appeal, performance, image, and fame."[10]
Emily Yahr of the Washington Post described the premiere episode as "one of the craziest reality shows of our time".[11]
Ratings
FOX 13 credits The Masked Singer as an "...an instant pop culture hit, with 15.3 million multi-platform viewers, and [the premiere] episode topping Hulu and Fox Now as the network's most-streamed episode ever." [12] Deadline reported similar ratings with "...the highest rated unscripted debut on any network in seven years, excluding post-NFL, since The X Factor launch in September 2011." [13]
| Episode | Original airdate | Time slot (ET) | Live + SD ratings | Live + 7 DVR ratings | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viewers (in millions) |
Adults (18–49) | Source | Viewers (in millions) |
Adults (18–49) | Source | |||||
| Rating | Share | Rating | ||||||||
| 1 | "Mask On Face Off" | January 2, 2019 | Wednesday 9:00 p.m. | 9.36 | 3.0 | 12 | [14] | 12.97 | 4.2 | [15] |
| 2 | "New Masks on the Block" | January 9, 2019 | 7.07 | 2.3 | 10 | [16] | TBA | TBA | ||
| 3 | "Five Masks No More" | January 16, 2019 | 6.94 | 2.2 | 9 | [17] | TBA | TBA | ||
| 4 | "Another Mask Bites the Dust" | January 23, 2019 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||
| 5 | "Mix and Masks" | January 30, 2019 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||
| 6 | "Touchy Feely Clues" | February 6, 2019 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | |||
References
- ^ "FOX Unveils "The Masked Singer," A New Celebrity Competition Series with a Groundbreaking Twist". The Futon Critic. August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- ^ Birnbaum, Debra (August 2, 2018). "Fox Orders 'Masked Singer' Reality Series; Nick Cannon to Host". Variety. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- ^ Lynch, Jason (August 3, 2018). "Celebs Are Disguised as Monsters and Animals in Fox's Bonkers Trailer for The Masked Singer". Adweek. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
- ^ Piester, Lauren (August 2, 2018). "Fox's New Show The Masked Singer Is Very Mysterious and Totally Bonkers". E!. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
- ^ Jones, Adrienne (12 November 2018). "Fox's The Masked Singer Looks Like The Weirdest Singing Competition Yet". CINEMABLEND. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
- ^ "The Masked Singer Official Trailer". YouTube. September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- ^ Roots, KImberly (January 2, 2019). "The Masked Singer Premiere: Grade It!". TVLine. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
- ^ "'The Masked Singer': Is Carrie Underwood Actually The Lion? — Wild Theory". Hollywood Life. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
- ^ "Review: Fox's 'The Masked Singer' is the next great singing contest, but who's competing?". USA Today. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
- ^ a b c d "The Masked Singer Is a Reality-TV Fever Dream". Vulture. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- ^ Yahr, Emily (January 3, 2019). "Yes, that was real life: 'The Masked Singer' premiered and was even weirder than you imagined". Washington Post. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "Fox's 'The Masked Singer' breaking records as millions of viewers speculate singer identities". FOX 13. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
- ^ "'The Masked Singer' Hippo Reveal Marks Best Unscripted Series Launch In 7 Years". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
- ^ Welch, Alex (January 4, 2019). "'The Masked Singer' adjusts up, 'SEAL Team' adjusts down: Wednesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ Welch, Alex (January 16, 2019). "'The Masked Singer' and 'Big Bang Theory' score biggest 18-49 gains in broadcast Live +7 ratings for Dec. 31, 2018 – Jan. 6, 2019". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ Welch, Alex (January 10, 2019). "'Chicago Fire' adjusts down: Wednesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
- ^ Welch, Alex (January 17, 2019). "'Riverdale,' 'Schooled,' 'Chicago Med,' all other shows hold: Wednesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 17, 2019.