Masks, Singers, and Masked Singers

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Grace Tucceri

Nick Cannon couldn’t believe his eyes once he saw Harp, Hummingbird, Hedgehog, and Knight.

Grace Tucceri, Writer

We now live in a world where The Masked Singer is in its eighth season. That’s right, the show has been running for eight seasons. Yes, that’s terrifyingly long for such a stupid premise, but hey, I don’t run a cable network, so I can’t call the shots.

Proud father of nine Nick Cannon returns to host with the elite panel composed of the hilarious Ken Jeong, talented Nicole Scherzinger, handsome Robin Thicke, and brilliant Jenny McCarthy. The judges will hopefully stick around for eternity since judging D-listers in costume remains their only source of income at the moment.

Since the show has an obsession with reinventing itself every single time, Season 8 decided to amp up the thrills by having MULTIPLE UNMASKINGS in each episode. That way, they can cram in more performers and (hopefully) get more famous people since they only have to commit to an episode or two rather than up to five performances. 

First to take the stage was Harp, whose rendition of “Perfect” by P!NK gave Jenny chills. Meanwhile, Ken states how the first Sex and the City movie is an all-time favorite. Harp admits they were most proud of their acting, singing, and comedy awards following Nick’s short question. Guesses included Queen Latifah, Jordin Sparks, Fantasia and EGOT Jennifer Hudson.

Up next was Hedgehog, looking very dapper as he walked out to “I Like to Move It”. The singer was accompanied by a massive marching band during the Beatles’ “Love Me Do”, but ultimately failed to deliver a showstopping performance. Hedgehog then went on to say he won both a Tony and a Grammy. Ken Jeong had the nerve to guess Ringo Starr, whereas the other panelists thought a former Monty Python member would be more feasible.

Hummingbird, better known as straight-up nightmare fuel, hit the stage next. He managed to sound decent with Gavin DeGraw’s “I Don’t Want to Be”. After hitting the stage, he then mentioned his silver trophies. The panel guessed Peyton Manning, Tom Brady (never in a billion years), some random Dallas Cowboy, and… Chad Kroger from Nickelback?!?!

Finally, it was Knight’s time to shine. Surprise – he didn’t. There has never been a more butchered version of “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in history. Jenny McCarthy brought up Betty White for no apparent reason (shame on her) and then went on to guess The Hoff. Ouch. 

Then, the lights went down and the drama intensified

First to get unmasked was… Knight. At 91 years young, it was Star Trek star William Shatner. After being unmasked, he admits the whole experience was terrible since he couldn’t even see while singing!

Next up to remove their mask was Hedgehog , who Ken finally guessed to either be megastars Prince Harry or Elton John. In reality, it turned out to be Monty Python legend Eric Idle.

Suddenly Will Arnett crashes the show, only to promote Lego Masters. No comment. 

Finally, Hummingbird got the boot… BUT DID NOT GET UNMASKED. Once again, history repeated itself and brought me much disappointment. Boo!

The premiere episode of “The Masked Singer” unmasked a sci-fi superstar, comedy legend, and… no one else?!?! (Grace Tucceri)

Even though the premiere ended on a low note, I will, unfortunately, still tune in every week in hope that an actual “celebrity” gets unmasked. Fingers crossed!