S02.E08: Mask and You Shall Receive

[OtterMommy]

Air date: 11/20/2019

[blackwing]

Utter crap that Patti went home.  I’m sorry, but the Leopard sucks.  Seal’s voice has really deteriorated and I’m sorry, if he hadn’t been dressed as a woman and playing up the feminine twirl of his hands and whatnot that the panelists seem to be eating up, he would have been eliminated ages ago.  
 

I’d like to poll the panel and see how each voted.  I think Robin and Jenny votes for Flower.  Nicole, Ken and Joel for Leopard because they like the comedy.  The Flower was consistently praised with each performance.  Her version of “Alone” was amazing and original and really showcased the power of her voice.  I wanted more from her “Eye of the Tiger” but she should have been safe based on the strength of her performances.  She lost to the gimmick of the Leopard singing Nicole’s song and using his jazz hands.  I’m pissed.

[Was-MArsenault]

I think the Leopard should have gone home instead of Flower, and I would've liked to see one last performance from her.

Edited November 21, 2019 by MikaelaArsenault

[Fukui San]

Honest question: Do people think this is a sincere competition, or do we think the celebs going in know what their expected time on the show is in advance? Like Patti will say "OK, I'll do this silly show, but I only have so much stamina these days to wear an enormous costume. I'll commit to four episodes, alright?" No one seems unhappy to have been eliminated, and it's never said what people are playing for other than a trophy.

I mean the zeroing in of the judges' guesses right as the celeb is unmasked would seem to be a giveaway. People on the forum have been saying Patti Lebelle from the start, and Seal as well for Leopard, and the judges go out of their way to make other guesses. Ken Jeong of course is there to make funny very wrong guesses. The fact that a judge finally said Seal makes me think the Leopard is the next one out, and that no one has guessed Wayne Brady for the Fox makes me think that the Fox is going a lot farther.

Anyway, Flamingo had a great performance particularly if she isn't a trained singer as has been guessed on this board.

[vibeology]

35 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

"Eye of the Tiger", seemed like a really bad song for Flower to sing. 

Yep and I think it did her in. Patti didn't win that Smackdown. There just wasn't enough time to build and she didn't do anything with the climax of the song at all. Patti isn't going to do comedy or move around the stage so her vocals need to be spectacular every time and they weren't in this one performance. Whether she should have been there at all is up for debate. I think her Alone was maybe a little bit better than Rottweiler (again, he puts on a show for the voting audience and that does matter) but once she was there, she lost. Seal (we're done pretending we don't know who that is, right? Now that the judges have named him?) doesn't have Patti's voice, but he puts on a show and he made Don't Cha sound better than the original.

I don't like Flamingo's voice. There's a whine to it that I cannot stand in current pop music. It's the same sort of thing that makes me hate Camila Cabello. The judges seem to have her pegged for the finale, but I really think that it would be a shame to lose so many better singers to make that happen.

[blackwing]

1 hour ago, vibeology said:

Yep and I think it did her in. Patti didn't win that Smackdown. There just wasn't enough time to build and she didn't do anything with the climax of the song at all. Patti isn't going to do comedy or move around the stage so her vocals need to be spectacular every time and they weren't in this one performance. Whether she should have been there at all is up for debate. I think her Alone was maybe a little bit better than Rottweiler (again, he puts on a show for the voting audience and that does matter) but once she was there, she lost. Seal (we're done pretending we don't know who that is, right? Now that the judges have named him?) doesn't have Patti's voice, but he puts on a show and he made Don't Cha sound better than the original.

I don't like Flamingo's voice. There's a whine to it that I cannot stand in current pop music. It's the same sort of thing that makes me hate Camila Cabello. The judges seem to have her pegged for the finale, but I really think that it would be a shame to lose so many better singers to make that happen.

I agree that she didn't shine in the smackdown, it didn't have any of those long high notes or vocal runs.  I'm just kind of disappointed that the panel didn't take into consideration her other performances.

