The Disco Ball lays down the law on ‘The Masked Dancer’ premiere

First, there was The Masked Singer. Now, there is The Masked Dancer (Wednesdays at 8pET on CTV). 2021 is already looking up.

Ellen DeGeneres is being credited for creating the concept of The Masked Dancer, a show that is expected to be the hottest new reality series of the year. Inspired by a parody segment on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (weekdays at 3pET on CTV), the concept of The Masked Dancer is strikingly similar to its predecessor (though far more difficult, according to Ken Jeong). Anonymous stars will still dress up in elaborate masks and costumes only this time they will cut a rug in front of a panel of celebrity judges who will have to figure out who they are based solely on their moves.

A quick video package explained exactly how The Masked Dancer differs from The Masked Singer. At the top of the list? More clues. These will range from hints that are dropped in each contestant’s intro video to the outfits and accessories they bring with them to stage. There is also a special “Word Up!” round where each dancer has to say one word in their actual voice (without any modulation). Of course, this one is also hosted by Craig Robinson instead of Nick Cannon and celebrity judges are Ken Jeong (which is actually not a change), Ashley Tisdale, Paula Abdul and Brian Austin Green. 

Let’s get to the dancers.

The contestants

Competing for the Diamond Mask Trophy this year, we have:

Disco Ball

Zebra

Ice Cube (not the rapper… at least, as far as we know)

Tulip

Hammerhead

Moth

Cotton Candy

Exotic Bird

Cricket

Sloth

As a collective, this year’s contestants have sold more than 38 million albums, and have 20 Emmy wins, 23 world championship titles and four Olympic gold medals.

“This is not just a dance show, it is a musical mystery show,” explained judge Ken Jeong.

Hammerhead's boyband vibes

In the series premiere, five acts would be taking the stage with an audience vote determining the season’s first elimination.

Hammerhead kicked off the night by dancing to “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys. In his intro video, we learned that he is likely to be a muscular athlete. We also learned that he likes burgers, carries a mug with the letter J on it and became famous at a young age. While this pointed some of the judges to muse that it might be one of the Wahlbergs or Joe Rogan, we thought Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte (who we know has penchant for reality TV) was also in the running.

After a decent performance, the first Word Up! clue of the season saw Hammerhead choose “dramatic” as his word. Ken believed that it might be comedian Carrot Top. Paula honed in on the song choice and thought the dancer could be a member of a boy band like Niall Horan or Joe Jonas. Brian Austin Green was convinced that Zac Efron was behind the mask.

Tulip's "triple"

Next, it was time for Tulip to bloom. In her opening video, the first clue was an alarm clock with the words "Tick Tock" written on it. This immediately suggested that the dancer was or is an influencer on the popular social media platform. Other clues included the fact that they were teased growing up and we also saw some gymnastics and Glee Club photos. 

Let’s review. A former gymnast that starred on Glee and now has a following on TikTok? We don’t know about you, but that’s screaming Heather Morris to us. The final video clue was seeing Tulip click their heels which the judges assumed to be a reference to Wicked, the Broadway musical.

Tulip decided to dance to “Fergalicious” by Fergie and it didn’t take long for the dancer to show off her tap dancing skills, offering the idea that she might be a professionally trained dancer.

After the performance, Tulip chose “triple” as her Word Up! word. Ashley Tisdale also picked up on the TikTok clue and believed Tulip’s actual identity to be Charli D’Amelio. The social media influencer has worked on anti-bullying campaigns and was a competitive dancer. Good guess!

Tulip if she was wearing her hair in a ponytail underneath the mask and when the dancer answered affirmatively, Paula believed it to be Ariana Grande. Interesting. Do we think Ariana Grande would do The Masked Dancer? Anything is possible.

Ken Jeong referenced his past work on Glee and guessed Heather Morris. He did play her father on the show, after all. 

