The OG Masked Singer Is More Talent Than Kitsch, We Were Robbed

A TV show featuring bunch of people with varying levels of singing ability hiding behind flashy costumes while a panel of judges consisting of Dannii Minogue, Jackie O, uh, Dave Hughes and… Lindsay Lohan (?) throw quips and jokes about every performance.

Yep, I’m definitely talking about The Masked Singer, Australia’s new favourite obsession.

There are plenty of good reasons why The Masked Singer is ridiculously hot right now. The performances vary wildly between campy and kitsch with hints of talent sprinkled through out but it is almost always entertaining.

Sure not every judge is qualified to really make any judgements about the singing ability of the contestants but any lack of proper music qualification is made up for the fact that Lindsay Lohan is on the panel and is having the time of her life despite looking utterly clueless most of the time.

The Masked Singer knows it’s turn-your-brain-off campy fun and smartly leans into it so it’s not too surprising why it’s such a big hit.

But for all the entertainment and kitsch The Masked Singer brings to the table, the Korean OG – titled King of Masked Singer – was something else altogether and you simply must check it out if you’re a fan of the Aussie version.

Whereas our local version is delightfully cheesy and all about the spectacle in the best way possible), the Korean version takes the actual singing part a bit more seriously.

Given the sheer number of talented singers produced by the South Korea’s K-pop machine compared to Australia’s comparatively miniscule music scene, it’s no surprise that King of Masked Singer is filled with people who could actually sing whereas The Masked Singer has folks like Brett Lee.

As a result, the show is stuffed with stunning vocal performances week in week out and there’s no need to rely on flashy costumes.

Almost every singer and K-pop idol who has been on the show – and they have ranged from BTS-levels of fame to indie artists – is stupidly talented and whoever couldn’t appear as a contestant will likely appear on the judging panel as a guest judge, which adds an extra layer of fun and credibility to the proceedings.

But it’s not quite a full on “serious” competition show either as King of Masked Singer also has its moments of dumb fun, such as when Ryan Reynolds rocked up in a unicorn outfit for laughs (and to promote Deadpool 2).

So if you’re a fan of the Aussie version of The Masked Singer, you’ll do well to check out the original Korean version because whatever that lacks in kitsch, it makes up for in vocal talent.

Having said that, nothing beats having Lindsay Lohan on a judging panel so Australia has that going for it.