Yahoo Lifestyle Stop Letting Famous Professional Singers on ’The Masked Singer’
I remember when Monster was crowned the first ever winner of The Masked Singer. The year was 2019, and the mysterious Monster had been my front-runner since the very beginning. And I was shocked, shocked I tell you, when he finally took off the mask to reveal T-Pain. Yes, he was a Grammy-winning artist. Yes, if you had watched his NPR “Tiny Desk Concert” you knew he could sing without autotune. But for most viewers, it was thrilling to see a rapper known for using autotune excel at something we didn’t know he could do. I want that feeling back.
Since that first year, The Masked Singer has crowned many winners, but none of those finale reveals have ever given me the same rush of joy T-Pain’s gave me in season 1. And that's partly because a lot of the people under the masks have turned out to be famous singers with distinctive voices. Jewel (Queen of Hearts in season 6), Nick Lachey (Piglet in season 5), and Ne-Yo (Cow in season 10) have all gone home with the Masked Singer trophy. And, frankly, it's getting old.
When Boyz II Men, competing as the Buffalos, won season 12 of The Masked Singer, their unmasking was about as revelatory as Meryl Streep winning another Oscar. Sure, Boyz II Men aren’t making headlines as much as they used to, but they are known as some of the best singers of their generation, and the voices they won with weren't different than the ones that made them famous. And, frankly, these kinds of winners and contestants make the show less fun to watch.
I want The Mask Singer to reveal celeb voices I’ve never heard before (or, at least, show them in a new light), like Olivia Culpo belting out "Rocket Man" as the UFO in season 9, or boybander Joey Fatone finally stepping into the spotlight as the Rabbit in season 1. I want to be stumped by the contestant clues and as completely off in my guesses as Jenny McCarthy. I want it to be silly and fun, not American Idol with masks.
It’s not only less interesting for the show to feature professional singers, it’s also super awkward. Having iconic voices like Gladys Knight (Bee in season 1) or Patti LaBelle (Flower in season 2) eliminated early in the season hurts The Masked Singer’s credibility as a singing competition. In season 9, Melissa Joan Hart (Lamp in season 9) made it further than Michael Bolton (Wolf in season 9). Are we supposed to deduce that Sabrina the Teenage Witch (no offense) is a better singer than this man? I think not.
At the end of the day, The Masked Singer just has to do one thing: entertain. And the entertainment is best when the singer reveals are unexpected. It's just that simple. The less Grammy-winning artists the better! And once you run out of truly surprising celebs...then we can talk. Just don't ever go back to politicians. Never. Ever. Again.
You Might Also Like