I also fully agree about the Flamingo.  I don't like her voice either.  The panelists seem determined to bring her to the finals and I wouldn't be surprised if she wins.  I find it interesting that they pulled out all the stops with the confetti for her performance, making it seem like she was being annointed a winner or something.  Robin has seemingly already declared her the winner.

[blackwing]

Curious as to other's thoughts on this... does anyone find Seal portraying himself as an effeminate gay man to be a little offensive?  I get that the costume might not have been his choice.  But choosing to play himself up as a gay man, all the things he does with his hands (the stereotypical limp wrist etc), proposing to Nick Cannon, etc.... that's all him.  There's a reason why the judges were guessing RuPaul and Billy Porter.

It's like "they think I'm gay because I'm in a dress so I'm going to act so stereotypically gay that they are going to be shocked when I take off the mask".  It's like Jenny or Nicole said... something along the lines of "I don't understand the whole dress and mannerisms but the voice says Seal".

There was a man dressed as a female angel on the German version and I don't believe he played up the crossdressing aspect, did he?  I think he just stood there and sang.

[Jillybean]

4 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I didn't like Flower's song choices in this episode. 

I do wonder who makes those decisions in terms of which contestant sings which songs. 

"Eye of the Tiger", seemed like a really bad song for Flower to sing. 

I thought both her song choices were terrible. I don't know if she was just trying to throw the audience off by choosing songs from another genre, but these didn't showcase her voice at all. Had she chosen something more in her wheelhouse, I think she would've breezed through to the next round.

[blackwing]

3 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

At the end of the episode in the fine print it says:

"Portions of the program not affecting the outcome have been edited and/or recreated.

All voting was administered by an independent vote tabulation company and monitored by Fox Standard and Practices". 

I love this series and have no reason to believe it isn't on the up and up.

I still would like to know who is making the decision when it comes to who sings what.

I think part of the problem is that they don't explain or show the voting.  If they gave us results it would seem like less of a fix.  The panelists and apparently only the panelists choose who wins each smackdown.

As for song choice, there was an article today where Patti said she provided them with a list of 20 songs she wanted to sing.  Production still picked some on their own for her.  They made her do "9 to 5" and "Eye of the Tiger".  

[Was-MArsenault]

4 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I think part of the problem is that they don't explain or show the voting.  If they gave us results it would seem like less of a fix.  The panelists and apparently only the panelists choose who wins each smackdown.

As for song choice, there was an article today where Patti said she provided them with a list of 20 songs she wanted to sing.  Production still picked some on their own for her.  They made her do "9 to 5" and "Eye of the Tiger".  

Do you have a link to that Patti Labelle article?

[Zuleikha]

I think her Alone was maybe a little bit better than Rottweiler (again, he puts on a show for the voting audience and that does matter) but once she was there, she lost. Seal (we're done pretending we don't know who that is, right? Now that the judges have named him?) doesn't have Patti's voice, but he puts on a show and he made Don't Cha sound better than the original.

It's so hard because they're all professional singers and so obviously they all have strengths. Also, live performance does translate differently across the TV, so we're not really seeing what the voting is based on.

But I thought both Alone and Grenade were amazing performances. I think Rottweiler had a better song for his voice and performance style, but since I knew Flower was Patti LaBelle, there was also a joy in hearing her absolutely slay a song so outside of her genre. 

Unfortunately, I agree that Seal definitely won the Smackdown. I would not have expected him to do so well with Don't Cha, but it ended up fitting his voice and performance style perfectly. Sadly, Eye of the Tiger was a horrible fit for Patti. 

 all the things he does with his hands (the stereotypical limp wrist etc),

Hasn't Seal always done those types of hand gestures? I rewatched Kissed By A Rose to check my memory on his voice, and I'm pretty sure he was doing the same types of hand gestures. 

[blackwing]

11 minutes ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

Do you have a link to that Patti Labelle article?

