Warning: This page contains spoilers for the May 27, 2024, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Female Singers) for Monday, May 27, 2024 (Season 40, Game 186):
In December 2023 she became the oldest solo artist, at 78, to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with a song she recorded in 1958
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Ryan Alcorn, a product manager originally from Needham, Massachusetts
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Tim Keily, a search & rescue pilot from Sitka, Alaska
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Amar Kakirde, a graduate student from Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey (3-day total: $41,399)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
The first day of the final week of May, as the show settles into the final nine weeks of regular play of Season 40, features three-day champion Amar Kakirde taking on Alaskan Tim Keily and Massachusetts’s Ryan Alcorn.
Remember, you can check out my recap of the final week of Jeopardy! Masters episodes over at Geeks Who Drink’s Questionist; last week’s Masters column was titled “The Thrill of the Chase“.
I have an occasional mailbag column where I answer fan & viewer questions regarding the show. If you have a question, feel free to send it to mailbag@thejeopardyfan.com!
Remember, if you would like to enter the “Explore Iceland” sweepstakes, you can do so at sweepstakes.jeopardy.com. Today’s Final Jeopardy category is “Female Singers”.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: Who is Brenda Lee?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2024 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Since Billboard changed its chart rules in the mid-2010s to allow recurring songs to chart on the main chart, Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” has generally charted well. However, a viral TikTok campaign in 2023 propelled Lee to the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the oldest solo artist to top the chart (breaking the previous record set by Louis Armstrong in 1964).
This Final Jeopardy today will definitely test whether or not players and viewers have kept up with recent Billboard chart news, especially around this past Christmas.
We have many new offerings at The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store! Here are our current featured items, including our new Masters Season 3 Player List T-shirt:
Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Monday, May 27, 2024 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Bestsellers; Where Is That?; My Job Is Beach; Sports Awards; Nonpotent Potables; “V”-8)
A correct but tough call from the judges on clue #2 might often discombobulate a challenger—but that didn’t happen to Tim. Tim put it behind him immediately and picked up 9 correct after that, holding $5,000 after 15 clues, holding a big lead over Amar at $1,600 and Ryan at -$400.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Tim 9 correct 1 incorrect
Amar 3 correct 0 incorrect
Ryan 2 correct 2 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Ryan survived having a finger severed; it was re-attached.
Tim recently moved to Alaska and has already had a bear encounter.
Amar subsisted off bread and soup during finals week last year.
Amar nearly caught and passed Tim for the lead in this segment, but an incorrect Daily Double kept him in second place. While Tim’s score didn’t move—he had 2 correct, 2 incorrect—he still led after 30.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Tim 11 correct 3 incorrect
Amar 8 correct 2 incorrect
Ryan 6 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Tim $5,000
Amar $3,600
Ryan $1,200
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: The 17th Century; You Can’t Get Any Further North; Hey Baby, What’s Your Science?; At The Museum; Name The Celebrity; “Y” In The Middle)
Amar had the best time in Double Jeopardy, picking up 11 correct responses and both Daily Doubles as he cruised to a runaway lead going into Final.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Amar 19 correct 4 incorrect
Ryan 11 correct 2 incorrect
Tim 14 correct 5 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 18 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Amar $16,000
Ryan $7,200
Tim $5,000
This Final Jeopardy was a Triple Stumper; Amar’s runaway gives him win #4!
Tonight’s results:
Tim $5,000 – $2,251 = $2,749 (Who is Cher? Hi Cooper + Blake!)
Ryan $7,200 – $0 = $7,200 (Who is Parton? I <3 my pregnant wife)
Amar $16,000 – $1,500 = $14,500 (Who is Dolly Parton?) (4-day total: $55,899)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) BESTSELLERS $600 (clue #27)
Amar 4600 -1000 (Tim 4800 Ryan 1000)
2) AT THE MUSEUM $1200 (clue #2)
Amar 4400 +4000 (Tim 5000 Ryan 1200)
3) HEY BABY, WHAT’S YOUR SCIENCE? $2000 (clue #15, $16000 left on board)
Amar 12800 +2000 (Tim 3000 Ryan 5600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 85
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Amar 3 4 4 5 5 3 4 5 4 3*
Tim 5 1 3 2 5 4 3 2 1 1 5
Ryan 2 1 2 3 4 2
DJ! Round:
Amar 3* 4† 4 5 5† 3 4 5*
Tim
Ryan 2 3 3 2 1 4 2
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Amar 4.06
Ryan 2.38
Tim 2.91
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 18 (0.10 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Amar $14,200 Coryat, 19 correct, 4 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Ryan $7,200 Coryat, 11 correct, 2 incorrect, 19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
Tim $5,000 Coryat, 14 correct, 5 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $26,400
Lach Trash: $17,600 (on 15 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,000
Lead Changes: 4
Times Tied: 3
Player Statistics:
Amar Kakirde, career statistics:
74 correct, 15 incorrect
6/8 on rebound attempts (on 25 rebound opportunities)
30.70% in first on buzzer (70/228)
3/7 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,500)
2/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,000
Tim Keily, career statistics:
14 correct, 6 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $5,000
Ryan Alcorn, career statistics:
11 correct, 3 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,200
Amar Kakirde, to win:
5 games: 42.333%
6: 17.921%
7: 7.586%
8: 3.212%
9: 1.360%
Avg. streak: 4.734 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Amar $16,000 Ryan $7,200 Tim $5,000)
Amar: Bet no more than $1,599 and enjoy win #4. (Actual bet: $1,500)
Tim: Bet no more than $600 for the best chance of taking second if Ryan is incorrect. (Actual bet: $2,251)
Ryan: Standard cover bet over Tim is $2,801. (Actual bet: $0)
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I guessed “Who is Barbra Streisand?” She’s been around a long time and had a lot of hits. But the fifties seemed too early for her, so I didn’t really know.