RELATED: Ken Jeong reveals if there will be a 'Hangover 4'

Cricket's iconic zip code

Cricket was next. His video mentioned that that the man behind the mask has ties to Las Vegas and 90210. Cricket also revealed that he hasn’t really been lucky in love, but that he has since been able to find it and is now part of a power couple with his current partner. There was also a veiled reference to The Celebrity Apprentice, prompting our ears to perk up. Could this be Ian Ziering from 90210? 

Cricket’s performance to “Jump” by The Pointer Sisters clearly wasn’t on the same level as Tulip’s, but was still passable. After the dance, the dancer selected “accomplished” as his Word Up! clue and the judges picked Jim Carrey, Ryan Reynolds, Ian Ziering (as we suspected) and Ashton Kutcher as their guesses.

Disco Ball's dazzling... well, everything

Disco Ball was next. Before his performance, his intro video saw Disco holding a bone with the letter J on it. The video also featured a shark fin circling the dancer and a fresh pitcher of ice tea. Strange. We also saw Disco Ball holding a gavel while proclaiming that he is “ready to serve.”  Could this mean that our mystery man had some ties to the courtroom?  At the end of the video, Disco Ball also gave a salute to the camera. Could he also be a former member of the Armed Forces?

The sequined performer chose “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars to dance to. The dance was somewhat stiff and signalled that Disco was perhaps older than his competition.

For his Word Up! hint, Disco chose “Grammy” as his word indicating that could sing as well as dance but as Paula Abdul astutely noted, Grammy awards are also handed out to comedians as well. 

Ashley believed Disco Ball to be MC Hammer, using the gavel as her primary clue. She also noted that MC Hammer had won a Grammy before. Brian Austin Green believed Disco Ball could potentially be Rev Run or Coolio before ultimately deciding to make LL Cool J his guess. Ken went with Smokey Robinson. 

Where was Exotic Bird in 2007?

Exotic Bird was the final contestant to take the stage. In her video, we saw her sprinting down a race track, hawking (like that one right?) a perfume line and lots of glitter. There was also a scene that featured the bird in the kitchen with eggs marked “Best By 07” suggesting something major happened to this dancer in 2007. 

Exotic Bird chose “Con Calma” by Daddy Yankee and Katy Perry (a very hot track) to dance to and had no problem shaking her tailfeather to the beat. The dancing was top-notch and second only to Tulip for the best of the night. 

For the Word Up! hint, Exotic Bird chose “scored”  which could be taken in a couple of different ways. Has the Exotic Bird scored a lot of points in their career?  A basketball player in the WNBA perhaps? Or do they mean that they are used to receiving scores from a judging panel? That would indicate a gymnast or figure skater. So many questions!  

Let’s try and get some answers. Brian Austin Green went with Olympic athletes Marion Jones or Hope Solo as his prognostications. Paula Abdul applauded the Bird’s dancing and guessed that it was Jennifer Hudson. Ken Jeong said that Venus Williams won Wimbledon in 2007 and thought that the tennis player was our mystery woman.

The elimination

As expected, Disco Ball was voted the audience’s least favourite. 

The judges then made their final guesses but not before a few final clues.

Disco Ball said that he has spent time in front of the camera on both the small and big screens. He also said that he had been on the radio, that he had won other awards in addition to his Grammy, and that he was famous in the ‘90s.

Brian thought the mystery man was LL Cool J.

Ken thought that he was Motown legend Smokey Robinson.

Paula predicted it was Ving Rhames.

Ashley said Lionel Richie as her final answer.

Sorry, y'all, Disco Ball turned out to be Grammy-winning artist and actor Ice-T! Let's recap: the gavel was a reference to Law & Order: SVU. That’s also where the shark fin comes in as Ice-T’s name on the show was Finn. The iced tea actually meant ice tea (we know, duh). Finally, the bone with the J on it stood for J-Bone which was the name of the character Ice-T played in the 1995 movie Johnny Mnemonic that also starred Keanu Reeves. There you have it.

Can’t wait for the next episode.

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

BEFORE YOU GO: Famous puppy with tail on his head has found his forever home