Here is the article: https://ew.com/tv/2019/11/20/the-flower-the-masked-singer-patti-labelle/

It's obvious she didn't want to do "Eye of the Tiger" and it's too bad that it contributed to her elimination.

[Was-MArsenault]

Just now, blackwing said:

Here is the article: https://ew.com/tv/2019/11/20/the-flower-the-masked-singer-patti-labelle/

It's obvious she didn't want to do "Eye of the Tiger" and it's too bad that it contributed to her elimination.

Thank you.

[Was-MArsenault]

Some interesting tidbits from that EW article:

• A lot of people were guessing Patti as the Flower.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Were you aware that a lot of people were guessing it was probably you?
PATTI LABELLE: Of course. I can’t go out the house without someone calling me Flower. Oh yeah. They all knew.

• She told 10 to 15 people about it.

How many people around you had to sign the NDA? How many people did you actually tell?
10 to 15. That’s a lot.

• Gladys Knight is mentioned in this part.

Did anyone tell you that you were a guess during the first season?
Yeah, they thought I was Gladys Knight. My girl. We haven’t talked yet since I lost. Now I can talk to her!

• She had to come up with all kinds of lies.

Did you think the clues were just way too easy?
That was one that had my birthday on it. I think it was in the first week. I had gone to the drug store to get a prescription and this guy said, “Okay, Flower.” I said, “What are you talking about?” He said my birthday was in one of the clues. Lord. So there are fans who really know everything about me. I said, “No, sir,” — I see people on the streets and I had to give them all kinds of lies.

• They made her costume a little easier and it was very heavy.

Could you see the judges’ panel in your costume?
They altered the mask and made mine a little easier. I don’t know if it’s because I’m 100 years or what, but they gave more breathing room. My costume was the most livable, from what I understand.

Was it heavy?
Yes, very heavy and the shoes were not Prada. They hurt. The design department had such sweet people. They said, “Well we’ll get you those support shoes if you want.” I said, “No, you’ll have to flower them again with glue and stuff, so I’ll just keep these old clodhoppers.” I was walking hard because they were hurting and my feet were sore but it was a great experience. I really enjoyed doing that.

[vibeology]

1 hour ago, icemiser69 said:

I consider "Eye of the Tiger" a pretty horrible song all on its own.   It was fine in one of the Rocky movies.  I don't think it belongs in a singing competition.

For the right voice and with the right arrangement I think it can be great for a competition. (And I'm not just saying that because it's gotten me a win in a karaoke competition or two.) It's dramatic so the crowd gets into it, cheesy so people have fun and with the original arrangement (or at the very least a longer arrangement than Patti had) it builds to a big climax at the end of each chorus.

Where Patti got screwed was being given 45 seconds or however long for that song. It's just not enough time to do something with that song. If she had 90 seconds, I think she could have beat Seal.

[MissFeatherbottom]

2 hours ago, Jillybean said:

I thought both her song choices were terrible. I don't know if she was just trying to throw the audience off by choosing songs from another genre, but these didn't showcase her voice at all. Had she chosen something more in her wheelhouse, I think she would've breezed through to the next round.

I have to agree with this as well. She is an amazing singer but these songs just did not do her any favors for her at all. I even remember cringing a bit during her performances just because her voice didn't see to fit the songs. 

[blackwing]

48 minutes ago, vibeology said:

For the right voice and with the right arrangement I think it can be great for a competition. (And I'm not just saying that because it's gotten me a win in a karaoke competition or two.) It's dramatic so the crowd gets into it, cheesy so people have fun and with the original arrangement (or at the very least a longer arrangement than Patti had) it builds to a big climax at the end of each chorus.

Where Patti got screwed was being given 45 seconds or however long for that song. It's just not enough time to do something with that song. If she had 90 seconds, I think she could have beat Seal.

