Warning! The following contains spoilers for The Masked Singer's Group B finals. Read at your own risk!
The Masked Singer knocked two singers out of its Group B Finals, and there was quite a big surprise in the night. The first elimination saw the reveal of NBA pro Lonzo Ball being unmasked as Watchamacallit, but that wasn't the big shock of the evening for me. That came when The Serpent was unmasked, and it was revealed that Nicole Scherzinger was right. Dr. Elvis Francois was under the mask, and he's someone I did not know until watching The Masked Singer.
For anyone else who may not know, Dr. Elvis came into prominence early into 2020, when lockdowns were really rolling out nationwide. Dr. Elvis did live performances at hospitals and posted videos on the internet, and became a viral sensation in the process. He got recognition for his efforts to help raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Ken Jeong gave a real tear-jerking speech about how his version of "Imagine" really helped get some people through this hard year.
I thought Dr. Elvis could be a blind spot in my pop culture bubble, but after some browsing on his social media and YouTube channel, I discovered the "Imagine" video is under a million views in separate uploads on a couple of different platforms. Of course, Dr. Elvis got a healthy boost from the talk show circuit around the time that the pandemic lockdowns first started, so I won't say he's obscure. I will say he's absolutely the least famous person to appear on The Masked Singer, and I question the show's decision in choosing him as a contestant.
Truth be told, I knew there was a ceiling for just how famous a celebrity could be to appear on The Masked Singer, but the latest episode has now shown me I also have a minimal expectation for how famous a person should be. Dr. Elvis Francois only rose into prominence within the year, and as I touched on above, he's on the lower end of viral sensations.
Just to put him up against another person who appeared on The Masked Singer whose fame exists mainly on the internet, compare his Instagram to Ninja. There was a group of people unsure of who Ninja was during his reveal, and he has 14.6 million followers on Instagram alone. Dr. Elvis in comparison has 264k, which is far more than I'll ever have, but I'm not on The Masked Singer.
In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that I had seen Dr. Elvis on After The Mask, the post-show of The Masked Singer, when he was on last season, I wouldn't have known him. This somehow made the reveal less satisfying as a viewer. This time around I felt like I was just shown a person who could sing, and felt like I would've never guessed his identity because he wasn't someone instantly recognizable. It wasn't a satisfying feeling, which is why I'm hoping The Masked Singer aims a little higher with talent in the future when casting.
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