Warning! The following contains spoilers for The Masked Singer's Season 11 episode called "Group A Finals: Queen Night." Read at your own risk!
The Masked Singer team clearly loves its theme nights, and it's rare that the series ever misses the mark. That said, I couldn't help but feel Season 11 disappointed a little with Queen Night, though the letdown is understandable. How, on a night that celebrated the awesome rock band, was "Bohemian Rhapsody" left out of the performances?
It's a song so iconic that the award-winning biopic about the band was named after it, and it's part of the reason why Wayne's World is one of the best movies based on Saturday Night Live characters. It being left out of performances is questionable, to say the least, but also understandable for a few reasons.
Why I Get That No One Sang "Bohemian Rhapsody"
The Masked Singer's Queen night was also the Group A Finals for Season 11, so there was a lot on the line. I can only imagine the pressure of picking a song performed by one of the best modern vocalists in Freddie Mercury, and hoping the audience likes it. Ultimately, Goldfish was the big winner who advanced, with Ugly Sweater being unmasked as singer Charlie Wilson and Starfish being unmasked as Kate Flannery. It was a night that felt like anyone could advance, so I can understand why singing a song as complex as "Bohemian Rhapsody" was a risk no contestant wanted to take.
While I loved Rita Ora's stunning performance during the premiere, which can be streamed with a Hulu subscription, I doubt even she or fellow panelist Robin Thicke had the pipes to do justice to that song. Adam Lambert had time for a cameo in Bohemian Rhapsody, but the current Queen frontman didn't have time to appear to perform this song on The Masked Singer?
The Theme Night Did Nod To The Song In Other Ways
While "Bohemian Rhapsody" was not performed on stage, The Masked Singer did find other ways to pay homage to the song. Galileo (Galileo) came out to deliver a clue, and Ken Jeong's tagline under his title card referred to him as a "Silhouetto of a man." Unfortunately, at no point did he do the fandango, so I do have to subtract points for that.
It's disappointing because The Masked Singer has delivered on wild premises like Harry Potter Night, and I felt like they felt short with a relatively tame premise. Of course, I kind of expected that because I think Season 11 has a major problem in that none of this season's contestants are stand-out excellent singers. At least, not as impressive as some of the ones I've seen from previous seasons, but there's still plenty of time for at least one to step up with a truly show-stopping performance.
The Masked Singer airs on Fox on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. The Group A final is already wrapped up, so be sure to tune in and see who will advance to the Season 11 finale and be crowned the next champion.