Maybe it's just my bias, but I feel like Seal's "Don't Cha" seemed to go on and on forever whereas Patti's was over almost as soon as it started.  I remember thinking his song was way longer than what she was given.

[blackwing]

16 minutes ago, MissFeatherbottom said:

I have to agree with this as well. She is an amazing singer but these songs just did not do her any favors for her at all. I even remember cringing a bit during her performances just because her voice didn't see to fit the songs. 

I actually love what she did with "Alone".  I was expecting to hear something akin to Carrie Underwood (many say this song won her American Idol) but I wasn't expecting the originality.   Like Robin said, it wasn't the same familiar arrangement and I thought this arrangement showcased her talents.

But I agree, a song like Lauren Daigle's "You Say" or the Lewis Capaldi ballad that I am convinced is earmarked for Thingamajig would have been a better choice.  

[BrainyBlonde]

One thing I like about the judges making educated, but wrong, guesses is that it makes me think of possibilities for future seasons. I would LOVE to see Darren Criss on this show. Unfortunately, it looks like he's busy doing Broadway for a while with a new play that opens in the spring. Neil Patrick Harris, Anita Baker, Gavin Rossdale, Fantasia, Paula Abdul, Zooey Deschanel, Donald Glover, and either of the Mowry twins would be fun too!

Bummer that the show won't be on next week because of Thanksgiving.

Sorry to see Miss Patti go, but she was on a tough night with most of the other top contenders. I really feel like song choice and how you perform are almost more important than your voice on this show.

Speaking of performance, I was laughing SO hard at the weirdo dancers who accompanied Leopard for his rendition of "September" that I had tears streaming down my face. What the heck were those guys doing? I've never seen dancing like that in my life and they were really feeling themselves. Hee!

[Guest]

4 hours ago, blackwing said:

I think part of the problem is that they don't explain or show the voting.  If they gave us results it would seem like less of a fix.  The panelists and apparently only the panelists choose who wins each smackdown.

Last season the show runner said that it was 50% audience vote and 50% judges. 

2 hours ago, MissFeatherbottom said:

I have to agree with this as well. She is an amazing singer but these songs just did not do her any favors for her at all. I even remember cringing a bit during her performances just because her voice didn't see to fit the songs. 

Me, too. I love her so I felt bad being so critical.  The same thing happened with Gladys Knight last season but the competition was weaker. 

The singer that tend to excel on shows like those have very versatile voices. This season that’s Fox and Rottweiler.  

[Commando Cody]

I think it's hard to believe that Seal beat Patti. It makes me wonder if some of those who sign on to do this, only agree to a certain number of shows.  Eye Of The Tiger is a terrible song for anyone to have to sing, I thought there would be some consideration towards her first performance.  I didn't think either of Seal's performances were good at all.  

[theatremouse]

I was more annoyed at how they set the head to heads. If the elimination had been out of the worst two of the four from the whole episode, Flower wouldn't even have been in there. But they set it up in advance that either Flower or Rottweiler had to go, and I have no idea what went into that, unless they set this up in brackets at the start to intentionally force an elimination of some of the better performers earlier on.

[Vermicious Knid]

I think all the performers go into this to enjoy themselves and get some screen time in front of millions of viewers. And get a paycheck. The judges are deliberately throwing out wrong guesses because they're there for entertainment, not to actually judge. No one expects this to be a real competition.

First season winner T-Pain had to cancel his tour because of low ticket sales.

[Angeleyes]

11 hours ago, blackwing said:

I also fully agree about the Flamingo.  I don't like her voice either.  The panelists seem determined to bring her to the finals and I wouldn't be surprised if she wins.  I find it interesting that they pulled out all the stops with the confetti for her performance, making it seem like she was being annointed a winner or something.  Robin has seemingly already declared her the winner.

