After the runaway success of The Masked Singer, Fox has decided to replicate the formula with the upcoming series The Masked Dancer. For the new project, Fox has brought an OG American Idol judge into the fold – singer and choreographer Paula Abdul. Given the entertainer’s dancer background, not to mention that of fellow co-judge Brian Austin Green, this series is on-brand. But Paula Abdul has already admitted that television audiences will likely never see her utilize those moves on the upcoming show.
Paula Abdul recently interviewed with E!’s Daily Pop to promote The Masked Dancer, which the dancer and singer said she was unfamiliar with until producer Rob Wade approached her to be on the panel. Abdul’s placement is no surprise, given her years as a Laker Girl and choreographer for film, television and music. But Abdul’s famous moves will remain uncaptured by cameras here, as the multi-tainer spoke about pulling out some Seinfeld-inspired moves for audiences with fellow judge Ken Jeong.
This is the truth and I'm not kidding. In between performances when music's playing, they encourage us to get up and dance. So, I got my groove going and I'm moving, I'm on the beat. But then peripherally to the left of me, I see this going on... I see Ken doing crazy stuff. All of a sudden, I start dancing like Elaine from Seinfeld.
Having Abdul as the judge of a dancing show fits more with her rhythm-centric persona than her long and tumultuous run on the rating juggernaut American Idol. While the general public no doubt knows of Abdul’s celebrated music career – shout out to MC Skat Kat – but perhaps fans more attuned to the 1980s and 1990s will remember she made a name for herself choreographing for Michael and Janet Jackson, along with George Michael and Deborah Gibson, among others. She was not a choreographer for Julia Louis-Dreyfus or any other Seinfeld characters, but she apparently picked up some of those moves naturally. Too bad audiences likely won't be able to see them in action.
Paula Abdul even served as a choreographer for films such as Coming to America, American Beauty, as well as for the famous piano scene in 1988’s Big. On top of those accolades, Abdul has won two Primetime Emmy Awards for The Tracey Ullman Show and her American Music Awards performance. If anyone's dancing needs to get showcased on The Masked Dancer, it's probably her. Somebody get this woman a mask!
Abdul’s career has spanned five decades, with her music career lasting from the 1980s into the mid-1990s. Her debut album Forever Your Girl spawned a record-setting four Billboard Hot 100 number singles with two more number ones from her second album Spellbound. Her career yielded multiple awards, including a Grammy for Best Music Video. Could she possibly secure another Emmy for her work on Masked Dancer? It might help if they showed her dancing more.
Along with judging on American Idol and The Masked Dancer, the entertainer has previously been a judge on CBS’s short-lived competition Live to DanceI, along with two other Fox productions – So You Think You Can Dance and the U.S. version of The X-Factor. Abdul is joined on the show’s panel by The Masked Singer’s Ken Jeong, Brian Austin Green and Ashley Tisdale, with comedian Craig Robinson as the host.
You can check out Paula Abdul on The Masked Dancer on Fox when it premieres on Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020, at 8:00 p.m. ET, before moving to its normal Wednesday night time slot. To see what else is coming soon, head to our Fall 2020 TV premiere schedule and our 2021 Winter and Spring TV rundown.
