The streaming era has undeniably created a lot of need for instant gratification -- after finishing one album, one episode, one series, you're already onto the next thing, asking for more. And, because of the feasibility and ease of Netflix, Spotify, etc., that next thing is there for us when we're ready to move on. Obviously, this has posed a problem for more conventional or traditional entertainment modes.
This past week, while watching the semi-finals of my guilty pleasure, FOX's The Masked Singer, I was absolutely taken aback to realize that the show is now gearing up for its sixth season finale. I'm not any sort of television connoisseur, but this seems highly implausible for a show that, at its roots, really shouldn't have any staying power to have made it this far in the streaming era.
What makes this show so popular that it can last six seasons? I can't help but reflect on other contest-based singing shows. American Idol had star power in the form of its host and judges panel, and even then the contestants were moderately entertaining (not to mention the auditions portion which were always laughable). The Voice is similarly structured, but doesn't feel like a direct copy because of its focus on the "team" directly connected to each judge. However, the show can't seem to produce the same star power AI did in its prime.
The Masked Singer has none of these things: the audience doesn't see any sort of audition process, in fact, it seems like any celebrity that remotely shows interest in the show is accepted, regardless of singing experience (just ask Honey Boo-Boo). The judges are anything but relatable. Robin Thicke and Nicole Scherzinger are the easiest to tolerate, and there's a sentence I never thought I would ever write.
Performances are mostly okay. It's easy to separate the should-wins from the please-dear-god-never-sing-agains. But the show clearly isn't built on talent -- just ask Lil Wayne aka Robot, who was sent home first night of season two. Rob Gronkowski made it far further into the contest than he should have been allowed to. Hearing him "rap" and "sing" has left absolutely awful memories of this show that I would like to erase as soon as possible.
And despite its extremely goofy premise, the show manages to reel in some huge, talented names. T-Pain was the winner of season one. Jesse McCartney and Natasha Bedingfield both competed recently. Heck, Kermit the Frog was a contestant last season! Who is bigger than Kermit?? And -- spoilers for this past week's episode -- Faith Evans was revealed as Skunk. She came in third place, so whoever they've got saved must be a huge name!
I want to clarify, I love this show. I look forward to new seasons despite the awful judges panel and the horrendous, staged crowd shots. This is the first season I've asked myself "why", however. The insufferable parts of the show have become even more insufferable, namely Jenny McCarthy's everything. Whichever producer decided it'd be a funny gag to give her a miniature drum kit behind the judges' desk needs to be sacked, immediately.
What truly keeps drawing me back, and mostly likely the other million viewers, is that it asks for at-home audience participation in a way that other shows don't. It isn't recorded live, so at-home voting like American Idol would be redundant, and removes some of the frustration in being outvoted by packs of horny teenagers picking the cutest contestant. Instead, the audience is feeding off of the mystery -- everyone wants to know, who is under the mask? The clue packages and weekly hints give the audience the pieces, they just have to be intuitive enough to put the puzzle together. There's a reward in being correct I think, which isn't often, even for the judges, because it "proves" you have an incredible intuition into pop-culture.
Will the show be canceled in the near future? My guess is probably not, although it has yet to be renewed for a seventh season. And I'll continue to watch until I can't stand to hear Ken Jeong say the same three names as his guesses again, or until it is canceled, whichever comes first. Until then, tune in this Wednesday to find out which singer(s) will be unmasked, Banana Split or Queen of Hearts?
Yes, this is a real show on primetime television.
The first person to comment their favorite celebrity appearance on the Masked Singer gets an in-person serenade by Brandon! He's promised to sing the entirety of the new Adele album.
- Ritter
fam i haven't listened to a single song off that album; that's a tall order
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