I think it’s because Adrienne is planning to relaunch her professional singing career and I’m wondering if this show will somehow be involved in that, similar to Idol. She was supposed to release music a few years ago, but it never got released once finished. She and her co-hosts on The Real have been dropping some obvious hints. They’ll ask her things like,” Oh Adrienne, when are you going to make music again?” Then she’ll respond, “Hmm, maybe one of these days.” She’s also been wearing a lot of the flamingo’s shade of pink on the show. Her followers on social media even called her out on it and she just told them they were getting crazy with the theories. 

[marykat71702]

Patti's song choice killed her in the smackdown, imo.

I'm on board with Leopard being RuPaul--too many of the clues seem to be pointing at him rather than Seal.

Edited November 22, 2019 by marykat71702
corrected something

[Bali]

23 hours ago, Fukui San said:

Honest question: Do people think this is a sincere competition, or do we think the celebs going in know what their expected time on the show is in advance? Like Patti will say "OK, I'll do this silly show, but I only have so much stamina these days to wear an enormous costume. I'll commit to four episodes, alright?" No one seems unhappy to have been eliminated, and it's never said what people are playing for other than a trophy.

Anyway, Flamingo had a great performance particularly if she isn't a trained singer as has been guessed on this board.

I don't know if the whole thing is rigged. HOWEVER, I do think that Patti Labelle might have given them a time limit. I mean seriously- she went out on the SAME night that Flamingo sang Lady Marmalade? Yeah, that is suspicious. And frankly, I just listened to Patti's version- she's much better.

16 hours ago, BrainyBlonde said:

Speaking of performance, I was laughing SO hard at the weirdo dancers who accompanied Leopard for his rendition of "September" that I had tears streaming down my face. What the heck were those guys doing? I've never seen dancing like that in my life and they were really feeling themselves. Hee!

I try really hard to ignore the background dancers. They tend to be too high school show choir- and not in the good way.

6 hours ago, marykat71702 said:

Patti's song choice killed her in the smackdown, imo.

Yeah, because did you hear what she did after they took that flower head off? She could have done that during the smackdown and walked away.

[Fukui San]

21 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

At the end of the episode in the fine print it says:

"Portions of the program not affecting the outcome have been edited and/or recreated.

All voting was administered by an independent vote tabulation company and monitored by Fox Standards and Practices". 

I love this series and have no reason to believe it isn't on the up and up.

I still would like to know who is making the decision when it comes to who sings what.

Did she make the decision to sing those songs or was she given those songs and told to sing them?

I mean, that disclaimer just says that the votes are counted without shenanigans. But if the split is 50% audience and 50% panelists as has been said, if the panelists know it's the Flower's week to go and all vote that way, then their votes would outweigh the audience easily.

It wouldn't bother me if that's the case. I see this more as an exhibition than a legit game, and having contestants know beforehand how long they'll last may get them celebs who wouldn't be able to commit to a full run.

[Was-MArsenault]

I thought Flower was one of my least favorite performers and I do not know why that is.

[blackwing]

14 hours ago, Angeleyes said:

I think it’s because Adrienne is planning to relaunch her professional singing career and I’m wondering if this show will somehow be involved in that, similar to Idol. She was supposed to release music a few years ago, but it never got released once finished. She and her co-hosts on The Real have been dropping some obvious hints. They’ll ask her things like,” Oh Adrienne, when are you going to make music again?” Then she’ll respond, “Hmm, maybe one of these days.” She’s also been wearing a lot of the flamingo’s shade of pink on the show. Her followers on social media even called her out on it and she just told them they were getting crazy with the theories. 

4 hours ago, Bali said:

I don't know if the whole thing is rigged. HOWEVER, I do think that Patti Labelle might have given them a time limit. I mean seriously- she went out on the SAME night that Flamingo sang Lady Marmalade? Yeah, that is suspicious. And frankly, I just listened to Patti's version- she's much better.

Yeah, because did you hear what she did after they took that flower head off? She could have done that during the smackdown and walked away.

