Jeopardy contestant and Céline Dion fan Drew Goins walks offstage after missing a clue about her music
“Oh, she’s going to be mad, Drew,” joked host Ken Jennings.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty; Paramount
Fan-favorite contestant Drew Goins made the blunder of a lifetime during Jeopardy’s 2025 Champions Wildcard tournament on Friday, Jan. 24. Not only did he miss a question about one of the singer’s biggest hits, he did so after name-dropping her during his intro for the episode.
“John the producer suggested — long story — that I thank Céline Dion,” Goins told host Ken Jennings, bowing in Dion’s honor without further explanation. “So, thank you, Céline Dion.”
“Does she know what she did?” Jennings wondered.
“Oh, she does,” Goins replied. “Deep down.”
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Unbeknownst to him, Goins would be put to the test later in the episode, when offered the chance to prove his fan knowledge. The $2000 clue from the category “90s No. 1 Hits,” read, “Sharing its title with an earlier, more upbeat Huey Lewis hit, it was No. 1 for Céline Dion in 1994.”
Paramount
But when the camera looked to Goins, he wasn’t buzzing in. Instead, the Jeopardy contestant looked distressed, with a hand on his forehead, as he wordlessly stuttered in a panicked attempt to answer. Ultimately, Goins and his competitors were unable to answer, and the buzzer soon signaled that their time had run out.
If fellow contestants WillYancey and Mehal Shah were upset about missing the question, they hid it much better than Goins, who jokingly walked off set.
“Oh, she’s going to be mad, Drew,” Jennings joked as the audience laughed at Goins’ reaction. Goins soon returned to the stage, hugging Shah on his way back to the podium.
Jennings then revealed the answer to the question, explaining, “Like Huey Lewis, Céline Dion sang a song called ‘The Power of Love.’”
Goins then defended his blunder exclaiming, “I was born in 1994!”
Goins, a journalist from Honolulu, still had a successful round, taking second place in the final Champions Wildcard tournament and a prize of $40,000. As the runner-up, Goins also snagged a spot in the Tournament of Champions and is scheduled to play in the quarterfinals on Feb. 3.
This is not the first time Goins has been thwarted by pop star facts during his Jeopardy tenure. Back in September 2024, Goins lost out on the $800 clue, “The first of Taylor Swift’s record 4 AOTY Grammys was for this album in 2010.”
None of the contestants buzzed in with the answer, which was Fearless.
Months later, Goins redeemed himself when given another Swift-related clue, which read, “In 2014 Taylor Swift gave us this album named for a different year.”
Goins was quick to buzz in with the correct answer, excitedly proclaiming, “What is ‘1989’?”
Jennings was happy to celebrate with him: “Redemption for Drew! And the crowd goes wild!”