So what's behind the mask?

PERHAPS THAI small-screen viewers were becoming tired of reality talent shows or maybe it was just that they were ready for a change. Whatever the reason, Workpoint Entertainment must be delighted that “The Mask Singer”, a Thai adaptation of South Korea’s reality game show “Miseuteori Eumaksyo Bokmyeon-gawang” (“Mystery Music Show: King of Mask Singer”) that’s been airing since October, is currently the most-watched and highest-rated series on TV.
“I watched an episode of ‘The Mask Singer’ on YouTube to find out why it was trending on social media and promptly became hooked. Now I never miss an episode,” says Phumchana Nhuchukaew, who works in media relations.
“It’s different from other singing contests because viewers have to guess the identity of the singer behind the mask,” adds Chayan Chantawongsatorn, chief production officer of Workpoint Entertainment who is responsible for the show’s design.

“Each episode uploaded to Workpoint’s official YouTube site is getting at least 500,000 views while the video clips are attracting 3 million hits. ‘The Mask Singer’ is very strong on the social networks too.”
“Mystery Music Show Mask King” is one of two South Korea’s shows snapped up by Workpoint Entertainment. The other is “I Can See Your Voice”, a reality talent show with an interesting twist that’s been showing since last month.
“We are always looking at different TV formats from around the world, especially Europe, but this time we decided to focus our attention on Japan, South Korea and Dubai. Chalakorn [Panyashom, executive vice-president of Workpoint Entertainment], offered me two TV formats, ‘I Can See Your Voice’ and ‘The Mask Singer’ from South Korea. After looking at them, I was intrigued by ‘The Mask Singer’, which has a very different format from the usual talent shows. I found it very creative,” Chayan says.

“The TV format in South Korea is smooth and simple. I designed the Thai version of ‘I Can See Your Voice’ first because I could see ‘The Mask Singer’ would take a lot more time. The production of ‘The Mask Singer’ is in two parts. The shows in Korea and China don’t match the mask and the costume but we decided to match them here. I spent a lot of time searching for a designer for the masks. I also rethought the format and went with making the contest top secret,” the young chief production officer explains.
Each competition runs for two episodes with the contestants competing one-on-one in three elimination rounds. The contestants sing from the very beginning but are in elaborate costumes and masks in order to conceal their identity, thus removing factors such as popularity, career and age that could lead to prejudiced voting. In the first round, both contestants sing the same song, while in the second and third rounds they each sing a solo song. The winners from each pair are selected by the audience and panel of celebrities through instant live votes. The identities of the singers are not revealed until they have been eliminated. The winner of the third round challenges the previous competition's mask singer, and is either eliminated or becomes the new mask singer.
While the response to the Thai version of the show has been mainly positive, critics have also slammed it for being a fake, an accusation that Chayan hotly denies.

 “Do you know how serious we have to be in protecting the singers’ identities? Once out of the car, we cover their heads with a black cloth and whisk them into the studio. Every member of the team must sign a confidentiality contract. We lock the door to the studio and don’t permit anyone to go in or out during the recording. The rooms used for editing, mixing and censoring are kept locked. Only five of our 50 staff know who the mask singer is,” says Chayan.
“We have almost 500 contracts to be signed for each of the recordings from the 200-person audience, panel, officials and suppliers who are in the studio. Before going into the studio, I have to ask for their ID card, Facebook and Instagram feeds and scan their fingers. Anybody breaking the contract will be sued.”
In South Korea and China, the show has 32 contestants, most of them celebrities in singing, acting and modelling. In Thailand, Chayan says, he’s so far stuck to singers and actors.
“The first factor for selecting the contestant under the mask is the ability to sing melodiously. The contestant sings live with his real voice, but we distort what’s coming out of microphone to make it hard for the panel to guess his identity from his voice. He sings a variety of songs, usually covers of foreign artists, Japanese tracks or even songs-for-life, anything that’s different from his usual style. We almost came unstuck with Sena Hoi (Kiattisak Udomnak) despite his ‘phi suea samut’ mask from Thai literature, as the panel remembered his voice. We also try and disguise physical bearing. For example, Bordin “Pe” Charoenrat of Mild, who is thin and tall, wore a diamond-shaped mask and a fat suit. At first, he was taken for F—king Hero. In the beginning, we used only half-face masks but the panel and the audience noticed the ears and the back of the head, so we changed to full masks.”
Quite apart from the secrecy factor, the production is also having to cover the cost of 32 unique masks and costumes for the season, each of which comes in at between Bt60,000 and Bt70,000.
“I wanted to give the masks a truly Thai feel but not copy from the ‘Ramakien’ or khon characters. Our team brainstormed on ‘Thainess’ and came up ideas like a temple and durian. Obviously we share the ideas for the masks with the artist and take account of their input. Some of the artists have their own ideas that are too difficult to turn into reality. We send our ideas to the designer who comes up with a sketch and we make a model. The final mask is made of several materials including paper and resin. Sumet Ong-art, who wore a mask shaped like a cat with one eye, designed it by himself,” says Chayan.
The producer is convinced that the success of “The Mask Singer” can be attributed to its hybrid nature. “It’s a singing contest, a comedy show, a mascot contest and a game show,” he says with a grin, adding that he’s already preparing for the second season.

On the Box
- “The Mask Singer” airs on Workpoint Channel 23 every Thursday at 8pm.