I'm convinced more than ever that the show wants Flamingo to win.  Just like how they wanted T-Pain to win so he could revive his career.  I was trying to figure out why I dislike her so much and I think it's a combination of the judges clearly favoring her as well as the fact that, just like Donny Osmond last season, she just seems so very desperate to win.

The EW article makes it clear that the contestants don't get much say in song choice.  They appear to put forth a list of songs they want to sing.  The show approves or rejects according to whether they can get license or approval.  Then producers give the contestants songs that the producers want them to sing.  

I am certain that production also dictates when each song will be performed.  So yes, I find it particularly grating that they had Flamingo sing "Lady Marmalade" on the same night that Patti was sent home.  They needed Patti to leave.  "See, Flamingo did an amazing job with Patti's song and Patti stunk on 'Eye of the Tiger'."

And yes, after she was unmasked and did her final sing right at that amazing run on "Alone".... she was robbed.

At this point, I will root for anyone but the Flamingo to win.  I'm hoping it's Rottweiler but I'd even root for Thingamajig or Leopard over her.

2 hours ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

I thought Flower was one of my least favorite performers and I do not know why that is.

My kids didn't like her either.  My daughter didn't like her look... she was creeped out by the mask and the black eye holes.  I presume this mask was purposely designed to make it easier for Patti to see.

They also weren't impressed with her voice at all.  My son said she sounds like an old lady.  (She is, but she's still got it!)  They also thought she relied too much on the backing tracks and background vocals to do the singing for her, like on "Cheap Thrills" and "Alone".  I said it was so she could showcase her voice and her runs and high notes.

And they criticized her for just standing there and singing.  I said she's old and she knows her strength and that's her voice.  They also didn't like Gladys last season for much of the same reasons ("she's old and she just stands there").  

Kids these days just have no appreciation for legendary greatness...😞

[Fukui San]

47 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I'm convinced more than ever that the show wants Flamingo to win.  Just like how they wanted T-Pain to win so he could revive his career.  I was trying to figure out why I dislike her so much and I think it's a combination of the judges clearly favoring her as well as the fact that, just like Donny Osmond last season, she just seems so very desperate to win.

The EW article makes it clear that the contestants don't get much say in song choice.  They appear to put forth a list of songs they want to sing.  The show approves or rejects according to whether they can get license or approval.  Then producers give the contestants songs that the producers want them to sing.  

I am certain that production also dictates when each song will be performed.  So yes, I find it particularly grating that they had Flamingo sing "Lady Marmalade" on the same night that Patti was sent home.  They needed Patti to leave.  "See, Flamingo did an amazing job with Patti's song and Patti stunk on 'Eye of the Tiger'."

And yes, after she was unmasked and did her final sing right at that amazing run on "Alone".... she was robbed.

At this point, I will root for anyone but the Flamingo to win.  I'm hoping it's Rottweiler but I'd even root for Thingamajig or Leopard over her.

My kids didn't like her either.  My daughter didn't like her look... she was creeped out by the mask and the black eye holes.  I presume this mask was purposely designed to make it easier for Patti to see.

They also weren't impressed with her voice at all.  My son said she sounds like an old lady.  (She is, but she's still got it!)  They also thought she relied too much on the backing tracks and background vocals to do the singing for her, like on "Cheap Thrills" and "Alone".  I said it was so she could showcase her voice and her runs and high notes.

And they criticized her for just standing there and singing.  I said she's old and she knows her strength and that's her voice.  They also didn't like Gladys last season for much of the same reasons ("she's old and she just stands there").  

Kids these days just have no appreciation for legendary greatness...😞

What do your kids think of Thjngamajig, who also just stands there (for presumably different read than Patti)?

[Angeleyes]

They’re all terrible liars. 

[blackwing]

8 hours ago, Fukui San said:

What do your kids think of Thjngamajig, who also just stands there (for presumably different read than Patti)?

