S05E01: Season 5 Premiere - Return of the Masks

[The Crazed Spruce]

Quote

Group A performs as guest host Niecy Nash takes the stage, along with panelists Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke.

 

[mtlchick]

Jenny “I’m not saying Adam Carrolla, I say it’s Ted Cruz!” 
 

Then it turns out to be Kermit The Frog. Talk about a leap in guessing. 

Edited March 11, 2021 by mtlchick

[The Crazed Spruce]

Okay, I get that the societal norm is to pretend that the Muppets are actual people, and to ignore the puppeteers that perform them. But what the actual fuck was that?

[dizzyd]

I liked the 1st episode till the reveal. That was wtf! And we gave to continue with Racoon, why?!

[JustDucky]

12 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

Jenny “I’m not saying Adam Carroll’s, I say it’s Ted Cruz!” 
 

Then it turns out to be Kermit The Frog. Talk about a leap in guessing. 

I see what you did there.

[Lilac2000]

Awww I thought Kermit was a pretty cute reveal. It would have been dumb if he lasted for weeks but for the first show it was silly fun. 

Going with Gary Busey for Raccoon but no idea on the rest.

[vibeology]

The thirteen year old girl in me jumped out with those Russian Dolls. That’s Hanson. I am so sure. But I’ve been sure and wrong before. That sounded like three part harmony.

And the Robo-Pine gave me Jesse L Martin vibes with that call from an Angel but he’d be too young based on that age. So back to square one.

I hate the Raccoon. It sounds like they’re damaging their voice when they sing.

As for the Kermit reveal, I loved it. I love Kermit the Frog so much. I’m glad it didn’t go on for weeks but one night is fun.

[Ananayel]

My show is back! I love the Muppets, Kermit is awesome, and that was a fun way to get people interested without a better performer (not Raccoon!) going home. I also think Raccoon is Busey, and hope he goes next time. The costume department really got creative this time!

[Toonces464]

1 hour ago, Lilac2000 said:

Going with Gary Busey for Raccoon but no idea on the rest.

I don't know why but my first thought was David Lee Roth.

[LadyNebula]

I was offended when they threw out Sammy Hagar's name for Raccoon. Sammy Hagar can sing!  I think it's Danny Trejo. 

Edited March 11, 2021 by LadyNebula

[Spencer Hastings]

3 hours ago, vibeology said:

The thirteen year old girl in me jumped out with those Russian Dolls. That’s Hanson. I am so sure. But I’ve been sure and wrong before. That sounded like three part harmony.

I would bet everything I own that you’re not wrong.  I’m so sure that I couldn’t decide if this needed a spoiler tag.

 I mean I could be wrong too, but I’d be embarrassed if I saw them in concert 63 times and still got it wrong. 

Edited March 11, 2021 by Spencer Hastings

[MsTree]

Ok, that was fucked up. Who's next? Lamb Chop?

[Spartan Girl]

I KNEW it was Kermit because it sounded so much like his new voice, but my mom was all “No it can’t be him.” Glad I was right and that it wasn’t Ted Cruz *shudder*

[Seamie]

9 hours ago, LadyNebula said:

I was offended when they threw out Sammy Hagar's name for Raccoon. Sammy Hagar can sing!  I think it's Danny Trejo. 

I think it's Danny Trejo also. The clues fit. I blanked and couldn't think of his name, and started yelling, "That's Machete!"

[Ananayel]

Yeah, that was not Hagar. I could see Danny Trejo as the Raccoon, I think David Lee Roth, while his voice is pretty toast right now, would have had more of the frontman energy than the Raccoon had. Also, weren't a bunch of the clues about Texas for Raccoon? I'm old and I can't remember. I still can't get over how adorable it was to see the tiny green hands grip the sides of the Snail. 

[blackwing]

I think the Seashell is Squinty McSquint herself... Renee Zellweger.  We were told that the contestants this year include four Academy Award nominations.  She has four (with two wins).  She said she "hasn't sung in a while"... since "Chicago".  There was a photo of a hotdog in the clue package which could be a reference to Chicago.  As well as a Western theme (she is from Texas).  SeaSHELL, Renee ZELLweger rhymes.  Plus it sounds like her.

I recall her famously declining to sing a duet with The Zeta at the Oscars (Queen Latifah sang her part instead) because she made up some excuse about being too nervous.  I think this show would be a perfect vehicle to get over any stage fright (if she has any anymore) especially since there is no audience.

[littleone]

2 hours ago, Ananayel said:

Yeah, that was not Hagar. I could see Danny Trejo as the Raccoon, I think David Lee Roth, while his voice is pretty toast right now, would have had more of the frontman energy than the Raccoon had. Also, weren't a bunch of the clues about Texas for Raccoon? I'm old and I can't remember. I still can't get over how adorable it was to see the tiny green hands grip the sides of the Snail. 

