After a night of powerful performances and downright terrible guesses from the judges, it's stunning that one of them actually guessed the eliminated celebrity.
Once again, only four performers hit the stage on "The Masked Singer," which meant we had plenty of time for judge banter and more physical clues.
The clues were helpful in convincing us even more that we were probably right about Bee, Raven and Peacock, but left us just as confused as ever on Monster. Of course, everything changed for one of those acts when they had to unmask at the end of the show.
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View StoryBut before that we got to enjoy the antics of one Dr. Ken Jeong, who was absolutely riding the high of guessing correctly last week with Tori Spelling. This week he brought his own crown and confidently made terrible guesses all night long.
And yes, he was wrong this time around. But the panel is getting smarter as one-and-a-half of them got it right this week. How does that work, you ask? You'll just have to read on to find out.
Once again, the weakest performer of the night got the boot, but we're going to make you power through the terrible (and occasionally good) guesses for everyone before we reveal who it is. We do this because we love ... to torture you.
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View StoryBee
Okay, let's recap the existing Bee clues. She's been performing as a singer since the 1950s, likes the term "empress" for herself and talks a lot about how big she was for another generation. Add to that peach imagery last time we saw her, and Atlanta-native Gladys Knight still totally fits the bill.
Tonight, she told us her mom suggested she form a group at age 8, she mentioned that it was "in the cards" and that she got a record deal and her career has been "peaches and marmalade" ever since. She even dropped a Chaka Khan reference by paraphrasing lyrics to "I'm Every Woman," which could also suggest Whitney Houston's iconic version.
Add this connection to the "cards" reference, and Dionne Warwick emerges as a real possibility as she's Whitney's cousin and was tied to the Psychic Friends Network for years. Dionne is also from Orange, New Jersey, which could tie into that marmalade reference, but we're not sure about the peaches connection, which we've seen twice now. She did tour with Peaches & Herb, but that feels like a stretch.
The Internet clue was "loves southern cooking" and her physical clue was bakeware, which loops us back to Gladys, who's published a cookbook and opened a restaurant called Gladys Knight's Signature Chicken & Waffles. She also formed Gladys Knight and the Pips back in 1952 at 8-years old and has performed with Chaka Khan.
Ken saying, "She's a baker so Anita Baker maybe," just tells us he needs to get that crown taken away. Just no, Ken. No. Anita was born in 1958, so she didn't start singing before the age of two!
Robin Thicke: "It's definitely Gladys Knight."
@Melissa_Wasser
Jenny: "I don't know. Whoever they are, they can sing."
The entire audience of #TheMaskedSinger that's known who the Bee is for weeks: pic.twitter.com/EoWPLcLigc
Dionne is a solid backup guess, but our money's still on Gladys, who absolutely blew everyone away with a soulful and passionate take on Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball."
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View StoryPeacock
We already know that the Peacock is a Vegas performer that our moms probably had pictures of up on her bedroom walls. He's done all sorts of things throughout his career from teenybopper music to dramatic acting roles.
He also began performing at five and was part of a magic act. All of those clues have us in the Donny Osmond business, who did all those things in his career, including a magic act as part of his show with sister Marie.
This week he added some more magical clues, so of course Nicole Scherzinger went "MAGICIAN!" again. And then one swirling cape and Spanish music and the panel was all over the notion of a matador or bullfighter.
The cape also had rainbow colors on it, possibly tying him to the LGBTQ+ community. And Neil Patrick Harris wasn't a godawful guess by Robin Thicke when he suggested the versatile Neil Patrick Harris, but we don't think that's the vocals.
Here's an example of how their minds work. Peacock says, "By night, I ride into the competition masked and ready for battle."
Nicole's stream of consciousness. "David Hasselhoff? Night? Knight Rider?" Thanks, Nicole! Meanwhile, we have to give props to Jenny McCarthy? Oof, that hurts!
David Hasselhoff?Nicole you are FIRED?!?!?#TheMaskedSinger pic.twitter.com/i0dtGjfYiT
@AmazonQueen72
She thought she recognized Donny Osmond's style and stage presence and we have to agree. He's a consummate showman. His physical clue was a wig. "This show just got weirder," Jenny shouted, and while we'd like to agree, it was pretty freaking weird to begin with.
But did you know that in 1999, Donny Osmond starred as Joseph in a direct-to-video adaptation of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and you should see the goofy wig he wore. Actually, we think you just did.
As for the jail reference, that happened to his character. And a technicolor dreamcoat is not unlike a rainbow-hued cape, as seen in that imagery that got the judges thinking NPH. We're still feeling good on Donny.
