My Review of "The Masked Singer: Season 5"

The Masked Singer: Season 5 was kind of worrisome for me. I didn't particularly like season 4 that much. It was a little predictable and the contestants were mostly people that I wasn't really able to identify. For sure a lot of people were able to identify with the contestants in that season however I didn't think they had a broader appeal as they were more newer celebrities that haven't had that much shine.

This season started off different right off the bat with Niecy Nash as the guest host for the show. We were all wondering what happened to Nick Cannon since he was still doing the narration for much of the show. It didn't quite make sense. Then it was revealed that Nick had contracted COVID-19. This made for a different feel for the show already.

Niecy is quite a character and she fit right into the hosting role. She felt natural and inviting. This was the first air of mystery to the season. Then there was the fact that they had wildcard contestants every week. These wildcards were a welcome monkey wrench to the show. We got some pretty interesting costumes and characters on this show.

I also found that the all around talent of this season was above the previous season as well. Of course there are a few that are there that aren't quite up to snuff with their singing skills and I have to commend them for having the courage to do it.

One of the eliminations was particularly troublesome but funny. The elimination of the Snail was really odd and threw me off big time. How were we supposed to know it was Kermit the frog? That's so messed up that it was a puppet in a puppet. Also the voice of Kermit the frog sounded a little weird as well. It wasn't the usual voice that I recognized. I know that he's had different voice actors but this new one on the show did not sound like any of the Kermits that I'm used to.

Some of the funnier eliminations included Danny Trejo as the raccoon and Caitlin Jenner as the phoenix. The two were really good sports on the show and showed a lot of courage to do it. Just them being on the show was a shock to me when I found out. Their voices should have given it away but there are a lot of graveled voiced people in Hollywood.

I think in some way I enjoyed this season a little more is because I was able to identify more of the contestants. Some of the ones that I could identify immediately was Hansen, Omarion and Wiz Khalifa. The previous seasons I would be wracking my mind trying to figure out who they contestant was only to be looking online who they were.

This season I was familiar with all of the contestants for the first time. There were actually 2 huge surprises for me that blew my mind. The first was Bobby Brown who was the crab. I haven't heard Bobby Brown in a long time and I didn't realize that his voice had become so gravelly over the years. He still has a great voice however he sings differently to fit the new tone of his voice. That's why it threw me off so much.

It was Bobby Brown and Nick Cannon who played the bulldog. I was so used to having Niecy as the host that I wasn't even thinking of Nick being a contestant. He also sang in falsetto to throw us off even more. I found it particularly funny that he sang a New Edition song that Bobby Brown was famous for.

In this season they added an additional twist with a devious rooster. It was so funny that it turned out to be Donnie Wahlberg who is the judge Jenny McCarthy's husband. She couldn't even identify her own husband's voice. To make matters even more embarrassing is that she's known to be the best ear of the panel. That was particularly hilarious and fun to watch. It added a nice personal touch to the show.

Overall, I really enjoyed this season. I could say that I enjoyed it just as much as I had enjoyed the first and second season of the show. It was a nice breathe of fresh air that it needed so much. Funny enough many of the things that made it better were a result of obstacles the show had to go around during the pandemic. I have to give this season an 8 out of 10. It was a nice to see them come back to form. I can't wait for the next season of this show.