I thought it was Dog the Bounty Hunter.  He can't sing either and wears a badge 

[blackwing]

58 minutes ago, littleone said:

I thought it was Dog the Bounty Hunter.  He can't sing either and wears a badge 

I thought it was Dog the Bounty Hunter too!  He's exactly the kind of "aged TV star who used to have a hit show" they would cast on this.

[MrsEVH]

15 hours ago, Toonces464 said:

I don't know why but my first thought was David Lee Roth.

That would be cool if it was him. Loved it when Bret Michaels was on. Would like to see another rocker do the show.; 

[tennisgurl]

I might have actually clapped when Kermit popped out of that snail, that is the kind of silliness I enjoy in the first few eliminations. You always have a few people that are not really great at singing but are having a ton of fun hamming it up and they show up for the first episode or two then peace out. The snail being Kermit the Frog is maybe the most hilarious early reveal yet. I thought it was cute. I was rather surprised that racoon wasnt the first one gone, I thought Snail sounded better, Racoon sounded like he was in pain singing that hard. 

I like Danny Trejo as the Racoon. He isnt a singer, has a raspy voice, and the backstory about doing prison time fits too. 

So close Jenny, you were almost there...

Edited March 12, 2021 by tennisgurl

[retired watcher]

Right now I'm thinking the Robo Pine could be Christopher Jackson. I loved Kermit popping out.

[mtlchick]

11 hours ago, Seamie said:

I think it's Danny Trejo also. The clues fit. I blanked and couldn't think of his name, and started yelling, "That's Machete!"

Entertainment Weekly wrote an article thinking the same. https://ew.com/tv/the-masked-singer-who-is-raccoon-celebrity-clues/

[OtterMommy]

I was pretty impressed that my 10 year old guessed Kermit in about 10 seconds....

[BoogieBurns]

22 hours ago, LadyNebula said:

I was offended when they threw out Sammy Hagar's name for Raccoon. Sammy Hagar can sing!  I think it's Danny Trejo. 

Trejo is Raccoon. 

1 hour ago, retired watcher said:

Right now I'm thinking the Robo Pine could be Christopher Jackson. I loved Kermit popping out.

My same guess!

Funny enough, I thought snail was Kenan because when he sings in sketches, he makes his voice all kermit-y

[BoogieBurns]

My 9 year old self identified the Hanson bros in about 10 seconds. They have these crisp falsettos and such strong harmonies. Also the clues fit, except I still want to know where 15 fits in, very possible that's the number of Hanson's now. They are all married with decent quantities of children. I was listening with my eyes closed and I could tell Taylor's voice from his bros. It literally felt like I was in a time machine.

The three of them have 15 kids!!!

Edited March 12, 2021 by BoogieBurns

[Commando Cody]

I think Robo Pine is D.B. Woodside.

I haven’t liked Kermit since the first replacement voice.  I wished they had retired Kermit after Jim Henson died.  I would have never recognized his current voice.  I found it disappointing that there wasn’t a real person.  Although, I couldn’t figure out how a real person would have been crammed into the costume.  It would have been terribly unconfortable.  

[Maverick]

 I'm pretty sure there was a real person in the costume.   Unless they pulled an animatronic Kermit from Disney World.  Puppeteers are used to crouching down / into tight places for their performances.  

[Rickster]

5 hours ago, Maverick said:

 I'm pretty sure there was a real person in the costume.   Unless they pulled an animatronic Kermit from Disney World.  Puppeteers are used to crouching down / into tight places for their performances.  

Absolutely. That's why the costume was the odd shape of a snail, so there was room for a puppeteer.

We spend a lot of time googling the heights of some of the guesses relative to the height of the host. For reference, Niecy Nash is supposed to be 5'4".

[Bali]

On 3/11/2021 at 7:45 AM, Spartan Girl said:

I KNEW it was Kermit because it sounded so much like his new voice, but my mom was all “No it can’t be him.” Glad I was right and that it wasn’t Ted Cruz *shudder*

I'm not very familiar with Kermit's new voice, so to me, it just sounds wrong

[Kromm]

Since they're not going to ditch Nick, and I'd like to keep Niecy, can't we just ditch the crazy blond antivaxer and put Niecy in THAT seat? 

[blackwing]

1 hour ago, Bali said:

I'm not very familiar with Kermit's new voice, so to me, it just sounds wrong

I don't care for Kermit's new voice either.  There was one point where I thought the performance sounded like a Kermit the Frog impression, and when he was revealed, I still didn't think it sounded like Kermit.  The singer in the band on "Name That Tune" did a better Kermit when he sang "Rainbow Connection".