Not enough people know about this. Memorial Day is not just about barbecues and summer. In December 2000, an Act of Congress established the “National Moment of. Remembrance”. On Memorial Day, at 3:00 pm local time,
everyone in the United States is supposed to stop whatever they are doing (unless it’s an emergency, of course!) and pause for a minute of silence to honor the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Have a meaningful Memorial Day.
RedRose!
Thanks for sharing about the ‘National Moment of Remembrance’.
Will do so to honor my girlfriend’s father.
You either must be someone who follows the Billboard charts like a stockbroker follows the DJIA or an older viewer who can remember a 12 year old girl singer who was popular in 1958.
If a contestant had been studying current events, especially if they’d been in the contestant pool, they’d have likely stumbled upon it somewhere. Certainly, this news ended up in JBoard’s “Current Events Study Guide”.
Brenda Lee’s recording of “Rock Around the Christmas Tree” has been getting worn out every Christmas season since 1958.
I recall the news story from this past Christmas. Here’s a poser: Is this song “rock and roll” or is it “country”?
I did, too, though I think I might have been able to guess it based on it being in December. My vote is “rock and roll” because “rock and roll” was still young then and “country” still pretty traditional, so they were more separate/different than they are now. [Of course, acid rock, metal rock, etc. are still more different from even modern country, but modern country is now similar to soft rock.]
It’s not a poser at all, Nick-O. There is no question that in it’s time, the song was definitely “Rock and Roll,” not “Country.” Both “Country” and “Rock and Roll” were different back then, than they are today. Also, it’s right there in the title, ““Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” emphasis on “Rockin’.” That pretty much makes it crystal clear and eliminates any question about it’s being “Rock and Roll.”
Per Wikipedia this song falls into the category of “rockabilly”.
Also from Wikipedia, “Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music.” So, still Rock and Roll. [Though perhaps you meant to confirm that it was rock and roll rather than implying that it was not quite rock and roll.]
I’m old enough to remember the original hit in 1958. I also remember the fuss that was made in Dec 2023 when she topped the Billboard chart. Sometimes being an old Boomer pays off in Jeopardy LOL.
Hi Kathy,
Ditto!
Add me to the list of Boomers who remember. I very well remember, “Pretty little, pretty little, pretty little Brenda Lee.” Also, it was easy to remember because of “the fuss that was made in Dec 2023,” as Kathy wrote.
Before I finished reading today’s FJ, I knew that the response was Brenda Lee. She kept Mariah Carey’s yultide classic away from another three weeks at #1.
Also is there a reason why my posts aren’t added to the other posts?
I guess none of these contestants keep up with current music news…triva or not!!!
I remembered this news item from last Christmas; but then I once saw Brenda Lee live in concert, so that may have helped to cement this fact in my memory. The song is so well known that, at one point during the concert, she turned her microphone toward the audience and let us finish the lyrics.
Illogically, because the answer (clue) asked about something at occured around Christmastime, I said “Who is Loretta Lynn?” Her grandadughter has been in the news a lot with the grandaughter almost making it to the American Idol finals.
The thing of it is, I’m 99.9% sure that I read of Brenda Lee and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” had made to the Billboard chart (again.) I believe that is what lead me to watch her video of that song.
It took me 20 seconds to even get to Christmas since I got distracted by other thoughts, like a singer who was dying, and the allotted 30 seconds had already elapsed by the time I even got to Brenda… what was her last name again? Yeah, that’s how badly this one went for me. Definitely a big whiff on my part. For some reason, my accuracy rate has slipped a lot since last year. Don’t know why.
Congrats to Amar on a big win and (very likely) qualifying for the TOC! He’s making the most out of that insanely lucky break he got the other day.
Sorry, Nick-O, but it’s not really a poser at all. As someone who was there at the time, there is no question that in it’s time, the song was definitely “Rock and Roll,” not “Country.” Both “Country” and “Rock and Roll” were different back then, than they are today. Also, it’s right there in the title, ““Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” emphasis on “Rockin’.” That pretty much makes it crystal clear and eliminates any question about it’s being “Rock and Roll.”
I guessed Bette Midler — right on with the age, surprisingly!
I wasn’t able to watch tonight’s show, so I came here and read the clue and guessed Helen Reddy. Um, nope! I used to study Billboard’s Hot 100 in Fall of 1989 through Winter of 1991 when I was going to Cal State Northridge and I’d buy a copy weekly at the Tower Records down the street on Nordhoff, but haven’t studied the Billboard Hot 100 too much since then. I can however tell you that the song Epic by Faith No More topped out at #9 on the Hot 100! LOL
Retro congrats to Amar on win #4 and I’ll be watching tomorrow to see if he can push it to 5.
I knew Helen Reddy died a couple of years or so ago, so they would not have referred to her as 78 in December 2023. Dolly Parton was a better guess if one was not familiar with Brenda Lee. [It wouldn’t surprise me if someone who guessed Dolly Parton WAS thinking of the right song, just guessed wrong for who sang it.]