Hammerhead heads home on ‘The Masked Dancer’

The judges on The Masked Dancer (Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV) have momentum. Three weeks ago, Ken Jeong correctly predicted Ice Cube was Bill Nye “The Science Guy.”  Two weeks ago, Brian Austin Green did it again when he said that the Moth was actually activist Elizabeth Smart. Last week, Paula Abdul astutely deduced that Cricket was R&B superstar Brian McKnight. That meant the pressure would be on Ashley Tisdale this week to join the Winner’s Circle and keep the streak alive.

This week, comedian Whitney Cummings (who we LOVE!) was lending a helping hand to the judges and adding some funny one-liners for us. She skipped the cheesy mask reveal that Rob Lowe and Cheryl Hines did on the last two episodes and had already taken her seat before she was introduced by Craig Robinson.

The host also revealed that we would now be getting a Super Clue for each contestant.

Cotton Candy is an athlete!  We know!

In her new opening video, Cotton Candy told us again that she was no stranger to competition. Have you ever felt like you ate too much Cotton Candy at the CNE (well, back when we had the CNE and weren’t in a pandemic)?  Well, that’s what it feels like every time we get this clue. We get it!  Cotton Candy is an athlete!  This was emphasized again with 14 diamond rings styled like the Olympic rings with the words “Practice, Practice, Practice.” Our Super Clue was revealed when Cotton Candy held up five gold balloons and told us that they were a “piece of her.”  Wait, we think we have it!  The balloons must represent how many gold medals she’s won! So whoever is underneath the mask is likely a five-time gold medalist. With that said, there is no way someone could have competed in 14 Olympics right? On second thought, maybe we don’t have it.

As for the performance, Cotton Candy danced to “Great Balls of Fire” by Jerry Lee Lewis. The backdrop was a fair (just like CNE!) and the performance was fast, fun and ferocious.

After the dance, it was time for another twist! Craig Robinson revealed the judges would now have 15 seconds to ask the dancer whatever they wanted in a new segment called “Rapid Fire.”  Brian asked if “ice” played a role in Cotton Candy’s life and this was a yes. Whitney asked if she had lots of tights in her house which was also answered affirmatively. Paula asked if she could do what she was best known for doing while wearing heels and that got us our first no. Ken got her to admit that she was physically fit (come on Jeong… what a waste of a question… we knew that already!).  

Ashley guessed figure skater Tara Lipinski. Ken disagreed and thought the balloons stood for gold records. He went with JLo. Whitney went Gabi Butler from Cheer!. Paula Abdul changed her guess from dancer Jenna Dewan to gymnast Simone Biles. When Paula was asked how ice fit into that guess, she explained it by saying that gymnasts take a lot of ice baths. Ha!

Exotic bird soars

In her opening video, Exotic Bird told us that she had been made fun of in the past for her dancing. She also revealed she’s a mother. The Super Clue was a rose tattoo. 

The Bird chose to flap her wings to “Rush” by Lewis Capaldi and Jessie Reyez. The contemporary performance was very good and showed signs of significant improvement. While not as perfect as Tulip and Cotton Candy usually are, we now believe Exotic Bird would at least make it onto the podium.

In the Rapid Fire portion, we learned that the Bird had been in both a music video, an ad campaign, and that the word “model” meant something to her. Fellow mom-to-be Ashley asked if it was hard for Exotic Bird to be away from her baby and the dancer chirped in the most “awwwww” moment of the night. That and the rose ink led Ashley to guess that it was tattoo artist Kat Von D. Kat has a beauty and perfume line (referenced in past clues) and also just had a baby. Whitney thought that it might be model Dita Von Teese but wasn’t sure as Dita doesn’t have children. When Ken mused that it might be supermodel Kate Upton, Whitney decided to video-call her on the spot (they are apparently besties), totally denying Ken’s guess in the best way possible.

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A family sloth

In Sloth’s opening video, he revealed that he was a family man with a child. The Super Clue was the #18. Brian immediately piped up to say that retired NFL quarterback Peyton Manning wore #18. 

The Sloth danced to “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head,” by Dean Martin and offered a smooth jazz performance. Paula was impressed by the pirouette turns that led her to believe the Sloth might have experience on a Broadway stage.

In Rapid Fire, we learned Sloth would rather be an elephant if given the choice and, like Exotic Bird before him, was also having a tough time without his family.

Ken said the Broadway and elephant answer meant the “Elephant Man” musical. It just so happens that Ken is friends with Bradley Cooper and the judge said that they had even danced together before so he went with his The Hangover co-star.

Brian Austin Green thought it was actor John C. Reilly.

Ashley, who had initially guessed Jason Derulo and Will Ferrell, finally settled on Sacha Baron Cohen. She said that the Borat star’s old series Ali G had 18 episodes.

At the last second, Paula pointed out a Yankee road sign on the stage, so now we think it could be a former baseball player. Johnny Damon was a former Yankee who also has some reality TV experience from his time on The Celebrity Apprentice so that’s our best guess for now.