1 hour ago, Kromm said:

Since they're not going to ditch Nick, and I'd like to keep Niecy, can't we just ditch the crazy blond antivaxer and put Niecy in THAT seat? 

I loved Niecy.  She was a great host.  She was funny and she was everything that Nick Cannon is not.  Nick tries to make everything about himself (the stupid capes, the turbans, Mariah Carey, whenever the performer is obviously a black woman he always has to say something about how they like his butt).  Niecy was funny without doing any of that.  Keep Niecy and get rid of Nick.

[CountryGirl]

Possibly UO but while I wish Nick a swift recovery, is it wrong if I'd like Niecy to keep hosting?

[realdancemom]

19 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I might have actually clapped when Kermit popped out of that snail, that is the kind of silliness I enjoy in the first few eliminations. You always have a few people that are not really great at singing but are having a ton of fun hamming it up and they show up for the first episode or two then peace out. The snail being Kermit the Frog is maybe the most hilarious early reveal yet. I thought it was cute. I was rather surprised that racoon wasnt the first one gone, I thought Snail sounded better, Racoon sounded like he was in pain singing that hard. 

I like Danny Trejo as the Racoon. He isnt a singer, has a raspy voice, and the backstory about doing prison time fits too. 

So close Jenny, you were almost there...

I like the Kermit reveal.  Although, I only know Kermit's original voice since I haven't watched Sesame Street since I was a kid.  So I didn't guess that it was him.

I thought the Raccoon was horrible and should have been the one to go.  I don't know who Danny Trejo is so I thought Gary Busey only because he's messed up and didn't think he had a good voice.

Hanson for the Russian dolls.  Seashell is not Kristin Chenoweth because her voice is more powerful than the shell's.  Kristin also has a nasally sound when she sings which is why I don't like her voice even though I realize she's a lot more talented than me.

[Commando Cody]

I wasn’t too sure about Niecy Nash hosting.  She was carried out on a throne, like Madonna at the Super Bowl.  I thought she was going to be obnoxious.  

It turned out that I really liked her.  She was a good choice for a host.  I hope they keep her.

What is going on with Nick Cannon?

[vibeology]

34 minutes ago, realdancemom said:

Seashell is not Kristin Chenoweth because her voice is more powerful than the shell's.  Kristin also has a nasally sound when she sings which is why I don't like her voice even though I realize she's a lot more talented than me.

Also she is tiny. Much shorter than Seashell. The costumes can cover some height but they can't cover up just how tiny she is.

[Ananayel]

Nick contracted Covid right as filming was about to start, I believe. I don't know when he might be returning, he does have some existing medical conditions that might mean he has a longer road of it.

[Kromm]

4 hours ago, Commando Cody said:

I wasn’t too sure about Niecy Nash hosting.  She was carried out on a throne, like Madonna at the Super Bowl.  I thought she was going to be obnoxious.  

It turned out that I really liked her.  She was a good choice for a host.  I hope they keep her.

What is going on with Nick Cannon?

Niecy is, and always has been, great. I think she gets confused with other far less talented people for some reason. 

[Meedis]

I liked Niecy as the guest host.    Hopefully she'll come be back.

The Raccoon I thought was giving me a Rod Stewart vibe.    Robo-pine made me think of Eddie Murphy and Eddie is turning 60 next month (even though yes it was filmed months in advance).    The others I have no clue.    

I'm guessing "The Snail" was meant to be a one-time only stunt elimination.   Hopefully there's no more fictional characters in play.

And is the Russian Doll two people?  More?   Not unprecedented I guess with the Owls from last season.   I'm confused there.

[retired watcher]

23 hours ago, retired watcher said:

Right now I'm thinking the Robo Pine could be Christopher Jackson. I loved Kermit popping out.

Oops. I didn't remember the 60 year old clue.

 

[dargosmydaddy]

15 hours ago, Meedis said:

And is the Russian Doll two people?  More? 

It was clearly more than one person singing, and the bigger "doll" has room for more than one person inside of it. The brother trio Hanson seems to be garnering a lot of guesses.

[VartanFan]

On 3/11/2021 at 1:15 AM, Spencer Hastings said:

I would bet everything I own that you’re not wrong.  I’m so sure that I couldn’t decide if this needed a spoiler tag.

 I mean I could be wrong too, but I’d be embarrassed if I saw them in concert 63 times and still got it wrong. 

I think the producers were smart with this performance because they didn’t let Taylor wail.  Zac starts it out and what clinched it for me is when Isaac came in as the second ‘doll’.  Taylor only comes in on the chorus, I believe, but I think Taylor is actually the one whose feet we see with the dance moves.  

