Footloose Night

After an amazing premiere last week, it was time for Footloose Night on The Masked Singer! As we were sticking with Group A again this week, I was sure that we were going to have four amazing performances from the returning contestants. 

The episode started off in a way that I knew it would, with Robin Thicke performing the song “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins, which I thought was a good performance. Much like with most of the other past theme nights, the panelists and Nick Cannon all dressed up to match the theme of the episode, with Robin and Nick both dressed as Kevin Bacon’s character in the movie. 

The first performer of the night was The Showbird. In her clue package, she said that she always knew that if she ever got a chance to perform in front of the lights, she would do something good with it. So, when she got that chance, work became her entire life, and she was married to it. She then said that she couldn’t help but feel that something was missing from her life, which was real love, the kind that Ren and Ariel found in “Footloose.” She then said that she recently reconnected with an old friend who unexpectedly became her lover, and that he encouraged her to rekindle her first flame that she gave up for two decades, singing. Visual clues included diamond rings of different colors, binoculars, and a purple cupcake. She then went on to give an amazing performance of “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” by Deniece Williams, during which she showed how much power she has in her voice. After the performance, an additional clue was brought out, which was a music box playing a hip hop song, and she then said that back in 1994, she was part of a hip hop empire. After this, the panelists made their guesses, and Ken said the correct name, which was his “Community” costar Yvette Nicole Brown. After this, Nick then shared with everyone a prerecorded video from Kevin Bacon himself, which I thought was very cool.

The second performer of the night was The Ship. In her clue package, she said that it’s not easy to kick off your Sunday shoes when you’re a ship in a boot. She then said that in high school, she was a star cheerleader, class president, and voted prom queen, but then she injured her foot and the doctor said that she had to sit on the sidelines for a whole year. Her heart sank, and her frustration led her to her family’s piano, where she would sit and play for hours on end. She said that it was her therapy, as she channeled her sorrow, her joy, and her expression. She then said that music became her paradise and that it has been a healing source since. Visual clues included a boot cast, white cowboy boots, a raven sitting on her piano, and a red heart. She then went on to give an amazing and beautiful performance of “Almost Paradise” by Mike Reno & Ann Wilson, which was the perfect song to show off the power in her voice and her tone. After the performance, an additional clue was brought out, which was a locker that had the faces of Melissa Etheridge, Whoopi Goldberg, and Kevin Bacon. She then said that she is three degrees away from Kevin Bacon, as she is connected to Melissa Etheridge, who is connected to Whoopi Goldberg, who starred in “Destination Anywhere,” with Kevin Bacon. After this clue package, I still agree with the popular guess on the internet, which is that The Ship is singer Paula Cole. The story that she told in her clue package lines up with how her life has played out, the piano is her instrument of choice, the white cowboy boots are her signature look, and the raven is a clue to her album “Raven.”

The third performer of the night was The Woodpecker. In her clue package, she said that she knows a thing or two about fighting for what you believe in. When she was younger, while most kids were playing in treehouses, she was planting roots in Hollywood. She then said that growing up in front of the world was awkward, from learning to wear heels, to flirting with boys, to uttering curse words, everyone was up in her business treating her like she was their child. But she always stayed headstrong, dancing to the growing pains at her own pace, and she got many other young girls seeing her as their hero. Visual clues included a director’s chair, shimmering heels, a rubber ducky, and a briefcase. She then went on to give an amazing performance of “Holding Out for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler, which had a ton of energy and let her show off how much power she has in her voice. After the performance, an additional clue was brought out, which was Kevin Bacon’s shoes from the movie. She then said that another bird from The Masked Singer family, and her own, shares their style-ISH obsession of shoes with her. After these clues, I still agree with the popular guess on the internet which is that The Woodpecker is actress Marsai Martin. She did get her start when she was young, as she was only five when she booked her first national commercial and turned ten when “Blackish” premiered, which also explains why she used the word style-ISH, and the Rubber Ducky is referring to her costar Anthony Anderson, who was The Rubber Ducky on Season 10.

The final performers of the night were The Buffaloes. In their clue package, they said that just like the kids in “Footloose,” they are each rebels in their own way, and they somehow found each other along the trail. They then said that everyone told them they couldn’t do their own thing, but they didn’t listen, and they have succeeded by not caring about what people think, and they don’t care if they are corny, because they are rich, and they don’t take themselves seriously because they are dressed like “WrestleMania” Buffaloes. Visual clues included a cactus, poker chips, beer mugs, and a black bottle labeled “Poison.” They then went on to give an amazing performance of “Waiting for a Girl Like You” by Foreigner, which showcased their harmonizing abilities and how much power all three of them have in their voices. After the performance, an additional clue was brought out, which was a lawn mower that said “Mo-Town” on the license plate. As the panelists made their guesses. Jenny guessed correctly that The Buffaloes were Boyz II Men, and the clues this week convinced me even more. Them saying that they looked like “WrestleMania” Buffaloes is referring to the fact that they performed “America the Beautiful” at WrestleMania XV in 1999, the “Mo-Town” license plate is referring to the fact that they released their first four albums under Motown and have a song called “Motownphilly,” and the bottle of poison is referring to their song “Sympin’,” which samples the song “Poison.” 

After all four performances, it was time for the unmasking, and I knew it was going to be a tough choice as all four were great, but I was thinking to myself that it would either be Showbird or Woodpecker. I quickly found out that I was right, as the singer with the least amount of votes was revealed to be Showbird. As the panelists made their final guesses, Ken stuck with his correct guess of Yvette Nicole Brown, and even managed to convince Robin to guess her. When I looked at the clock at the time this was happening, I knew that they were going to go to commercial before the unmasking, and I found that I was sort of right as while they did go to commercial before the unmasking started, I thought it would happen right when the mask came off. When she was finally unmasked, she was revealed to be Yvette Nicole Brown, which I found to be very cool because I wrote about how she would be perfect for the show back in June. She also said that her being on the show was eleven seasons in the making, and the reason she was there was because of Ken, which I thought was very nice.

Overall, this was another amazing episode of The Masked Singer Season 12, and I’ll see you all next week for Soundtrack Of My Life Night!