Photo credit: Michael Becker/ FOX.
Warning: Spoilers ahead from this week's episode:
In an era of reality-competition shows where viewers feel like they've seen it all, "The Masked Dancer" is proving that there is an element of surprise not even seen on its sister show, "The Masked Singer. Listening to a familiar voice is the one thing that can make "The Masked Singer" easy to guess, and that's the one element that is primarily eliminated from "The Masked Dancer." As a result, the last two weeks have delivered stunning reveals when the contestant was unmasked.
Last week, audiences were shocked to see child safety advocate Elizabeth Smart unmasked as the Moth, and this week, it was Brian McKnight's turn to take off that Cricket costume. The series truly offers complete anonymity because they are using their body to communicate who they are. Other than the "Word Up" clue, it can be a challenge to even figure out what celebrity category they fall into.
The mysterious nature of the show might be a lure for celebrities, who might be inclined to say no to "The Masked Singer" or "Dancing with the Stars." Both shows share co-executive producer and casting director Deena Katz, which explains why there are often familiar faces from prior "Dancing with the Stars" seasons showing up on "The Masked Singer." On "The Masked Dancer," Bill Nye the Science Guy has been the only crossover so far from the ABC show. Casting those rare celebs for the freshman series makes it feel fresher when someone unexpected is unmasked at the end of each episode.
Photo credit: Michael Becker/ FOX.
Smart, who had made headlines at a very young age and turned her situation into activism, almost used her past circumstances as her reason for almost turning the opportunity down. "I have never done anything like this before. I'm not a dancer. I've never trained. That's not my forte in life," she told Entertainment Weekly. "And kind of my initial reaction was that I would probably say no because this is something outside of my comfort zone, and something that I really don't have any experience with."
But it was the death of her grandmother last year that made her reflect on her current path in life and why she wanted to shake things up a bit. "And sitting at her funeral, I just remember sitting there thinking about her life, and she did a lot of really serious things, but she also had a lot of fun. And just thinking about my life, I feel like I've lived a pretty serious life," she explained. " I just thought, you know what, why not? Life is already hard enough. I mean, not to mention 2020. I don't think anyone would come back and say, "Oh, yeah, 2020, best year of my life" — or there would be very few people who would say that. And I just thought, this has already been a hard year, so why not do something that's fun?"
By casting someone outside their comfortable boundaries makes it an unforgettable experience, and Smart shared her behind-the-scenes footage of rehearsals — something you wouldn't normally see on the mom-of-three's Instagram page. "My dance partner @paulkarmiryan is so talented and patient!" she captioned the video. "As well as @kikinyemchek the choreographer! Not to mention all the backup dancers, wow those ladies could just pick up all the dance moves immediately! Thank you again for making me feel like a star."
That leads us to Wednesday night's unveiled contestant — Brian McKnight. If you thought judge Brian Austin Green guessing Smart was out of left field, so was this guess by fellow judge Paula Abdul. We've been waiting for the "Cold-Hearted Snake" singer to shine in this competition because executive producer Craig Plestis promised the media at a December press conference that Abdul was a total ringer on the judging panel.
"She watched this one clue package of a contestant, and I can't tell you who it is," said Plestis. "She immediately pinpointed, going, 'Okay. I know that voice. They are walking in a pigeon toe. I know who that is. It's X.' "
Photo credit: Michael Becker/ FOX.
At that same December event, Abdul hinted that we should expect some well-known singers who wouldn't dare to be on "The Masked Singer" because their voices are "so identifiable." "The Masked Dancer" gives them "another chance" to perform without using their vocal skills — enter McKnight.
While Green and guest judge Rob Lowe guessed Ryan Lochte (We were on board with this choice, too.), Ken Jeong went with Lochte's Olympic teammate Michael Phelps. Ashley Tisdale went way out on a limb with too-big-to-do-the-show Ashton Kutcher as her guess. So when McKnight was unmasked, everyone gasped — Abdul had doubled down on those music clues and she was right.
"With the clue packages today, I saw a payphone and Adam Levine has a song called 'Payphone' and he's tall," Abdul said. "But then I saw the knight and I heard in the package, 'Back at One,' which is a Brian McKnight song and there were clocks [in the dance] that had one o'clock in it, so it could be Brian McKnight."
"Have you ever seen Brian McKnight dance like that?" asked host Craig Robinson.
"Like a cricket? No, I haven't," Green wittily responded.
"I like your guess, by the way, " Lowe told Abdul before the commercial break.
"I don't know if Brian McKnight would come on the show, but I think it might be him," she mused. "But also Brian is so reserved, I can't see him dancing like that. "
Abdul might be the judging panel's new secret weapon when it comes to figuring out the clues, but it's "The Masked Dancer" that is giving public figures a newfound way to express themselves in the spotlight because of the nature of the show. No singing like "The Masked Singer," and no unnerving live shows of "Dancing with the Stars," which opens fresh opportunities for casting ideas in a landscape that is usually filled with the same recycled celebs rotating on four or five shows. "The Masked Dancer" might be changing that casting trope.