''Masked Singer'' is an international
music
Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...
reality
Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...
franchise. It originated from the South Korean program ''
The King of Mask Singer
''The King of Mask Singer'' () is a South Korean singing competition program presented by Kim Sung-joo, with introductions by voice actor . It airs on MBC on Sunday, starting from April 5, 2015 as a part of MBC's '' Sunday Night'' programming ...
'', developed by
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC; ) is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. ''Munhwa'' is the Sino-Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television station MBC TV broadcasts as channel 11.
E ...
.
Format
The format features the celebrities who perform a song anonymously in elaborate masks or head-to-toe costumes. The panelists will then guess the identity based on clues the singers give about themselves. After their performances, the singers are voted by the audiences in each round while the panelists do not participate in the vote. The singer who receives the fewest votes in each round is unmasked and eliminated until the winner is declared.
The participating celebrities can come from various different occupational backgrounds. The original South Korean series features various musicians, actors or actresses, and comedians. The singers of the American series have spanned further up to the range of
Grammy award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
winners, professional video gamers,
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
influencers and professional athletes.
The voting system may also be different based on the program's country. In
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
and the
UK, the votes are limited to the live studio audience members due to the show being pre-recorded. In
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, votes are open to all viewers because the show is live. The
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
format provides simulated live voting without the ability to actually affect the pre-recorded show, which was criticised as deceptive when it was noted after the show's second week.
The original South Korean series ''
King of Mask Singer
''The King of Mask Singer'' () is a South Korean singing competition program presented by Kim Sung-joo, with introductions by voice actor . It airs on MBC on Sunday, starting from April 5, 2015 as a part of MBC's '' Sunday Night'' programming ...
'' is a continuous, episode-by-episode format, in which the winner is decided after each tournament that lasts two weekly episodes. In the final round of each tournament, the finalist singer must face-off the previous bi-weekly winner to take over the champion title. The program thus focuses on how long the one can defend the champion title. In comparison, most of the other international versions have been following the seasonal format in which the winner is declared after a single season tournament that lasts from few months to about a year. The international programs consequently focus on who the champion is after the months to year-long tournament.
The first unofficial winner of the franchise was
Solji
Heo Sol-ji (Hangul: 허솔지; born January 10, 1989), known mononymously as Solji, is a South Korean singer. She was a member of the ballad duo group 2NB from 2006 to 2010. She later became a vocal trainer before joining EXID in July 2012 as t ...
of the South Korean girl group
EXID who won in the pilot episode of the original South Korean King of Mask Singer series aired on 18 February 2015. The first official winner of the franchise was
Luna of the
K-Pop
K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, g ...
girl group
f(x)
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
who was declared as the winner of the first ever tournament held in the original South Korean series on 12 April 2015.
From the
Chinese series, which was the first adaptation of the South Korean show to be launched outside South Korea with a seasonal format, the Chinese singer
Sun Nan
Sun Nan (; born February 18, 1969) is a pop singer from Dalian in mainland China. His songs include "Be there or Be Square", "The Wind Goes to North", "Save", and his song for the 2008 Summer Olympics, "Forever Friends". Sun's album ''Crescent ...
became the first winner outside the original South Korean series on 27 September 2015 after the two months long first season.
The
Thai series was the first version of the franchise with annual seasons. The Thai singer , under the name "Durian", became the first winner to win an annual season format from the second ever franchise to be launched outside South Korea on 23 March 2017.
International versions
: Franchise with a currently airing season
: Franchise with an upcoming season
: Franchise with an unknown status
: Franchise awaiting confirmation
: Franchise that has ceased to air
Spin-off: ''The Masked Dancer''
On at the winter
Television Critics Association press tour, Fox Alternative Entertainment and
Warner Bros. Television announced that they had ordered a spin-off series, ''
The Masked Dancer'', with
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom '' Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". S ...
as executive producer. DeGeneres had previously conducted ''The Masked Dancer'' as a recurring segment of her syndicated
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk S ...
''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pr ...
'', as a parody of ''The Masked Singer''. DeGeneres stated that the show was "gonna be just as fun and suspenseful", but "with a lot more
krumping." On it was announced that
Craig Robinson would host, the panelists would be
Ken Jeong,
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograp ...
,
Brian Austin Green, and
Ashley Tisdale, and the show would premiere on .
In 2020, a Chinese version of ''The Masked Dancer'' aired, ''Masked Dancing King'' (蒙面舞王). The winner was singer
Meng Meiqi, competing as " The queen who does not wear a crown" (女王不戴冠).
In early February 2021,
ITV acquired the rights to produce ''The Masked Dancer UK''. On 4 March 2021, it was announced that ITV had commissioned the spin-off series. The series will have 12 contestants competing through seven episodes, and will be hosted by Dommett, with Ross, Gilligan, McCall, and
Oti Mabuse serving as panellists. It is set to premiere in late spring 2021, filling in for ''
Britain's Got Talent'', which had its upcoming series 15 postponed until 2022 due health and safety reasons concerning the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.
In June 2021,
EndemolShine Germany announced that the show will begin airing in Germany, so far it has not been announced when and where the German version of ''The Masked Dancer'' will be shown.
Notes
References
{{Authority control
Television franchises
Musical game shows