Chantal Ladesou could read the recipe for beef bourguignon, recite her shopping list or declaim the communes of Lot-et-Garonne in alphabetical order that it would not be less hilarious. She has this rare talent of transforming the most banal sentence into a comic response. This Ladesou effect is confirmed in the first episode of the fourth season of Mask Singer broadcast this Tuesday on TF1 and that 20 minutes was able to discover in preview.
The comedian joined the jury for this show alongside Kev Adams, who is back, and other new recruits, Jeff Panacloc and Vitaa. It is clear that this kickoff is a Ladesou festival. That she pretends to discover the rules, starts to sing Before you, the tube of Slimane and its neighbor or shouts to the public “Stop applauding, I don’t hear Combal! “, difficult to resist his jokes.
“We do “Mask Singer” and there is “Chantal Singer””
“There are two programs that are done at the same time, ends up joking the host. Vitaa, Kev, Jeff and I, we do Mask Singer. After, there is Chantal Singer. Chantal does her little investigation on her side, she does her little show. If she hits the mark every time she opens her mouth, her deduction skills leave something to be desired. Faced with a masked character with an impressive song, she says: “I’m thinking of Booder…” Response from the host: “Pardon Chantal, but did you have sound feedback when he sang? “Regularly kindly next to the plate, the comedian hits the bullseye to trigger laughter.
Any family is the game, Jeff Panacloc, him, did not store his trivial humor. “There is no personality hiding in Jean-Marc”, warns Camille Combal during the presentations. “There’s just his arm in my ass,” rebounds the puppet who, however, releases his ribald remarks sparingly during the evening. It must be said that the ventriloquist is particularly invested in his investigative mission and seems formidable in recognizing voices.
The good taste of bad taste
The rules of the game have obviously not changed and it is still a question of trying to guess who is singing in exuberant disguises. Among the six in the running during this first episode, a large gingerbread man, a firefighter elephant or even – our two favorites – a huge chubby baby and a drag-queen Dalmatian.
This last character, imposing pink mane, fuchsia boots, purple mini-skirt and corset makes the show. Whoever hides under the outfit struggles to embody the character in its canine dimension but also sexy, glamorous but also a little vulgar. It has the good taste of bad taste and it’s also very funny. We are also delighted to see, during his performance, the Dalmatian surrounded on stage by Paloma, winner of Drag Race France and one of its runners-up, La Grande Dame – Cookie Kunty, Nomai, Sublyme and Norma Bell, figures of the Parisian drag scene are also there.
Freshness
Two personalities are unmasked during this first episode and we are almost certain to have already identified two or three others. But there is plenty to do: between the “traditional” candidates, the two international stars and other special guests for the time of a bonus, there will remain in all sixteen to discover these next Tuesdays.
Final verdict? The renewal of the jury gives freshness to a well-honed mechanism. Camille Combal still manages her repartee as well and the impression persists after viewing of having seen an episode funnier than those of past seasons. Will this magic continue to operate in the long run? Once we have a fairly precise idea of who is hiding under the masks, will the humor be enough to compensate for the drop in suspense? This will be the main challenge. The Ladesou effect should be all the more valuable.