All season long, there has been one name, one controversial figure, and two alleged dramatic protests looming over “The Masked Singer.”
While it was reported this controversial unmasking, and the alleged walk-offs of both Ken and Robin after ther reveal, was the first of the season, it’s quite possible that the air order of this season’s groups has been shuffled. And this is the first round of the final group.
So does that mean the moment happens tonight? Well, either it does, or the production team got realy creative with their edit — or decided to excise that contestant altogether to avoid another round of controversy when they got unmasked on television. We’ll all have to find out together.
With Ringmaster and Firefly already securing their spots in the finale, it was time for five new masks to enter the competition and vie to go mask-to-mask-to-mask with them for the Season 7 Golden Mask trophy. Will it be Jack-in-the-Box, Queen Cobra, Space Bunny, Baby Mammoth, or Prince?
Let’s jump right in with this week’s masks. And don’t worry, before we get to the shocking unmasking, we’re going to make you power through the terrible (and occasionally good) guesses made by our illustrious panel of Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong and Nicole Scherzinger first. We do this because we love … to torture you.
Along with the panel’s guesses, we’ll be sharing some internet speculation, too, so if you don’t want to be potentially spoiled (because they are very good at this), you may want to skip past the guesses sections.
(“La Copa de la Vida,” Ricky Martin) Prince was a huge surprise, dropping respectable Spanish pronunciation and style as he tackled this classic like it was written for him. He has a smoothness to his voice that certainly sounds professional caliber, and he’s got moves on that stage for days.
Guesses: With a little bit of salsa and a lot of wiggle, it seems safe to guess that Prince has some dance experience, so if he’s not a singer, maybe he’s a multi-talented dancer. Still, he carried himself like someone who’s done that exact thing, so singer/dancer is more likely.
His clue package took us back to the VHS with an ‘80s-style “Total Body Workout.” The judges picked up on his “Reach and Bend” move as being “R&B,” while we noticed the $20.06 price tag, probably signifying that year. Other visual clues included a red ball labeled “Mars,” a teddy bear and a massive diamond ring. Is it finally The Rock!
He revealed that he’s performed in front of people many times, but called this “the most bonkers” thing he’s ever been part of. He said he’s “happy to be back on a team” and hopes to “knock it out of the park.”
Going by voice alone, and the 2006 clue, Ken wondered if this wasn’t “Hero” singer Enrique Iglesias; Nicole was right there with him. Robin heard that, too, but wondered if perhaps Derek Jeter has a secret (and incredible) talent for singing.
Jenny went down a similar path, with the diamond ring representing both a baseball diamond and perhaps the rock that Alex Rodriguez took back from Jennifer Lopez when they called off their engagement. Another multi-talented baller?
Jamie Lee Curtis then dropped in via video, referring to himself as both her “final girl” and “your queen,” so is it just a close friend, or a big-screen collaborator? As for Twitter, they’re not feeling confident yet on their guesses, though they are feeling this performance.
We got some guesses echoing the panel, as well as some additional baseball players like Adam Wainwright and Johnny Damon, along with some non-sports guesses like Jonathon Groff and Matthew Morrison, and Cheyenne Jackson (who does have a JLC connection).
(“Walkin’ After Midnight,” Patsy Cline) Baby Mammoth didn’t offer anything incredible, but she gave us a very competent vocal performance. The arrangement was very limited in scope, as were his moves on the stage, so he’s not a professional by any means. But he also wasn’t horribly out of tune or rhythm, which was nice.
Guesses: This clue-mercial was all about hair care, with Baby Mammoth saying it took two products to strengthen her confidence and her hair. Speaking of two, we saw the number “2” on a silver medal, as well as a “Cheer” megaphone and a book of matches.
She also threw around the words “strong,” “unbreakable,” and “iconic,” which could be for shilling shampoo and conditioner, or words that have been famously associated with her career. Speaking of words, “they told me I could do anything on this stage except poop.”
A pretty unexpected line, which she followed by saying that although you can poop in the circus, you can’t do it on this show. So good advice in general, but was that just her being in character as a baby, or is there an actual clue in that doo-doo?
