The Masked Singer - big season 6 post
Feb. 16th, 2025 08:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallowness Episode 3 was a summer holiday special, and I was a tad disappointed in Wolf after he sang ‘Copacabana’. The sing-off was between the first two competitors, and Bear did something completely different in all his performances. Toad in the Hole was obviously the better singer, but equally obviously she was Macy Grey (or someone who could earn a living as a Macy Grey impersonator), so the panel voted for her to be unmasked. Turns out she’s a sore loser (but having too distinctive a voice is always a problem on this show, no matter how good you are.)
Episode 4 was a superhero special, and I really started believing that the audience’s attention span was terrible, because two of the stronger singers were in the sing-off. (I think I know who Kingfisher, charming, like this year’s Yeti, but not one of the better singers, is.) The panel saved Dressed Crab, probably because they thought he was a bigger star. Carol Decker turned out to be Tattoo and had stymied everyone, but was a good sport.
All the remaining celebs appeared in episode 5, and they were singing a clue song. I was confirmed in some guesses, but mostly didn’t have a clue. Dressed Crab and Pufferfish decided to up their games. My theory about who the audience was likely to vote off did not hold, and it was between Bear and Teeth, who have both been in the bottom two before. No sing-off. Teeth was unmasked as Mel Giedroyc, who nobody had guessed, including me. I felt that a bloke should be voted off next.
Episode 6 would have a double elimination. Barnstorming opening from Pufferfish, who proved that she can do proper musical theatre flawlessly. (Googling to check who’d previously appeared on the show, I was spoiled for the fact that a lot of people think she’s Samantha Barks, and the clues and the way she sang seemed to back that.) Half the panel thought Bear was Example (Me: Who? Okay, that’s well argued.) Dressed Crab was the only singer to match Pufferfish vocally with his own spin on ‘California Dreamin’’. I was outraged that Bush, by miles the weakest singer left, was safely through – what did the studio audience have against competent women? Pufferfish and Snail clearly earned their keep from singing and yet were in trouble.
Kingfisher was the first to be unmasked, and, like Mo, I’d thought he was Harry Hill, but no, it was Greyson Perry – well played, sir! The panel rightly saved Pufferfish, and Snail turned out to be Andrea Corr, who had been my guess since she sang ‘Rule the World’. One up to me on the panel.
The semi final would have a double elimination. No Mo on the panel, but Richard E. Grant (who someone had guessed was Wolf early doors) was guesting. Wolf sang a rock song, Bear showed off his vocal range again by singing ‘She’, Bush had the cheek to sing ‘Thank You For The Music’. Seeing a spirit level in Dressed Crab’s clue package convinced me he was Gregory Porter, (I’d been thinking it either was him or Michael Kiwanuka, but probably him for a while) and then I enjoyed his performance of ‘Hello’, but I thought Pufferfish edged it with a spell-binding take on ‘What I’m Made For’, and then the studio audience voted to save Bush again. Bear (who has probably played the show the best this series) was unmasked as Example and sang much worse without the mask.
They rejigged the order for the remaining celebs to sing a contrasting song – Dressed Crab singing ‘Hit the road, Jack’ well, Bush sang ‘I Miss You’ badly, Wolf sang ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ commandingly (really well staged) and then Pufferfish killed ‘One Night Only.’ Because Bush had always been saved, I cringed in advance that she’d be through to the final, but presumably hearing her and the three other celebs (who are all Proper Singers) must have restored some sanity to the studio audience, because she was unmasked and turned out to be Natalie Cassidy. RELIEF!
The final! Was Joel and the panel singing necessary? (No. Davina should have taken the lead.) Thankfully Danny ‘Piranha’ Jones joined in - he had a busy night ahead - and then took Mo’s seat on the panel to witness the finalists for the first time.