ETA - what has Jenny done to her teeth between Seasons 4 and 5? I spent most of my time watching her mouth move and being alarmed by it.  

Edited March 14, 2021 by VartanFan

[BoogieBurns]

On 3/14/2021 at 9:49 AM, VartanFan said:

I think the producers were smart with this performance because they didn’t let Taylor wail.  Zac starts it out and what clinched it for me is when Isaac came in as the second ‘doll’.  Taylor only comes in on the chorus, I believe, but I think Taylor is actually the one whose feet we see with the dance moves.  

I didn't know how much I missed Hanson until I heard them sing. They were right before all the Lou Perlman over produced boybands (which I also loved, I am a millennial!) and their indie sound wasn't hip at the time. Now it feels like a nice hug. 

[SunnyBeBe]

What night does this normally come on?

[The Crazed Spruce]

7 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

What night does this normally come on?

Wednesday.

[mtlchick]

On 3/14/2021 at 10:49 AM, VartanFan said:

 

ETA - what has Jenny done to her teeth between Seasons 4 and 5? I spent most of my time watching her mouth move and being alarmed by it.  

She and Donnie got veneers over the summer. If you think hers are distracting, you should see his. It’s Ross from Friends level bright. 

[marriedaniac]

When Snail sang I thought, "That sounds like Seth MacFarlane doing his Kermit the Frog voice." So I was half right.

Also, I loved that costume and didn't want it to go. lol

[dvr devotee]

I just watched the first two episodes tonight.

For Raccoon, I thought Danny Trejo from the clue package, but Trejo doesn't walk like a geriatric quite yet, and I just can't see Danny Trejo screeching like that. I'm not saying I think he'd be a great singer, but I feel like he'd give a better performance, one that didn't include blowing out my eardrums. But I could 100% see that being Gary Busey. And I was personally offended on behalf of Sammy Hagar for that guess. Though I haven't checked in on him in probably 25 years, I can't imagine Hagar's voice has been so decimated since then that he can barely even screech on-key.

I loved Seashell, what a beautiful voice. Honestly it sounded a little Lea Michelle-ish to me, but she's mostly known for Glee (and Spring Awakenings on Broadway before that), so "I was a singer back in the day" would be really disingenuous coming from her. The Kristin Chenoweth guess had me in danger of straining my eyeballs from the rolling. First, Kristin has an extremely distinctive tone, and, second, just like Lea, I would never say that she put singing aside to focus on other career paths. I think the last thing I even saw Kristin in was a country music Christmas show, so...just...no. And, again, like Lea, Kristin has Broadway roots. So...no.

I wasn't mad at the Hillary Duff guess, but I just had another thought: that could be Mandy Moore. She started out at about 16 as a pop singer (my fellow Xennials will recall "Candy" for the absolute bop that it was back in like 1999), but she pivoted to acting with A Walk to Remember, and, though she sang in that movie and has sang in a few movies she's been in since, I'd definitely put her down as an actress at this point. Though she did just release a new Christmas song this past year.

Robopine is incredible, though I have no idea who he is. I thought Jamie Foxx could definitely fit, but he's 53, not 60.

Russian Dolls were great, though I wish the speculation of who it is hadn't been kinda spoiled for me before the season started, because it certainly does sound like Hanson. I wonder if they will finally split into three dolls when Group A next performs.

I also had Kermit's reveal spoiled for me, though how anyone could have heard anything but Kermit the Frog's voice under there, I don't even know. Kermit was leaps and bounds better than Raccoon, but I guess it's probably better to keep the rest of the competition to real humans.

So Raccoon will be cannon fodder for the next Group A episode. But I think it's a toss-up between the other three of which two go on to the combined top 6 show. At this point I'd bet on Seashell. Russian Dolls definitely have the talent to secure a spot, but it'll depend on what else Robopine comes out with. He's a totally unknown quantity at this point.

All in all, not a terrible premiere episode.

[BoogieBurns]

On 3/23/2021 at 9:14 PM, dvr devotee said:

that could be Mandy Moore

She was 8 months pregnant during filming of this season. 

On 3/23/2021 at 9:14 PM, dvr devotee said:

Russian Dolls were great, though I wish the speculation of who it is hadn't been kinda spoiled for me before the season started, because it certainly does sound like Hanson. I wonder if they will finally split into three dolls when Group A next performs.

They will split into 4, is my guess! The secret 4th brother (the Randy Jackson or Frankie Jonas of their family). Because they have 15 kids only when they include brother #4. Fifteen was mentioned a lot in the first package. 

[iwantcookies]

The Russian dolls are definitely Hanson.