Rat Pack Tribute Night

After two amazing episodes to start off the season, it was time for the Group A Finals with Rat Pack Tribute Night! I was looking forward to this episode, as all the other episodes the show has done in the past dedicated to specific artists have all been great, so I felt that this would be no exception. I also knew that we were going to get three amazing performances, as all three contestants in this episode were amazing in the first two episodes, which made it hard for me to have an early guess as to who would be unmasked. 

The episode started off in a unique way, as typically, most episodes in the recent seasons start off with a performance from the panelists or a guest singer, or a group performance from the remaining contestants in the group. In this episode, they did both, as the episode opened with a performance of “Fly Me To The Moon” by Frank Sinatra from Robin and Coral, Ant, and Paparazzo. I think this was a cool thing to do, as it let Robin show off his singing skills again, it let the contestants stand out together, and it gave them the opportunity to sing with Robin. I hope they do something like this again at some point this season. I was especially impressed with how much energy Ant was putting in when she was singing. Nick then said that two of the three contestants would be moving on to the Lucky 6 by the end of the night, which meant that one contestant would be unmasked. 

After that, it was time for the first performer of the night, which was Coral. In her clue package she said that she couldn’t believe that she made it to the Group A Finals, adding that she was “dead.” She then added that she was especially happy to be there on Rat Pack Night because their music reminds her of her dad, as growing up on the East Coast, she has the best memories of the two of them driving down the shore playing “Mickey Blue Eyes” and Sammy Davis Jr., while she dreamed of being a big headliner just like them. She then said that when she moved from the Atlantic to the Pacific and finally got a shot at stardom, she was a shy girl thrown into the deep end of a whole new world, and she was so lonely and terrified that she would never fit in. She then said that there was one guy who helped her through it all, which was her dad, who joined her every day on set, would tell her the funniest dad jokes to cheer her up, and he made life on the new coast feel like home. Visual clues included a high school ring, a ghost, and an alien spaceship. She then went on to give an amazing performance of “Luck Be a Lady” by Frank Sinatra, during which she showed all the power she has in her voice, and the song was also remixed during the second half of the performance, which I thought worked well. After each performance, an additional clue was presented, which was given to the panel by way of a slot machine that would land on something that served as a clue to that contestant. For Coral, it was an apple, and she said that if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. I still agree with the popular guess on the internet, which is that Coral is actress and singer Meg Donnelly. Her saying that she was “dead” is referring to her role in the “Zombies” movies, the high school ring is referring to her role in “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” the ghost could be referring to her appearing in an episode of the show “Celebrity Ghost Stories,” the alien spaceship is referring to her song “Alien Invasion” from “Zombies 3,” the apple is referring to her roles as a featured vocalist in several productions in New York City, and the panelists also noticed that there was a “Z” embedded on the costume, which is another clue to “Zombies.”

The second performer of the night was Ant. In her clue package, she said that she was so thrilled for a Rat Pack Tribute Night, as she was part of a Rat Pack herself. She then said that when they first got together, it was a perfect fit, as they were the sisters she never had growing up. She then said that they came out the gate swinging, and they shared everything together, the success, the fame, the lights, as well as the bad days, the long hours, the harsh conditions, and the constant criticisms, and yet they survived together and still managed to top the charts despite it all. Visual clues included a picture of five ants, two king cards, and a lollipop. She then went on to perform “Fever” by Peggy Lee, which I thought was a strange song to perform, as Peggy Lee was never part of the Rat Pack, nor did she have any connections to the Rat Pack. Despite that, I feel that it was a great performance and she really demonstrated the power in her voice during this performance more than her other two which were still great. After the performance, an additional clue was presented on the slot machine, which was the Astronaut costume from Season 3, and she then said that she doesn’t live where the moon man lives, but wherever he landed was where she got a huge start in her career. I was still confident that Ant was Aubrey O’Day, as she was part of the girl group Danity Kane, and she got her start on the MTV show “Making the Band,” and her name was finally guessed by the panel, and unsurprisingly, it was Robin who guessed her.

The final performer of the night was Paparazzo. In his clue package, he started it off by saying “whoa,” and then said that his entire family loves the Rat Pack because he is actually Italian. He then said that when his grandparents came over from the old country, they focused on fitting into American life, learning English, and trying to assimilate. He then said that two generations later, when he was trying to break into show business, agencies couldn’t pronounce his real last name, so they suggested that he change it, so he did, but he has always clung to his heritage, even if people didn’t necessarily know. Visual clues included a sailboat, two guitars and drums, and mistletoe. He then went on to give an amazing performance of “That’s Amore” by Dean Martin, which was perfect for his voice, and showed off his versatility again, which I found incredible for someone who admitted during the first episode that he has never performed in front of an audience before. After the performance, an additional clue was presented on the slot machine, which was Frankenstein, and he then said that monsters under the bed are scary, but onscreen they’re not so bad, and he knows that firsthand. I still agree with the popular guess on the internet, which is also what Jenny guessed, which is that Paparazzo is actor and singer Matthew Lawrence. He is Italian and changed his last name from Mignogna to Lawrence, the instruments are referring to the band he is part of with his brothers called Still Three, the mistletoe is referring to his role in the movie “Mistletoe Mixup,” and Frankenstein could be referring to his role in the movie “Boltneck” as the character Frank Stein. 

After everybody had performed, it was time for everyone to vote to see who would be the first contestant in the Lucky 6. Much to the surprise of my parents and me, it was Paparazzo, and while I thought he was great, my parents thought that Coral and Ant were better. This meant that Ant and Coral would be competing in the Battle Royale. They both took turns performing their own takes on “My Way” by Frank Sinatra, and I thought they were both very good and it could have gone either way, but I felt that Coral was a little better. Another thing that happened during the performance that I thought was a nice touch was a little note popped up on the screen that said that “My Way” was written by Paul Anka, who was Broccoli in Season 4, which I thought was nice because it connected it to a past season of the show. 

After that, it was time for the panel to vote, but before that, it was time for the show to introduce the new character for the season, Detective Lucky Duck, who said that he was there to deliver clues and all sorts of surprises throughout the season, and he then said that Coral and Ant were both on Number One chart topping albums. This made me still confident in my guesses for both of them, as Aubrey O’Day and Meg Donnelly have both been on albums that reached Number One on the charts. 

After that, the panel finally voted, and the second contestant moving on to the Lucky 6 was revealed to be Coral, which didn’t surprise me. This meant that it was time for Ant to unmask, but before that, the Crack The Case Clue Case was brought out, and inside was a world record, which told me that my guess was still correct. As the panelists made their final guesses, I was a little surprised that only Robin still went with the correct guess, as I would have thought that he would have convinced Rita and Jenny to go along with his guess, but they didn’t. In the end, Robin and the internet were proven to be correct, as Ant was revealed to be Aubrey O’Day from Danity Kane. I was very happy that she was on the show, as I wrote about how she would be perfect for the show back in January. I also liked how she didn’t shy away from talking about her ex boss Diddy, saying that he used to call himself “Love” and used his hands to make a heart to express that everywhere he went, and then she said that he’s in prison now and that the love heart was now with her. I hope that doing the show has allowed some more healing for her, and I hope that she continues to make music, and if she doesn’t, I hope she keeps doing what’s best for her.

Overall, this was another amazing episode of Season 13 of The Masked Singer, and I’ll see you all next week when we meet Group B in Voices Of Olympus: Unmasking Of The Gods Night!