Season 9 Review

After Season 8 had saved the show, I had high expectations for Season 9, to see if it would continue to build off the momentum the previous season had created. When they announced the premiere date for Season 9, as well as several other details, I was excited and a little concerned. It was announced that it was going to premiere on February 15, which was not only earlier than usual, but it also hadn’t been taped yet and it was only a month away. Typically, they start taping the show two months in advance, and finish one month before it’s scheduled to premiere. I became a bit more concerned when the list of accolades among all the contestants was released, as it was said that all the contestants combined had a total of six Grammy wins and ten gold albums, which felt small to me. While it also said that all the contestants had sold millions of records, it did have me worried as to how many actual singers were going to be part of the season. What also had me concerned was that as we got closer to the premiere, we had almost no information about the season, and very few contestants had been officially revealed. 

A few days before the season premiered, a performance from the first episode was released, and it was the Mustang singing “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake. When I played it for my dad, we both knew that we were in for a great season. Around the same time, a trailer for the season premiere was released, and it teased the biggest reveal of the entire show, with Nick Cannon saying that it was a person who has won an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony, with all the judges in amazement at what they were witnessing, and Nicole even getting emotional by the reveal. From this information, people on Reddit were able to figure out that the celebrity they were talking about was none other than Dick Van Dyke. When the season premiered, the predictions on Reddit turned out to be correct, and the first unmasking of the season was Dick Van Dyke. What was great about this unmasking was that they kept the new twist where the celebrity sings the song they’re famous for once they get unmasked, and we got to hear him sing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," from “Mary Poppins,” and he even danced a little bit, which is incredible because at the time he was 97 years old. 

Following this, the rest of the season was great, but there were still some flaws with it, as with any other season. The format from the previous season returned, so some contestants that could have gone far any other season, like Sara Evans, Debbie Gibson, Lele Pons, Holly Robinson Peete, and Alicia Witt, were eliminated after one or two episodes. However, they still gave great performances during their time on the show. There were also three contestants this season who were terrible. They were Grandmaster Flash, a DJ who was one of the pioneers of hip hop, who chose to sing “Rapture” by Blondie in a weird falsetto, George Wendt, and especially Howie Mandel. However, each of these contestants had some entertaining aspects to their time on the show, as after he was unmasked, Grandmaster Flash scratched along to “Good Times” by Chic, which is the DJ technique he is most famous for, George Wendt sat down for his performance on a rotating platform, and Howie Mandel ran off the stage at the end of his performance.

There were also great moments of singers performing songs that they would not otherwise sing. One example of this is with Michael Bolton singing “Break on Through (To the Other Side)” by The Doors. What was also memorable about his time on the show was the fact that he didn’t even walk out to the stage, instead just magically appearing, and that he stood still for his entire performance. Another example of this is with Dee Snider, who did a great job singing “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds. 

Like with other seasons, there were several examples of celebrities not known for singing that are great at it. One celebrity that I feel deserves to be mentioned is actor Lou Diamond Phillips, simply for his range in his performances. He started off with a great performance of “Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Seger, then sang “(I’ve Got A) Golden Ticket” in a completely different sounding voice in Broadway style, then gave another great performance of “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks, where he changed his voice again. Once he was unmasked, he gave the greatest unmasked performance the show has had so far, as since he is best known for playing Ritchie Valens, he gave an impressive performance of “La Bamba.” I remember when this first aired, my dad said that after that performance, the show had earned a tenth season, and I agreed with him. 

The final four contestants of the season were also great. Olivia Culpo is another example of a celebrity not known for singing that is great at it, and she gave an amazing performance of “Yellow” by Coldplay. Pentatonix is one of the best group contestants the show has ever had, as their harmonies are incredible, even when they are in costumes and can’t see each other, and their unmasked performance was also great, as we got to see a full performance from them and what their harmonies look like. David Archuleta is also one of the best singers the show has had, as he performed several songs where he got to show off his voice like “Your Song” by Elton John and “All by Myself” by Eric Carmen. The winner of the season was Bishop Briggs, who is in my opinion, one of the best contestants the show has ever had. What I liked about her is that she is not a traditional pop singer, as she does a lot of belting in her singing, always showing off how much power she has in her voice. She also performed some songs in ways that nobody else has performed them, like a slowed down version of “New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra and a version of “Dancing Queen” by ABBA where she showed off the power in her voice. I remember when I first heard her sing, me and my parents were all amazed by this person that we didn’t know but had such an amazing voice. 

I hope you all enjoyed my review of Season 9, and I’ll see you all soon with another post!