The Semifinals

After an amazing Quarterfinals last week, it was time for The Semifinals! As we had three amazing contestants still in the competition, my expectations were high for the episode. This episode was also two hours long, as the first hour was The Road to the Semifinals. While these types of episodes are typically uneventful and can easily be skipped without missing anything, I always watch them because I like to see every episode, it’s nice getting a reminder of everything that has happened in the season so far, and there was also going to be some additional performances and clues, and I knew that I wanted to see them. The additional performances were all great, even though they were interspliced with audio of the panelists complimenting them throughout the season. For Goldfish’s additional performance, she sang “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green, during which she showed off the beautiful tone she has in her voice. For Gumball’s additional performance, he sang “Go the Distance” by Michael Bolton, during which he showed off how much power he has in his voice. What I also found cool about this performance was that it was a performance of a Disney song, as the song is originally from the movie “Hercules.” For Clock’s additional performance, she sang “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge, during which she showed how much power she has in her voice as well. Additional clues included a raccoon for The Goldfish, a wolf for The Gumball, and a cat for The Clock.

After the first hour, it was time for The Semifinals to officially begin! The episode started off the same way as all the group finals this season, which was a group performance with the three remaining contestants. I am a fan of these group performances, as it gives all three contestants a chance to stand out together, and this one was no exception. They all performed “Higher Love” by Whitney Houston and Kygo, and they all showed off their own unique vocal abilities. After that, Nick said that the blue button from the previous week was back in play for this episode, and that when pressed, another clue would be delivered in the form of an Amazon delivery. Then, it was time for the first contestant of the night, which was The Gumball. In his clue package, he talked about how becoming The Gumball allowed him to tap into his roots and do something he has loved from the start, which is singing. Music was his first love, but when he moved to Hollywood, he had to give up that part of himself in order to be taken seriously. He then said that Hollywood is like a gumball machine, in that people put a quarter in you and take a piece of you that they want. While he is grateful for his life, being on The Masked Singer has helped him take his quarter back and let him do what he loves for a change. He then said that he wants his kids to see that their dad never said no to an adventure, and that he wishes the same for them. He then went on to give an amazing performance of “I Lived” by OneRepublic, during which he showed off the power in his voice and his belting ability. During the performance, one of the dancers on the stage turned the crank on the costume and a gumball fell into the dispenser, which he then threw into the audience, which I thought was funny. For each contestant that night, there was a super clue that was described as the easiest clue of the season. For The Gumball, a cheerleader came out and started leading the audience in a cheer. Gumball then said that hearing the cheers reminded him of a role that changed his life forever. These clues have continued to confirm that The Gumball is actor and singer Scott Porter. The wolf is referring to his role as the voice of White Wolf in “Avengers Assemble,” and him saying that the show helped him take his quarter back, the cheerleader, and him talking about a role that changed his life forever are all referring to his starring role on “Friday Night Lights.” When the panelists were making their guesses, I laughed after Rita made her guess because she guessed one of Scott Porter’s costars on “Friday Night Lights,” which is something that has happened several times in the past with other contestants like Brian Austin Green, Janel Parrish, Joe Bastianich, and Chrissy Metz.

The second contestant of the night was The Clock. In her clue package, she said that being in The Semifinals was a statement for her because she is not as young as she used to be, but being The Clock was so fun because it reminded her that she still had it after all these years. She then said that when she was younger, she had very bad stage fright, and her knees would knock together under her gospel robe. She had to learn how to connect with the audience through eye contact and a smile, and the mask takes that away, so she has had to connect in other ways. She then said that she did the show to introduce herself to a whole new generation. She then went on to give an amazing performance of “Dancing in the Street” by Martha and the Vandellas, during which she showed how much power she still has in her voice, and even showed off a few dance moves. After that, a super clue was brought out, which was a pile of gold bars. Clock then said that this wasn’t the first stage show that she had done, and that every performance had been solid gold. The panelists all made their guesses, and Rita ended up guessing correctly by saying that The Clock was disco singer Thelma Houston. I was surprised that she was the one to guess correctly, because she is the youngest panelist there and she is not from America. Jenny then said that she needed an additional clue, so she pressed the blue button, and Prime then delivered another clue, which was a pair of roller skates. 

The third and final contestant of the night was The Goldfish. In her clue package, she said that fame was never her goal, as she thought that she was going to become a pediatrician, but she loved to perform. She then said that she didn’t realize that in order to do what she loved, she would have to live in a fishbowl, and it ended up making her retreat and be a lot more private. She then said that becoming The Goldfish has unleashed a fun, silly side of herself that only a few people in her life get to see, and it has been so much fun letting loose, which is everything coming from a girl who once wore a prom dress to an awards show. She then went on to give an amazing performance of “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette, during which she showed how much energy the tone of her voice has and did a great job singing the faster parts of the song. After the performance, the super clue that was brought out was The Anonymouse costume from Season 10, which was Demi Lovato. Goldfish then said that it was a blast from the past, because she and the mouse go way back. When the panelists made their guesses, they all guessed former Disney Channel stars, and even though she was confused and made two guesses Rita guessed correctly that The Goldfish is Vanessa Hudgens. The Anonymouse costume is because both she and Demi Lovato are former Disney Channel stars, which is also why she and the mouse go way back, and the raccoon is because she starred in the movie “Machete Kills” with Danny Trejo, who was The Raccoon in Season 5. 

After that, it was time for the last Battle Royale of the season between all three contestants, and I knew that it was going to be one of the hardest decisions that had ever been made on the show. The three contestants each took turns performing their own renditions of “A Moment Like This” by Kelly Clarkson, and it was the best Battle Royale of the entire series, as all three contestants did a great job showing off how strong each of their voices are. After all three contestants had performed, it was revealed that the singer with the least amount of votes was The Clock, meaning that Goldfish and Gumball were going through to the finale. I was not surprised that she was getting unmasked, but I was surprised that Rita was the only panelist to guess Thelma Houston, as I felt thought that maybe another panelist would go along with her guess. The Clock was then unmasked, and Rita was shown to be correct, as she was revealed to be Thelma Houston. I thought it was great that after she was unmasked, she performed her signature song “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” as I think it’s cool for contestants who are singers to show what they are famous for.

Overall, this was another amazing episode of Season 11 of The Masked Singer, and I’ll see you all next week when Goldfish and Gumball face off in The Finale!