Hah.  They don’t like him either.  They think his singing is mediocre, they think he’s boring and they hate his costume.  My daughter’s favorite is the Rottweiler and my son likes the Rottweiler and the Fox.  
 

They both dislike the Flamingo and the Leopard.

[The Crazed Spruce]

On 11/22/2019 at 3:38 AM, marykat71702 said:

I'm on board with Leopard being RuPaul--too many of the clues seem to be pointing at him rather than Seal.

A lot of Donny Osmond's clues last year pointed to Neil Patrick Harris, probably to throw us off the scent. They could be doing the same thing here.

[CountryGirl]

Leopard is definitely Seal. His voice is very distinctive, especially if you close your eyes and just listen (that's how I figure out a lot of these folks), but you add in things like the "1963" in his clue package (year of his birth) and the four pats he did last night to represent his 4 kids, and it's a no-brainer for me.

To the comment upthread about his dressing up like a female and/or being effeminate, many of the moves he's done on the show are moves he's done before. He can be somewhat theatrical which many singers are. The costuming is two-fold - to throw people off because again, distinctive voice, and also, ironically, to point out he's British and giving a nod to men dressing as women/playing the female parts in Elizabethan England. Makes perfect sense to me.

While I was sad to see Patti go as she has killed it most of the season, including her amazing "Alone," she lost the smackdown. 

[Bali]

Does anyone know if there is a recording of Patti's version of Alone that I could maybe buy?

[blackwing]

2 hours ago, Bali said:

Does anyone know if there is a recording of Patti's version of Alone that I could maybe buy?

I would certainly buy it.  It would be great if the show could get the performers to record a studio version of their performance each week and sell on iTunes.  I'd buy every single one of Patti's performances.  As it is, I've just been wearing out YouTube.  I can't even decide which one is my favourite... they are all great.

I'm biased, but as much as I like the Rottweiler, I think Patti's "Alone" outpowered his "Grenade".  Oh well.  It seemed predestined that she was going to lose, and even she wasn't that disappointed.  She definitely proved that she still has it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljlOzyJsSWw

Not sure if they have had these interviews for others, I haven't looked.

[Eolivet]

On 11/21/2019 at 9:21 PM, theatremouse said:

I was more annoyed at how they set the head to heads. If the elimination had been out of the worst two of the four from the whole episode, Flower wouldn't even have been in there.

I call major shenanigans on face-offs this late in the game. It seems designed to get rid of contestants. Specifically Thingamajig (though he didn't perform this week), who's giving me Dancing with the Stars "audience favorite, despite lack of talent" vibes. That guy will never go home unless it's a face-off. Or it's being set up, Idol-style -- that he sends home a more deserving performer, and the outrage boots him the next week.

I didn't mind the Flower went home this week. Once everyone guesses who the singer is, the show loses its interest for me. It's the mystery, when the judges are truly stumped, that I find it the most fun.

[kassandra8286]

8 hours ago, blackwing said:

'm biased, but as much as I like the Rottweiler, I think Patti's "Alone" outpowered his "Grenade"

Agreed. "Alone" is an excellent showcase for a powerful vocalist but I've never been impressed with any reality show cover version of "Grenade", as much as I like the original. Patti wins that round if I'm voting.

9 hours ago, blackwing said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljlOzyJsSWw

Not sure if they have had these interviews for others, I haven't looked.

I don't know if it's depressing or inspiring to hear that she's 75, lol. She looks amazing. What a class act!

[Guest]

43 minutes ago, Eolivet said:

I call major shenanigans on face-offs this late in the game. It seems designed to get rid of contestants. Specifically Thingamajig (though he didn't perform this week), who's giving me Dancing with the Stars "audience favorite, despite lack of talent" vibes. That guy will never go home unless it's a face-off. Or it's being set up, Idol-style -- that he sends home a more deserving performer, and the outrage boots him the next week.

The bolded can never happen because it’s a different voting audience every episode. Unless people get tickets to multiple tapings the judges are the only ones who have any clue what happened in previous weeks. 

