California Roll Revealed – Various

Pete Dadds

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t watched “The Masked Singer” season 9, episode 13, which airs May 11 on Fox, don’t read ahead.

Pentatonix is ​​pretty easy to spot, probably the best known a cappella group out there right now. So from the start, it was pretty easy to tell it was them on “The Masked Singer” — and indeed, the five-person group was unmasked as California Roll on Thursday’s show, which doubled as the Season 9 semifinals.

For their first song, “Paparazzi,” band member Scott Hoing said they initially tried not to do any harmonies, “So we could hide the iconic Pentatonix harmony sound for at least a minute. For the first minute, I was really trying to change my voice. But it didn’t work, because every comment on every video was ‘ I knew it was Pentatonix from the start and I was sure they were all in. We know that sound very well.’ But honestly, it was a compliment. It was really nice to know that we can’t even hide our voice because it’s part of what people have heard for so many years.

Hoying, Christine Maldonado, Mitch Grassi, Avi Kaplan, Kevin Olusola and Matt Salley make up the team and participate. Olusola said the California Roll selection was a perfect fit for them.

“We love sushi, we absolutely love it, and we eat it a lot on tour,” he said. “And we felt that everyone likes one long piece of sushi, but to cut it into five pieces you need the whole thing and enjoy the individual parts as well. That’s a theme in our group.”

Sally said the outfit was a challenge, and they needed two people each to help them move around. “Honestly, he didn’t make the song challenging. “You’d think it would, because we can’t see each other. But we got used to seeing each other and listening with our eyes closed, so we were able to lock and sing and mingle together.

For California Roll, it was hard not to get it right. Panelist Robin Thicke gets it right with Pentatonix. Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg agreed. Ken Jeong picks the cast of “In High Places.” Nicole Scherzinger thought she was a “Pitch Perfect” actress. “When you know, you know. And tonight, we know,” said McCarthy Wahlberg.

Pentatonix sang Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” as their first number of the night as California Roll. Before the final vote, the three semi-finalists faced off in a battle royale, starting with California Roll, then Macau and Medusa, all performing their version of “Runaway Baby” by Bruno Mars.

Like last season, “The Masked Singer” again adopted the “Masked Singer Champion” format during the regular season. Three costumed celebrities compete in each episode, but only one wins and moves on to compete again next week.

New this season was “Keep it Ding Dong.” In the new season, the panelists have the chance to save the singer from elimination, but in the first three rounds, the bell can only be rung three times. Those three singers face a special scene in the battle to rejoin the competition – which ceases to be Medusa.

Pentatonix as California Roll Olivia Culpon as UFO, Lou Diamond Phillips as Mantis, Keenan Allen as Gargoyle, Melissa Joan Hart as Lamp, Alicia Witt as Dandelion, Dee Snyder as Doll, Kristin Quinn as Scorpio, George Wendt as Moose, Holly Robinson Peete as Fairy, Alexa Bliss as Axolotl, Lele Pons as Jackalope, Malin Akerman as Squirrel, Michael Bolton as Wolf, Grandmaster Flash as Polar Bear, Debbie Gibson as Night Owl, Howie Mandel as Rock Lobster, Sarah Evans as Mustang and Dick Van Dyke Like Gnome, they don’t wear masks this season.

“The Masked Singer” entered Season 9 with 21 contestants including “Mustang”, “Axolotl”, “California Roll”, “Dandelion”, “Moose”, “Gargoyle”, “Jackalope”, “Doll”, Polar Bear, Night Owl, ” Rock Lobster”, “Gnome”, “Macaw”, “Squirrel”, “Wolf” and more. Tim Chappell is this season’s costume designer.

Season 9’s contestants have “a total of 28 Emmy nominations, six Grammy wins, 10 Gold albums, four Golden Globe nominations, five medals, 26 books, two Tony Award nominations, five Lifetime Achievement Awards, four stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a total of 95,231,000 records sold.” Season nine introduces all-new themed episodes, including “ABBA Night,” “New York Night,” “DC Super Heroes Night,” “Sesame Street Night,” “80s Night,” “Movie Night” and more.

Here are the remaining contestants and their performances on Thirteenth Night.

