Though we continue to live in a world where the supply of fresh Jeopardy! episodes slowly dwindles, the ones currently airing offer insight into the fickle nature of trivia knowledge. While many of the contestants on the syndicated show possess a wide range of interests and command of large quantities of trivia, sometimes a good old fashioned pop culture question is the difference in a game.
Monday’s edition of Jeopardy! was yet another example of that, as contestants were tripped up by a Final Jeopardy! question deemed easy by a lot of viewers. In fact, some predicted what the answer would be well before the question ever hit their screens. The Final Jeopardy category on Monday was Recent Movie Songs, and given that the show was recorded a few months earlier it certainly limited what “recent” releases are. Given that the biggest recent movie song was Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper singing in A Star Is Born, many people flat out guessed it would be the answer.
Here was the Final Jeopardy clue: “In October 2019 this song, a duet, was still in the top 10 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Chart after spending a year on the chart.”
Twitter was flooded with answers about “Shallow” and how many predicted the answer to the question before it was even read after the commercial break.
The Final Jeopardy! category was Recent Movie Songs. I said "Shallow" before the clue was even read. Alas pic.twitter.com/hzDKDJkAAy
— Adam Graham (@grahamorama) April 20, 2020
*Watching Jeopardy!*
Alex: The category for final is… Recent movie songs!
Victoria: I bet the answer is gonna be Shallow
*goes to commercial*
Alex: this song was still on the charts in 2019 after being on the charts for over a year
*answer is Shallow*@tor_cornish pic.twitter.com/xspEFsIy49
— JB (@JB___96) April 20, 2020
Even some former contestants who often play along on Twitter knew it right away.
Final #Jeopardy. Uhh….Shallow? My guess. (Hearing it 72 times a day was what pushed me and my coworker to finally change channels in the tasting room.)
— Author Jennifer Quail (@jenniferquail) April 20, 2020
But it was far from a gimmie for those playing. Only contestant Ben Sonday had the right answer. Andrew Cramer knew it was a Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper song, but didn’t have the name. And champion Felicity Flesher got it wrong, calling it “Into the Deep.” It’s likely a nod to one of the song’s lyrics — I’m off the deep end, watch as I dive in — but it was incorrect.
Fittingly, knowing the answer wasn’t enough for Sonday to win, wagering just $401. Cramer, meanwhile, had enough left to beat out Flesher, who would have easily escaped if she could come up with “Shallow.”
It just goes to show you: one person’s ubiquitous earworm may be another person’s undoing on Jeopardy! Gotta be prepared for everything while on stage.
