Fox debuted a new singing competition called The Masked Singer on January 2 of this year, based their new show on the original Masked Singer in South Korea: King of Mask Singer.

Similar to the original show’s plot, celebrities compete against one another while wearing costumes to hide their identity. The judges, which include stars Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robin Thicke, try to guess the star behind the mask using clues from the host, Nick Cannon. In the competition, a total of twelve celebrities appear anonymously over ten episodes. The first episode introduces the competitors while they sing a song of their choice. In the following episodes, the judges try to identify the person behind the mask, using clues such as their accomplishments and other hidden talents that hide their voice.

During each episode, a portion of the competitors competes in face-off competitions, in which each person performs a song of his or her choice back to back. From each face-off, the judges and live audience vote for the winner. After voting, the winner remains safe for the week, while the loser automatically faces elimination, forcing them to reveal his/her true identity. Compared to the original King of Masked Singer, the face-off includes two celebrities sharing the stage, performing the same song in both harmony and rivalry.

During the show, contestants wear costumes in order to conceal their identity, thus removing factors like their popularity, career, and age, which could lead to prejudiced voting. However, compared to King of Mask Singer, The Mask Singers’ costumes cross the line from adorable to alarmingly scary realistic giant bunnies. Establishing the costumes helps grasp the audience’s attention, however, the scary realistic costumes take away from the fun of the show.

After Fox announced the official trailer for the show, fans of The King of Masked Singer worried the show would completely change the show’s plot.

“At first, I had many negative feelings about it. I thought the American version would completely rip off one of Korea’s top shows because I thought there was going to be some way they were going to ruin the aesthetic of it. I watched a few episodes of it [The Masked Singer] and I was pleasantly surprised. They got the basics of the showdown, which I thought they would mess up the most, but it was overall okay,” junior Natasya Hioe said.

Overall, the show obtains a different aesthetic Americans have never experienced. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the show received a 50 percent review rating due to the nightmare-inducing costumes.

Those who enjoy reality music shows like The Voice and American Idol should tune into the competition every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. on Fox.

The Chant’s Grade: C