California Roll (PENTATONIX)

song“Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson.

Panel Estimates: Pentatonix, “Dear Evan Hansen” Cast, “Hamilton” Cast, “Spring Awakening” Cast, “In the Heights” Cast

Panel detail connectionJenny McCarthy Wahlberg. “Dear Jenny, I know you like it on stage. But I think the time you remember us is when we were on Broadway.”

The sound of the package: “I can say to all of us that it is very exciting to be here in the semi-finals. Because we love a little friendly competition and it’s great to flex that creative muscle right now. It’s definitely full-circle time. While we’re rehearsing and filming, I feel a flashback to our first time together. I am even experiencing the same anxiety as before. I remember being backstage to ‘Uptown Girl’ singing over and over and over and over again. Am I 19 again? But it’s making us realize how far we’ve come as a team. And as musicians personally. And I think we stretch ourselves creatively. One of the things I love about what we do is that we get the creative process right. We do a lot of things, but we present to the world as creative and innovative. Hopefully this will impress the judges and the audience and get us through to the final round.

Previous songs: “Creep” by Radiohead; “Paparazzi” by Lady Gaga

Estimates of the previous panel“The Lion King” cast, Pentatonix, “Pitch Perfect” cast, “High School Musical” cast, “Hamilton” cast, Miami Sound Machine

Medusa

song“Take Me to Church” by Hozier

Panel Estimates: Elle Goulding, Grimes, Natalie Merchant, Paula Cole, Lorde, Hailee Steinfeld, Dove Cameron, Dido

Panel Details Contact: Robin Thicke. “Both of our voices have taken us on a journey. It’s put platinum on our walls.

The sound of the package: “Getting to the semifinals means a lot to me. The best part of all is that it’s a sign that someone close to me will be a 100% supporter. She was a really colorful, active person and was my biggest cheerleader. I lost her in 2020. She was really young.” And it was really sudden. It’s hard to see what your future holds when your heart is gone. So when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, it felt like the greatest blessing. It felt like a gift from her. She and my son are a big part of my soul and spirit. So when the judges captured what I was singing, it really touched my heart. It’s annoying. And I always give it to them. Tonight, as always, I’m going to perform a song that I’m torn even by soundcheck. I’m hoping that the energy will come and push me to the end.

Previous Songs: “Someone Like You,” by Adele; “Happier Than Ever” by Billie Eilish; “Dancing Queen” by ABBA; “New York, New York,” by Frank Sinatra; “Mercy”, by Shawn Mendes

Estimates of the previous panelElle Goulding, Meghan Markle, Jessie J, Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, Lorde, Tove Lo, Apple Martin, Dakota Johnson, Florence Welch, Shirley Manson, Susan Boyle, Kesha, Imogen Heap, Regina Spektor, Bishop Briggs, Amy Lee Halsey, Ashlee Simpson. And when she was about to vote: Ken Jong chose Susan Boyle, Robin Thicke went with Kesha, Jenny McCarthy said Wahlberg was Halsey, Nicole Scherzinger guessed Lord.

Macau

song: “What is beautiful about you,” in one direction

Panel estimatesDarren Criss, David Archuleta, Daniel Bedingfield, Daniel Radcliffe

Panel detail connection: Nicole Scherzinger. Not only do we both travel, we both have a special love for the Philippines.

The sound of the package: “When I first started my career, I was very reserved. I was young and not sure who I was or who I wanted to be. But as I discovered myself, I was afraid of who I was. To be honest, I was afraid of losing everyone. But when I did, it changed my life in a beautiful way. I felt like I didn’t have to hide anything. I always I used to avoid love songs because I didn’t like what they were saying because I couldn’t relate to it. But now I know what he’s talking about because I’ve experienced it. I’m really excited about tonight’s performance because I know people are still going through the same problems I’ve had, and I’m going to come back on TV and say ‘Enough’ to the camera. It’s so beautiful, and why did I keep all this from myself?”

Previous songs: “Your Song,” by Elton John; By Tim McGraw “Live Like You’re Dying

Previous panel estimates: Elijah Wood, Zayn Malik, Doug Robb, Macaulay Culkin, Gavin McGraw, Ryan Cabrera, Darren Criss, David Archleta