Beat Shazam: Season 4 Premiere (6-3-2021)

Here’s a recap of the premiere episode of Beat Shazaam, Season 4. Jamie Foxx continues to host with his deejay daughter, Corinne Marie, but there are a few changes in the monetary amounts. Jamie opened the show with a Denzel Washington impression and he also said that to beat this game you have to know all types of music: from the Beach Boys to the Spice Girls, from Y.M.C.A. to LMFAO.

Let’s meet the 3 teams:

Dianna & Arianna, hip-hop dancers from Los Angeles (LA)
Mike & Sharon, siblings from the Motor City (MI)
Allayna & Haley, best friends serving in the Air Force in Marysville, AF (AF)

If you have not seen this episode and still plan to, STOP READING. The correct responses and scores after each song are in this recap.

Round 1 – Shazam Shuffle
First 4 are worth $1000 each. The last one (Fast Track) is worth $2000. This is half of what the songs were worth in prior seasons.
1. NO. 1 HITS: “Thrift Shop” (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz)
LA $1000 MI $0 AF $0
LA and AF got it, with LA coming in fastest at a very speedy 1.23 seconds
2. ONE-HIT WONDERS: “Flagpole Sitta” (Harvey Danger)
LA $1000 MI $0 AF $0
Oops! No one got this one.
3. VIRAL SENSATIONS: “Baby Shark” (PinkFong)
LA $1000 MI $1000 AF $0
Everyone came in under 2 seconds on this well-known song. MI beat everyone at 1.45 second. Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo!
4. HIP-HOP: “Too Legit to Quit” (MC Hammer)
LA $2000 MI $1000 AF $0
LA was the only team to get this one right. They just give ’em the cash and don’t show how fast when that happens.
5. FAST TRACK: THE ’70s – “Disco Inferno” (The Trammps)
LA $2000 MI $1,000 AF $2000
This was between LA and AF with AF coming in well under 2 seconds at 1.37.

That last song put Dianna & Arianna (LA) in a $2,000 tie with Allayna & Haley (AF). Sharon & Mike were on the board with $1,000.

Round 2: That’s My Jam! Two votes went to CLASSIC ROCK so there was no vote on FUNK.
First 3: $2000 each. Fast Track: $4000. Team with the least $$ goes home. (In prior seasons, it was $3000, FT $6000)
1. “Light My Fire” (The Doors)
LA $4000 MI $1000 AF $2000
After AF went with “Be Untrue”, it was between LA and MI. LA prevailed, coming in 1.67 vs. 2.49.
2. “Hurts So Good” (John Mellencamp)
LA $4000 MI $3000 AF $2000
Everyone got it in under 2 seconds. LA and AF both came in at 1.78 but MI came in at 1.63, moving them up to second place
3. “Carry On Wayward Son” (Kansas)
LA $6000 MI $3000 AF $2000
LA had the only right song title. The other teams had “Dust in the Wind”
4. FAST TRACK: “Bad Reputation” (Joan Jett)
LA $6000 MI $7000 AF $2000
MI had the only correct title this time. The other teams went with Joan’s other big hit.

Mike & Sharon (MI) finished the round with a $1,000 lead over Dianna & Arianna (LA). Allayna & Haley (AF) ended up with the lowest score at the end of this round and the game was over for them.

Round 3: Corinne’s Choice this week is: MAROON 5
First 3: $4000 each. Fast Track: $8,000. (Again, the money went DOWN by $1,000; the FT by $2,000)
1. “Sugar”
LA $10,000 MI $7000
Both teams got it. LA danced away with it in under 2 seconds
2. “One More Night”
LA $14,000 MI $7000
Only LA had the right title
3. “She Will Be Loved”
LA $18,000 MI $7000
LA had it all to themselves once again
4. FAST TRACK: “Memories”
LA $24,000 MI $7000
MI got it at 2.19 but LA came in at 1.87.

Dianna & Arianna (LA) swept this round. Tough break for Sharon & Mike (MI) but they got one more shot — there’s $40K up for grabs in the next round.

Round 4: Without Words
First 3: $8000 each. Fast Track: $16,000. (Before it was $10K & 20K) High score goes on to try to Beat Shazam.
1. “I Gotta Feeling” (The Black Eyed Peas)
LA $34,000 MI $7,000
Both teams got it but LA was the only one to come in under 2 seconds
2. “Ghostbusters” (Ray Parker, Jr)
LA $42,000 MI $7,000
Both teams again. LA under 2 seconds again
3. “(You Drive Me) Crazy” (Britney Spears)
LA $50,000 MI $7,000
Only LA got this one
4. FAST TRACK: “Goody Two Shoes (Adam Ant)
LA $66,000 MI $7,000
This one went to LA. At 2.09, they were a bit quicker on the draw than MI (2.26)

In yet another change (and the worst yet), Mike & Sharon (MI) only get to take home $1,000 whereas in the prior 3 seasons, they would have kept half their bank. You would think that with all the other budget cuts for the songs, they could not only give second place half, but throw a grand at third place. What we’ve got now is a show where two teams go home with nothing and next to nothing compared to what the winner can collect.

One Million Beat Shazam Round – 6 songs
First 5: $25,000 each (the same as prior seasons). They only get a shot at one million dollar on the last song if they get the first 5 right. There are no multiple choice screens and they have to know the song’s exact title before Shazam to be right
1. POP: “Billionaire” (Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars) – Dianna buzzed in with “Lazy Song”. Right off the bat, the million dollars was off the table
2. COUNTRY: “Jolene” (Dolly Parton) Dianna got it right away – $91,000
3. R&B: “Let Me Love You” (Mario) – Dianna knocked it out of the park again – $116,000
4. R&R HALL OF FAME: “Bad Moon Rising” (CCR) – Dianna nailed another one – $141,000
5. MADE IN THE U.K.: “Let’s Dance” (David Bowie) – Another $25K goes into the kitty. They began the round with $66,000 and finished with $166,000.

Dianna & Arianna now have the opportunity to double their money. If they play this last song and they are right, they will win $332,000. If they don’t get it right, they will lose half their money and will be left with $83,000. Jamie told them the last category was 2010s to help them decide. The girls talked it over and decided to take the risk. Only one of them could play and Dianna was elected. Their moms had no doubt that she could pull it off and neither did we. She got it, making doubling their total winnings to $332,000. Here is “Try” from 2012 by Pink