Hammerhead's situation

One of Hammerhead’s video clues was a map of New York and New Jersey. Hmm, maybe Paula was right about it being “The Situation.” A bottle of suntan lotion was also featured as the Super Clue. Remember GTL (gym, tan, laundry?). The question was no longer whether this was a Jersey Shore castmember, but rather, which one.

The shark chose to do a paso doble to Santa Esmeralda’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.”  

In the Rapid Fire portion, Brian asked Hammerhead if he was known for having a sense of humour and received a positive answer. Whitney asked if he suffered from stage fright and he said no. Ken asked if he was a solo act and we received another negative answer. Paula asked if he had ever been involved in a relationship in the public eye and we got a yes.

As for the guesses, Paula referenced the microphone in a prior video to mean “mic” and translated that to mean Mike The Situation Sorrentino but changed her mind and went with YouTuber David Dobrik. Ken stuck with Pauly D. Brian ended up stealing Paula’s old guess of The Situation while Paula still thought that it could also be Vinnie Guadagnino, also from Jersey Shore. 

Tulip blossoms again

Tulip, widely considered the competition's fave, admitted that she never enjoyed competing while we saw an animation featuring her “haters.”  We also saw her using a “Masked Dancergram” app on her phone, an obvious nod to Instagram, reinforcing the idea that she is a bonafide social media starlet. She said that her dance for the Super Six would feature the first style that she had ever learned. For the Super Clue, we were shown a picture of Mother Tulip and daughter Tulip dancing that featured the 2^nd Annual Mother Daughter Dance as its title. This led us to believe that it might be Charli D’Amelio’s sister, Dixie D’Amelio.

Tulip did a ballet and hip hop combo performance to “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande.

In Rapid Fire, we learned that Tulip has never thought about retirement, is good at memorizing dialogue and felt that running out of juice on her cell phone would be much worse than running out of gas in her car.

Ken switched gears and went from Glee’s Heather Morris to Sarah Hyland from Modern Family. He said that the actress had starred in a remake of Dirty Dancing, was on Lip Sync Battle, and was in a particularly poignant episode of Modern Family with her TV mom, Julie Bowen. Brian thought that it was gymnast Simone Biles (yes, the same guess Paula made for Cotton Candy earlier) and Whitney went with former Dancing With The Stars pro Julianne Hough.

Zebra... starts with Z

Next up was the “animal that always comes in last alphabetically,” according to Craig Robinson. In his opening video, the striped dancer admitted that he was claustrophobic. The Super Clue was the letter “E” placed on a graham cracker. We also saw the letters “K.O.” either referring to his initials or a knockout in boxing. We are thinking it has to be Oscar De La Hoya.

Zebra danced to “Mi Gente” by J Balvin & Willy William. The performance was average but we noticed that some of the dancers were wearing the number 99. 

In Rapid Fire, we learned that Zebra had worked in both the acting and music industries and was known for his hook.

Whitney immediately pieced together the Super Clue to mean Grammy and figured the “K.O.,” was a reference to “Momma Said Knock You Out,” by LL Cool J. She was so confident about her guess that she even made an impassioned plea to the producers to fire one of the other judges so she could join the panel as a regular member. Brian agreed with us that it was boxer Oscar De La Hoya and Paula Abdul stuck with boxer Floyd “Money” Mayweather as her selection.

The elimination

After the audience vote, Craig Robinson announced that the singer going home would be Hammerhead. But before the unmasking, it was time to get a little more info.

Hammerhead answered the judges’ questions and said that he was a fan of working out, was taller than Ken, and had done a little stand-up comedy. He also said that he had been to New Jersey.

For their final guesses, Ken and Whitney both went with Pauly D. Ashley thought that it was Kevin Hart because he was in a movie based in Vegas (Think Like A Man 2). Well, there’s no way the streak continues with that guess. Brian went with Mike The Situation Sorrentino and Paula confirmed her David Dobrik guess. 

Hammerhead was Vinny Guadagnino from Jersey Shore!

The streak is over!  The judges finally got one wrong!

Let’s recap. The eye chat clue was a reference to Vinny’s former clothing brand, “I Have A Vision.” The burger was a hint to Vinny’s guest appearance on MTV’s The Hard Times of R.J. Berger. When Vinny ripped his shirt off in his first performance, it was a nod to his Chippendales residency in Las Vegas!  Even though he is single, the wedding cake we saw with the two grooms was a reference to a Jersey Shore episode where Vinny and Pauly D got “bro-mitted” to each other. Ha, there’s our second “awwww” moment of the night! Finally, the “Navigating The Shores of Life” book was obviously cluing us into Vinny’s time on the hit MTV series (which you can stream here). 

Watch The Masked Dancer Wednesdays at 8p ET/5p PT on CTV.

BEFORE YOU GO: Adorable cat sings for its dinner

[video_embed id='2126203']BEFORE YOU GO: Adorable cat sings for its dinner [/video_embed]