Baby Mammoth also said that although she’s “gotten lots of silver” he wants to “go for the gold.” Ken wondered if this could be Nancy Kerrigan, who got more fame for having her knee bashed in by Tonya Harding than even her silver at the Olympics. Jenny asked him, “But what if it’s Tonya Harding?”
Nicole considered the sultriness of that voice to “Romancing the Stone” star Kathleen Turner, but Robin wondered if “it takes two” because “Three’s Company” … so, Suzanne Somers? Baby Mammoth jumped in to ask if anyone was saying she’s fat because “I just lost 300 pounds.” Is that a huge clue, or just a joke. If that’s real, that would narrow it down considerably.
Robin, though, looked at all the talking balloons/bubbles (like a comic book) and wondered if it was someone famous for gab before setting on Rachael Ray. Online, Twitter was actually digging Ken’s gut reaction that this is Nancy Kerrigan … much to their surprise.
There were a few other guesses like Leslie Jordan and Mary Lou Retton (yeah, but they’re tiny!), but Ken’s is definitely the front-runner. The other most popular guess online is Kirstie Alley, with the “2” representing her film, “It Takes Two.”
They also spent a lot of time fawning over the costume, which we can’t blame at all. It’s easily one of the most adorable ever, from how it looks to even how it moves. And she’s clearly having a blast, embracing the silliness of it all.
(“Good as Hell,” Lizzo) Queen Cobra gave us so much personality, but also a killer vocal performance on a track with lots of attitude and swagger. She was all over it. We’re not sure if the five other queens were just backup dancers or part of her act, but the whole thing was stellar. She’s definitely a professional singer — or should be one!
Guesses: While her clue-mercial was about coffee, it opened on a trio of baddies skulking near bags of garbage and metal trash cans. One was dressed as Captain Hook, while we also saw a picture of a rocket ship, a bag of cash a la an old-timey bank robbery.
There was also a photo of Bradley Cooper — cue Lady Gaga guesses — as well as lots of comic book sound effects like the old 1960s “Batman” series (and that Batman logo). She was all about “attack” and “action,” too, totally evading Nick asking if she was one performer, six, or somewhere in between. And she had great stage presence and gave body even in delivering those lines.
Jenny saw two cobras in the package, as well as the 1990s, wondering if maybe this was Brandy and Monica. But Ken couldn’t let go of all those comic book and Batman references, instead wondering if maybe it’s Anne Hathaway, who did portray Catwoman and has an amazing voice.
We’re not even entertaining the Jada and Willow guess because we just don’t think it’s going to happen. But we’re also not entertaining the Pussycat Dolls guess because it’s just too meta. Who’s the main one, then? Also, shouldn’t Nicole know those voices immediately?
Other guesses we saw online included Sheryl Lee Ralph, Vanessa Williams, Anne Hathaway and Cindy Herron. In other words, while they were blown away by her performance, and her figure, they’ve no idea at all who she is.
(“Bad to the Bone,” George Thorogood & the Destroyers) Jack-in-the-Box was an absolute disaster up there. Not only could he not carry a tune, he hardly made any effort at all. “Well, you can’t get any badder than that,” Robin said. “That’s the baddest.” we’d have to agree. It was pretty bad.
Guesses: Honestly, knowing that one infamous individual was controversially a part of this season, and unmasked first in their round, we already had a feeling who this was as soon as they started … should we call that singing?
We got his clues after his performance, which included a gavel tied to him revealing he’d officiated over 200 weddings. We also saw a red wagon pulled in, as well as two red ring pops while talking about those weddings.
Throw in a football, a small space shuttle and the specific breakdown of weddings across all four seasons, and it all ties up to the one and only Rudy Giuliani, famous for that ridiculous press conference at what certainly appeared to be the wrong Four Seasons.
Unless they got real creative with their edit, we’ve known he was coming, and this is the last first elimination possible. Not to mention that vocally, that sounded a lot like the former president’s former counsel.