Wolf’s clues strongly suggested he was Scottish, but the midge repellent clue suggested he WASN’T Midge Ure to me. Anyway, he sang ‘Poker Face’ and it sounded better when he got into the chorus. Not his best or worst performance. Pufferfish’s clues confirmed that she was Samantha Barks. The dancers had amazing, proper pop music performance costumes, and she produced a brilliant cover of ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’. Dressed Crab’s clues confirmed that he was Gregory Porter. The panel tried to pretend they’d forgotten this, and then he sang ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ and Danny Jones pulled his amazed face again.
The last two were obviously the best singers, but Wolf had never been in trouble before and is the one that nobody was sure of. The studio audience voted then, apparently, but all three would be singing duets, which is always fun. Wolf was duetting with Knitting AKA Claire from Steps, and it was bizarrely touching, with some thought having been given to the blocking, and he came off as gallant (although in hindsight, it’s a shame she didn’t have eyes in her costume.)
Pufferfish was duetting with Piranha on ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ and so they could go big. And did. Apart from their voices combining well, it helped that both their characters were piscine and had eyes (only on The Masked Singer...). It must have further confirmed his confidence in his singing that he more or less matched her, but also was that a sense of the reigning champion dubbing the next?
And then Dressed Crab duetted with Air Fryer – excellent choice – on ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ and it was joyous.
First results and the best singers were through, and Wolf was about to be unmasked. Jonathan changed his guess to Paul Young, but it was Marti Pellow, and I had never guessed him, (kudos to Claire from Steps for gauging that he’d been big in the late 80s/early 90s.) He seemed to have had a blast. Someone needs to take Maya aside and explain that wolves are kinda sexy.
The last two finalists made good picks for their favourite songs. Pufferfish slayed ‘One Night Only’ again - some of the dancers collapsed at the end of it, which felt about right. Dressed Crab picked ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way?’ – great energy. I wanted her to win, though, because I’ll probably always pick musical theatre + pop princess + power balladeer over soul, no matter how good you are. I enjoyed all her songs more, although it felt like a good night all round.
But she did win!
Danny succumbed to guessing DC was Gregory Porter, and everyone was vindicated, for it was him. He seemed to have had a good time once he’d got over some in-costume claustrophobia. Davina won Danny and Maya over to guessing that PF was Samantha Barks, while Jonathan held out and was wrong. Samantha Barks seemed chuffed to bits that she’d won, and it sounded like it had been the right experience at the right time for her. Yay! Fourth woman to win. I got four out of twelve guesses right, with one assist.
Episode 4 was a superhero special, and I really started believing that the audience’s attention span was terrible, because two of the stronger singers were in the sing-off. (I think I know who Kingfisher, charming, like this year’s Yeti, but not one of the better singers, is.) The panel saved Dressed Crab, probably because they thought he was a bigger star. Carol Decker turned out to be Tattoo and had stymied everyone, but was a good sport.
All the remaining celebs appeared in episode 5, and they were singing a clue song. I was confirmed in some guesses, but mostly didn’t have a clue. Dressed Crab and Pufferfish decided to up their games. My theory about who the audience was likely to vote off did not hold, and it was between Bear and Teeth, who have both been in the bottom two before. No sing-off. Teeth was unmasked as Mel Giedroyc, who nobody had guessed, including me. I felt that a bloke should be voted off next.
Episode 6 would have a double elimination. Barnstorming opening from Pufferfish, who proved that she can do proper musical theatre flawlessly. (Googling to check who’d previously appeared on the show, I was spoiled for the fact that a lot of people think she’s Samantha Barks, and the clues and the way she sang seemed to back that.) Half the panel thought Bear was Example (Me: Who? Okay, that’s well argued.) Dressed Crab was the only singer to match Pufferfish vocally with his own spin on ‘California Dreamin’’. I was outraged that Bush, by miles the weakest singer left, was safely through – what did the studio audience have against competent women? Pufferfish and Snail clearly earned their keep from singing and yet were in trouble.
Kingfisher was the first to be unmasked, and, like Mo, I’d thought he was Harry Hill, but no, it was Greyson Perry – well played, sir! The panel rightly saved Pufferfish, and Snail turned out to be Andrea Corr, who had been my guess since she sang ‘Rule the World’. One up to me on the panel.
