Tonight The Masked Dancer premiered and proved to be a fun follow-up to The Masked Singer. With the first five of this season's ten dancers showing their moves, fans have already begun guessing which anonymous celebrities might be behind the masks.
Host Craig Robinson of The Office was joined by the show's four celebrity panelists. A familiar face to The Masked Singer fans is Ken Jeong. Coming over to The Masked Dancer following his own appearance on The Masked Singer is Beverly Hills, 90210 star Brian Austin Green. The panel is rounded out by two women who are no strangers to dancing. A dancer herself, 90s pop star Paula Abdul is the show's third panelist. Last but not least is expectant mother and High School Musical star Ashley Tisdale.
The season started out with some great clues about the masked dancers. Between them they have 38 million albums sold, 20 Emmy wins, 23 World Championship Titles, and 4 Olympic Gold medals. While it may be challenging to identify the Masked Dancers on moves alone, they have given fans an additional clue they don't get on The Masked Singer by allowing them to speak one word, called the "word up," in their own voice. After their performances, the party was over for Disco Ball, who received the fewest votes and was unmasked to reveal rapper and Law and Order: SVU actor Ice T.
HAMMERHEAD
Song: "Everybody" by Backstreet Boys
Clues: The first visual clue showed a burger, soup with the word talk spelled out, shredded carrots, and a "joe" coffee cup with a sugar cube. Hammerhead spoke of getting famous too quickly and how it felt great at first, but it soon started to feel like the best moments were behind him. He mentioned how he shifted from who he was to who people wanted him to be. He was shown painting and surfing with a board with the letter" c" on it. His costume looks like a lifeguard-style outfit and includes gold and silver grills and a gold chain that says Hammer Time. A clock was shown counting up from 6:01-05. There were also partying clues.
Word Up: Dramatic
Judges' Guesses: Carrot Top, Joe Jonas, Zac Efron
Early Prediction: Jersey Shore's Vinny Guadagnino
TULIP
Song: "Fergalicious" by Fergie
Clues: Visuals included an alarm that said tick-tock, a cereal box labeled mini seeds with 11 vitamins and minerals, a Mount Laurel school diploma, and what appeared to be mac and cheese. There were clues showing glee club and acrobatics club. She said her confidence tumbled after being teased growing up. She was shown clicking red shoes together three times, as in The Wizard of Oz. She mentioned stranger things and said we are all in this together while a rainbow was shown.
Word Up: Triple
Judges' Guesses: Charlie D'Amelio, Heather Morris, Ariana Grande
Early Prediction: Laurie Hernandez
CRICKET
Song: "Jump (For My Love)" by The Pointer Sisters
Clues: Cricket said he never thought he'd do a dancing show. There were lots of Las Vegas-themed clues, including a jackpot of 90,210,000. He mentioned saying he felt like he was getting Punk'd. The number 12 was shown. He spoke of love at first sight and thinking he had hit the jackpot with his new love. He called them a power couple and said he was her rock and she was his apprentice. Four aces were shown, as well as a winning slot pull of x10 three times.
Word Up: Accomplished
Judges' Guesses: Jim Carrey, Ryan Reynolds, Ian Ziering, Ashton Kutcher
Early Prediction: Dax Shepard
DISCO BALL
Song: "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
Clues: He said people think they know everything about him. Visual clues included a bone with the letter "J" on it, a shark fin, a glass of iced tea, and a gavel. There was also an eagle shown and he made a military salute in his performance.
Word Up: Grammy
Judges' Guesses: MC Hammer, LL Cool J, Smokey Robinson
Revealed To Be: Ice T
EXOTIC BIRD
Song: "Con Calma" by Daddy Yankee ft Katy Perry
Clues: There were visual clues that included a track, the number 17, a starting gun with a "bang" flag, a venus fly trap, best by '07 on a carton of eggs, cooking clues, and a broken egg. She said she had been attacked in the past for losing, for relationships, and even for her size.
Word Up: Score
Judges' Guesses: Venus Williams, Hope Solo, Jennifer Hudson
Early Prediction: Hope Solo
The Masked Dancer airs Wednesdays at 8 pm ET on Fox.