“I get put in a box a lot,” Jack said. Robin wondered if the raspy, older voice could signify Robert Duvall. Ken wondered at the crypto of it all, as well as the shuttle, to land on Elon Musk. Jenny agreed it might be someone of importance, but thinks the Irish shamrock might point to Joe Pesci, tied to Four Seasons and the gavel with “My Cousin Vinny.”
Twitter, though, has been waiting all season for the Rudy Giuliani unmasking, and subsequent protest walk-offs, so they were laser-locked that he is who was beneath the mask, and behind that awful singing.
They also noticed that the official “Masked Singer” account didn’t tweet anything during his performance, either. And as of this publishing, none of the videos related to Jack-in-the-Box are on the show’s official page. That’s certainly a choice.
(“Jump in the Line,” Harry Belafonte) Space Bunny is a complicated one because he doesn’t present like a professional singer, but that was definitely a confident and solid vocal performance. He nailed all those notes, the cadence, the rhythm, the whole mood of the piece. And if that accent isn’t authentic, he nailed that, too.
Guesses: While he performed like a very good singer, his clues kept leaning toward sports, including a flaming basketball and the phrases “be a hero” and “cover all your bases.” We saw a red handprint and a dog as he also mentioned the word “trailblazer.”
“I shoot for the moon,” he said. He also said he likes a wardrobe, too. When Nick asked if he knows Space Bunny, Space Bunny countered, “No, but I know you.” All of this had Robin first thinking Damian Lillard, but instead went through a bunch of Caribbean singers before settling on Sean Paul.
Nicole threw out Shaggy, as well, to help him out, but her own guess was far more ambitious (and unlikely). “It’s LeBron James,” she said to virtually no real support at all. Twitter actually liked her first guess better, tossing around Shaggy themselves.
In fact, while there were some off-the-wall guesses like Charles Barkley, George Lopez, Adam Sandler and Snoop Dogg the only consensus we started to see was for Shaggy. Maybe don’t throw away your guess next time?
After these four performances, it doesn’t even matter that we know Rudy Giuliani was the first eliminated in his group, or that we’re super confident he’s Jack-in-the-Box. He was far and away the worst performer of the night, as all four of the other contenders actually had quality singing voices.
That makes this the strongest overall group of the competition. After we say goodbye to Jack-in-the-Box tonight, this group is going to get hard in a hurry as everyone brings something fun and different to the stage — even Baby Mammoth was solid enough in her limited range.
We are saying goodbye to Jack-in-the-Box, right? Regardless of who’s under that mask, they’ve gotta be the one to go, right? Right?! Thankfully, yes, as Jack-in-the-Box got a well-deserved boot.
Robin Thicke: Robert DuvallJenny McCarthy: Joe PesciKen Jeong: Elon MuskNicole Scherzinger: Al Roker
“Is that Robert Duvall?” Nicole asked, clearly not recognizing Rudy Giuliani when he was revealed. Looking completely shell-shocked, Ken responded stone-faced, “No, that’s not Robert Duvall.” He knew exactly who this was, and he was clearly not happy about it.
Ken’s arms were crossed, his body language definitely not into the whole thing. As he started singing unmasked, Ken announced, “I’m done,” and walked off the set. Considering what a huge controversial moment this was, with TMZ reporting both he and Robin walking off, this was barely acknowledged here.
We got a shot of Nicole and Jenny dancing along, seemingly alone on the dais, so why address it at all if only to give it that short moment? Was it to acknowledge the controversial choice that Giuliani was, to give weight and credit to Ken’s reaction? To close out the narrative of his obvious unhappiness from the moment Giuliani was unmasked?
We wonder if there will be any follow-up to the walk-off we did see in next week’s episode, or if the show will just move on. Considering most episodes are pretty self-contained, and the show has mostly avoided controversy, we have a feeling this will be the only note of Ken’s (and Robin’s?) protest.
At the same time, Ken did say he was “done,” so they may need to address that he isn’t leaving the show, so it might get some air time next week, after all. We certainly feel it’s worthy of that time, so we’ll just have to wait and see how the show proceeds.
“The Masked Singer” continues Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
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