The masked dancer – basically The masked singer but, you know, with the dance – it has to be The craziest show on television right now. This week’s Group B playoffs featured a nuclear-green sloth (which may or may not be Will Ferrell) spinning a ribbon on a stick to the theme of love An officer and a gentleman, for example.
But Wednesday Masked dancer The episode took an unexpectedly serious turn when it was revealed that Moth was kidnapping survivor who became activist Elizabeth Smart.
Unlike others Masked celebrities who have always actively sought fame – various singers, rappers, athletes, YouTubers, actors and comedians – Elizabeth was suddenly put in the spotlight at age 14 in tragic and terrifying circumstances, when she was kidnapped under a knife from her room and kept in captivity for nine horrible months in 2002. Her harrowing headline story of survival inspired two films made for TV, as well as two books written by Elizabeth, and the director of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, now 33, has become one of the most prominent defenders of missing persons and survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking. A public figure like Smart would not be expected to sign up for such a silly program and appear on national television dressed as a giant, shiny insect – or for his unmasking to be a moment of discovery with a great emotional charge.
“My grandmother passed away a lot recently, but she was a lot of fun. She never missed a moment. And then, when this opportunity came up, I thought, ‘I live a very serious life and I’m going to take this opportunity and just have fun,’ ”Elizabeth explained to host Craig Robinson. Brian Austin Green visibly moved – the only Masked Dancer judge to guess Mariposa’s identity correctly – I said to her, “I can only say that from what you have dealt with in your life, you have been an inspiration to so many people and you have done so well with a situation, and we need more people like you on the planet. Thank you. “
While the moth is metamorphic Masked dancer The journey ended on Wednesday, three other mysterious celebrities paved the way for the Super Six semifinals, where they will compete alongside three Group A competitors (to be determined next week). Smart’s revelation was definitely a shock (congratulations to Brian on finding this out), but perhaps Zebra, Cotton Candy or Sloth are easier to spot, based on the performances and clues below.
The zebra
What’s black and white and silly? The zebra! This striped hoofer promised to bring sexy back with his partner routine to the 90s K-Ci & JoJo slow song “All My Life” – but that number was so silly and weird that I almost thought the eliminated Ice Cube of the week Bill Nye had recently returned, in disguise, in some kind of twist in the nerd revenge plot. Whoever the zebra is, he’s not a professional dancer. But the jury’s resident vibeologist, Paula Abdul, thought Zebra really moved like a professional boxer.
The clues: Last week, we received a lot of boy band references, but I’m starting to suspect that Zebra is not an artist by profession. This week, we saw the potent “ZEO” sitting at an executive table at a company that sells “daddy’s appliances” and other images included a sports medal, wrestling, cinnamon, a fish and a broken record. Zebra said he survived a difficult childhood thanks to the love of his mentors and friends, so now he wants to give back. Your “Word Up!” verbal clue was “champion”.
Judges’ guesses: Conor McGregor, Tony Robbins, Alex Rodriguez, Floyd Mayweather, Mario Lopez, Tito Ortiz.
My guess: I think I’d better change my guess from last week … which was, um, Clay Aiken. Mayweather seems like a better bet, as his former enemy was Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, also known as “The Cinnamon Head”. Floyd also competed for the WWC and the Dancing with the stars, and he has his own foundation to help disadvantaged youth.
Cotton candy
Although the fluffy dance of this cute femme’s club to the sound of Lady Gaga / BLACKPINK bop “Sour Candy” was not as impressive as last week’s aerial maneuver, it was still very sweet. She exhibited a ton of boldness, stamina and, as Paula noted, central strength. This may be another famous athlete – but one who has had serious dance training.
The clues: She missed many teenagers’ daily activities and was “isolated” from other children because she was always trying to “balance the practice” with the school. We saw a lipstick (the second hint of the season for lips, after last week’s meaty cupcakes), an American flag, a hawk and a storybook. His verbal clue was “team player”.
Judges’ guesses: Jenna Dewan, Tara Lipinksi, Kristi Yamaguchi.
My guess: I haven’t completely ruled out my guess from last week, Julianne Hough, but now I think this could be a competitive skater, a chatty sports commentator and twice author Tara Lipinski. (LIPinski? Got it?) Many of the tracks this week were Olympic, and one track last week was number 3 – the age that Tara was when she started skating and possibly a reference to her historic triple loop / triple loop combination at the 1998 Winter Games.
The laziness
Preguiça was definitely going for gold – at least comedy gold – with his rhythmic gymnastics routine wrapped up in “Up Where We Belong” tapes. Your funny colleague Ken Jeong even stated that farce tour your favorite dance of the season so far.
The clues: We saw sports equipment, a Say anythingboombox style and a cruise ship. Preguiça talked about living in a foreign land, not fitting in and being mistaken for a “bad boy”, but said he finally “took a chance and jumped”. His verbal clue was “protagonist”.
Judges’ guesses: Jonathan Groff, Keegan-Michael Key, Jason Derulo, Will Ferrell.
My guess: Last week, I thought it was Todrick Hall, but is Preguiça really – Listen to me – legendary singer David Lee Roth? Roth once lived in Tokyo, people thought he was “just a gigolo” and once he decided that “he might as well jump”. And one of the clues from last week was the initials “DR”! (Van Halen’s rock star took “Lee” from his name last year.) And “Roth” rhymes with “Sloth”! Yes, me to know that guess is unlikely, but Sloth’s hammy personality and physical comedy are totally giving me Diamond Dave vibes “Dance the Night Away” right now.
Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:
Follow Lyndsey no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon and Spotify.