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View StoryRaven
With "hair," talk show and references to a recent tragic loss, we've been thinking the Raven was Ricki Lake for weeks. "Cry-Baby" was also mentioned, which was a movie she starred in, while other clues ("Hudson) pointed to her small town upbringing and the year 1968 is the year Ricki was born.
The internet clue mentioned "her coworkers are devine," but we think that's a misspelling of her "Hairspray" costar Divine. This week added a reference to the time "11:11" as well as a mention of the word "view," and you know what that meant the judges thought.
But mostly she talked about how healing her experience on "The Masked Singer" has been as she's struggled through this tragic loss and used the show to help find herself and her voice again. All of this was beautiful and touching ... and it all still points to Ricki.
That said, 11:11 appears to be either the moment Ricki's ex-husband died, or at the least it has some significance to them as evidenced by the following tweet from a month after his passing on Feb. 11. The numbers also have some significance in numerology and can signify change.
11:11 🔥🔥#grieving and loving. 💔❤😘 pic.twitter.com/MO66gglHvP
@RickiLake
We also noticed she threw off the cage part of her costume, which could be indicative of her growth on the show. Her physical clue was an Emmy, and guess who has one of those? Okay, a lot of people, but also one Ricki Lake.
Yeah, it wasn't for her iconic '90s talk show, but her short-lived revival series in 2013 finally nabbed her the well-deserved trophy. And yet somehow, the panel was talking everyone else who's ever had or been on a talk show, including Raven-Symone (too on the nose) and Carnie Wilson.
I really REALLY cant stand Jenny. The Raven said shes a mother... and Jenny said its Raven Symone 🤦🏾♀️ #TheMaskedSinger pic.twitter.com/c6LtzsB17L
@AshleyCovergirl
The Raven tackled Sara Bareilles' "Brave" and it wasn't the most stellar vocal performance, which we figured instantly doomed her on the night, as she seemed subdued and emotional even as he was performing.
Props to Robin Thicke, who's really redeeming himself this week, for pulling Ricki Lake out of the air and reminding the other judges that she existed ... even though her name has come up before. This is probably a harder job than it looks.
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View StoryMonster
Perhaps the toughest competitor left in the competition, this one seems to have the entire nation stumped. Tonight's internet clue was that he "loves to play all kinds of Games," with "Games" capitalized, so is it a reference to The Game?
T-Pain remains a favorite guess, as does Jamie Foxx. Clues we've already gotten include him saying that not everyone thinks of him as a professional singer. He came up from the South to get "back in the swing of things" and likes to keep his head in the game (another game clue).
Of course, "swing" put the judges back onto athletes and they just would not let it go, though we did laugh when Nicole asked, "Okay now which athlete has two teeth." Pussycat Doll coming with the jokes.
.... and then Monster comes out and the judges all go back to being utter useless. Sugar Ray Leonard? honestly. #TheMaskedSinger pic.twitter.com/0OVXF2DMRj
@stephimus_prime
We're still struggling on the Monster, though we love him as a performer. This week, he said the panel's support went a long way toward healing a deep wound. He acknowledged dark days in his past but said he's a fighter who fought his demons.
He also made "swing" references and brought us some video game imagery and the Monster makes us feel like the panel! But we're starting to lean toward T-Pain on this one.
He's been trashed so much for using autotune in his music, despite being a great vocalist, that we can see him feeling like no one believes he can sing. Plus, his upcoming album is apparently titled "1Up," which is totally a video game reference -- T-Pain loves video games.
So what was his revealing item? A unique type of headset the Monster of which the Monster said, "I make my best calls on this headset." The panel went sportscaster, but this still fits with video gamers who often use headsets during gameplay.
Also he totally did a video review of Schatzii's Bullet 2.0 Bluetooth Stereo Earbuds and Wireless headphones back in 2017, so dude knows his headphones.
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View StoryElimination
This was as inevitable as the unmasking of Tori Spelling last week as the Raven just wasn't in the same class as the other three singers she had to square off against this week.
The panel made their final guesses before the dramatic reveal and Ken Jeong immediately blew his "reigning champ" shtick by guessing "The Talk" host Sheryl Underwood, while Nicole did no better with Meghan McCain.
We were far more onboard with Robin and Jenny, who both thought it was Ricki Lake, even though Jenny went with Raven-Symone just to be different. But they were both right and it was totally Ricki, who said she was so grateful to be able to share her story and work through her grief with the show.
Next week, we finally get all six remaining contestants on the same stage on the same night so we can see the Rabbit and the Monster every week. Okay yes, so we're picking favorites. They're just both so enigmatic and entertaining every time they hit the stage. Who's your favorite?
"The Masked Singer" airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.
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