[blackwing]

1 hour ago, Dani said:

The bolded can never happen because it’s a different voting audience every episode. Unless people get tickets to multiple tapings the judges are the only ones who have any clue what happened in previous weeks. 

Last season the entire audience was comprised of friends/family of production staff.  Not sure if it’s the same this season but if it was open to the general public I would assume we would have seen more spoilers, NDAs be damned.  The only spoilers we have seen are from some TV Guide reporter and from the show promos themselves.  

It also seems multiple episodes taped on the same days.  I think we’ve only seen Nicole in three outfits at most and there have been 8 episodes.  Slinky pink dress, slinky white strapless dress, and I want to say some other white dress that has shoulder straps where she puts her hair into a high ponytail?  I could be wrong about the number of tapings.  But I know we’ve seen her in the same clothes on multiple days. 

[Guest]

54 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Last season the entire audience was comprised of friends/family of production staff.  Not sure if it’s the same this season but if it was open to the general public I would assume we would have seen more spoilers, NDAs be damned.  The only spoilers we have seen are from some TV Guide reporter and from the show promos themselves.  

It also seems multiple episodes taped on the same days.  I think we’ve only seen Nicole in three outfits at most and there have been 8 episodes.  Slinky pink dress, slinky white strapless dress, and I want to say some other white dress that has shoulder straps where she puts her hair into a high ponytail?  I could be wrong about the number of tapings.  But I know we’ve seen her in the same clothes on multiple days. 

This season was open to the general public. I know they might film multiple episodes each day but I’m not sure if it’s a different audience for each episode. I’ve seen a few articles and posts from people who were at a taping and they seem to only describe a single episode. 

ETA- I also think the judges must re-wear clothing on different days. Jenny and Nicole are wearing the same dresses in this episode that they wore in the first four. 

The company that fills the audience posted that tickets for season 3 will be available soon. If I remember I’ll check to see how frequently they film. I know from twitter announcements that this season filmed over 5 or 6 weeks. 

Edited November 26, 2019 by Guest

[blackwing]

9 hours ago, Dani said:

This season was open to the general public. I know they might film multiple episodes each day but I’m not sure if it’s a different audience for each episode. I’ve seen a few articles and posts from people who were at a taping and they seem to only describe a single episode. 

ETA- I also think the judges must re-wear clothing on different days. Jenny and Nicole are wearing the same dresses in this episode that they wore in the first four. 

The company that fills the audience posted that tickets for season 3 will be available soon. If I remember I’ll check to see how frequently they film. I know from twitter announcements that this season filmed over 5 or 6 weeks. 

Thanks for the info.  Wow, if it was open to the public, I'm shocked that there haven't been any spoilers from audience members.  Looks to be at least 200 people in the audience... how is it even possible that there have been no spoilers?  I'm sure they all sign NDAs but honestly, how would the production team even know who leaked the info?  Someone who attended a taping could just tell their neighbor who tells a friend who then posts a spoiler on a board like this one.

Not even sure if production would bother to try and enforce an NDA, it's not like there is any money ostensibly at stake here.  Doesn't look like the TV Guide reporter was asked to take down her story which spoiled the final 6.

[roamyn]

Wow, we must be “alone”, but Mr. Roamyn & I thought Patti’s ‘Alone’ SUCKED BIG TIME.

[The Crazed Spruce]

22 hours ago, roamyn said:

Wow, we must be “alone”, but Mr. Roamyn & I thought Patti’s ‘Alone’ SUCKED BIG TIME.

The guitar drowned out her voice. It might've worked if it was a different arrangement, but as it was, it was not a good song choice for her. Probably what cost her the contest.

[galaxychaser]

I knew it was Seal. His voice is so distinctive.

Rottweiler is Chris Daughtry. 

Flower I thought was Macy Gray.

Joel Mchale is better than Ken.