The semi final would have a double elimination. No Mo on the panel, but Richard E. Grant (who someone had guessed was Wolf early doors) was guesting. Wolf sang a rock song, Bear showed off his vocal range again by singing ‘She’, Bush had the cheek to sing ‘Thank You For The Music’. Seeing a spirit level in Dressed Crab’s clue package convinced me he was Gregory Porter, (I’d been thinking it either was him or Michael Kiwanuka, but probably him for a while) and then I enjoyed his performance of ‘Hello’, but I thought Pufferfish edged it with a spell-binding take on ‘What I’m Made For’, and then the studio audience voted to save Bush again. Bear (who has probably played the show the best this series) was unmasked as Example and sang much worse without the mask.
They rejigged the order for the remaining celebs to sing a contrasting song – Dressed Crab singing ‘Hit the road, Jack’ well, Bush sang ‘I Miss You’ badly, Wolf sang ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ commandingly (really well staged) and then Pufferfish killed ‘One Night Only.’ Because Bush had always been saved, I cringed in advance that she’d be through to the final, but presumably hearing her and the three other celebs (who are all Proper Singers) must have restored some sanity to the studio audience, because she was unmasked and turned out to be Natalie Cassidy. RELIEF!
The final! Was Joel and the panel singing necessary? (No. Davina should have taken the lead.) Thankfully Danny ‘Piranha’ Jones joined in - he had a busy night ahead - and then took Mo’s seat on the panel to witness the finalists for the first time.
Wolf’s clues strongly suggested he was Scottish, but the midge repellent clue suggested he WASN’T Midge Ure to me. Anyway, he sang ‘Poker Face’ and it sounded better when he got into the chorus. Not his best or worst performance. Pufferfish’s clues confirmed that she was Samantha Barks. The dancers had amazing, proper pop music performance costumes, and she produced a brilliant cover of ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’. Dressed Crab’s clues confirmed that he was Gregory Porter. The panel tried to pretend they’d forgotten this, and then he sang ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ and Danny Jones pulled his amazed face again.
The last two were obviously the best singers, but Wolf had never been in trouble before and is the one that nobody was sure of. The studio audience voted then, apparently, but all three would be singing duets, which is always fun. Wolf was duetting with Knitting AKA Claire from Steps, and it was bizarrely touching, with some thought having been given to the blocking, and he came off as gallant (although in hindsight, it’s a shame she didn’t have eyes in her costume.)
Pufferfish was duetting with Piranha on ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ and so they could go big. And did. Apart from their voices combining well, it helped that both their characters were piscine and had eyes (only on The Masked Singer...). It must have further confirmed his confidence in his singing that he more or less matched her, but also was that a sense of the reigning champion dubbing the next?
And then Dressed Crab duetted with Air Fryer – excellent choice – on ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ and it was joyous.
First results and the best singers were through, and Wolf was about to be unmasked. Jonathan changed his guess to Paul Young, but it was Marti Pellow, and I had never guessed him, (kudos to Claire from Steps for gauging that he’d been big in the late 80s/early 90s.) He seemed to have had a blast. Someone needs to take Maya aside and explain that wolves are kinda sexy.
The last two finalists made good picks for their favourite songs. Pufferfish slayed ‘One Night Only’ again - some of the dancers collapsed at the end of it, which felt about right. Dressed Crab picked ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way?’ – great energy. I wanted her to win, though, because I’ll probably always pick musical theatre + pop princess + power balladeer over soul, no matter how good you are. I enjoyed all her songs more, although it felt like a good night all round.
But she did win!
Danny succumbed to guessing DC was Gregory Porter, and everyone was vindicated, for it was him. He seemed to have had a good time once he’d got over some in-costume claustrophobia. Davina won Danny and Maya over to guessing that PF was Samantha Barks, while Jonathan held out and was wrong. Samantha Barks seemed chuffed to bits that she’d won, and it sounded like it had been the right experience at the right time for her. Yay! Fourth woman to win. I got four out of twelve guesses right, with one assist.
