Spoilers ahead for the Season 4 premiere of The Masked Singer on Fox.
The Masked Singer made its way back to the small screen for its fourth season despite coronavirus complications, drama behind-the-scenes involving host Nick Cannon, and a very different television landscape with the pandemic playing a role in many series. The Masked Singer decided to more or less ignore the pandemic during episodes to provide an escape for viewers, and the changes made for the sake of safety on set didn't detract from all the craziness fans have come to expect from the show.
The Season 4 premiere delivered some killer performances from The Sun, The Dragon, Popcorn, Giraffe, and the Snow Owls. Sun and Popcorn in particular blew the judges' minds right out of the gate, and the Snow Owls delivered the first-ever duet of the series. Unfortunately for The Dragon, audiences were less impressed with him compared to the others, and he was unmasked to reveal his identity as none other than the legendary Busta Rhymes.
Now, in the aftermath of the first five performances and the first Season 4 elimination, let's take a look at some questions worth asking following the premiere.
Is The Voting Fair?
The voting for Season 4 is arguably the biggest change that could have the most significant impact. In the first three seasons, the singers' fates were decided by the votes of a large studio audience as well as the judges, and they experienced the performances and competitors' stage presence differently live than viewers did from home. (Case in point: Frog lasting for as long as he did.) Season 4 voting falls partly on the small number of viewers in the studio audience, but mostly on virtual viewers. Is the new system of voting fair compared to previous seasons?
Will The Clues Get Harder?
While the judges (especially Ken Jeong) may be regularly stumped by the clue packages on The Masked Singer, viewers on social media are rarely surprised by the celebrity singer reveals. The Season 4 premiere clues didn't seem much more mysterious than those from the first three seasons, but it's also pretty early to assume that Season 4 will be more of the same. In fact, Fox Entertainment President of Alternative Entertainment and Specials Rob Wade explained to Deadline that the celebrities will perform fewer times, which should make "the guessing more challenging" with fewer clues to go on. Will the clues get harder, or just be fewer and farther between?
What Are The Snow Owls' Chances?
Season 4 of The Masked Singer will feature a duo of celebrity singers sharing the stage for the first time ever. The Snow Owls will perform as a pair, and I'm not sure this will be an advantage. They're positioned in a nest, which means no dancing or really even moving. If they're siblings, as some of the judges suspect, that presumably rules out a lot of popular love and/or heartbreak songs. They also seem to have distinct personalities, which could backfire the longer they have to perform together. That said, they bring some spectacle to go with their standout voices, so I can see them sticking around.
Will Judges' First Impression Guesses Be Correct?
One big change for The Masked Singer Season 4 tasks judges Ken Jeong, Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke, and Jenny McCarthy with trying to identify contestants based only on their very first impressions, with the Golden Ear trophy at stake. Some of the guesses are bound to be wildly off, especially with Jeong on board, and a lot can change between a performer's first song and their last, depending on how long they last before being eliminated. Will the judges be right on a regular basis, or will the fight for the Golden Ear be kind of lackluster? Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke are both tied at one, both having correctly guessed Busta Rhymes.
Catch new episodes of The Masked Singer Season 4 airing Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. For some additional viewing options as 2020 winds down, check out our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule!
