Masked Singer Reveals Artist Behind One of the ’90s Most Infectious Songs

This was the toughest night of the competition yet as Bluebell, Goo, and Wasp have all proven they can sing. In fact, after taking out Laverne Cox and Andy Richter in the previous two weeks, there are no more obvious choices left. All three of these singers are real vocal powerhouses who could take this competition all the way.

The only hope for one of them — outside of winning the night — was that this being the Group B Finals means the Ding-Dong-Keep-It-On Bell is back in play, since the panel did not use it for Group A. Would they use it tonight or would they try to save it for the Group C Final coming in three more weeks?

Either way, somebody is going home tonight. It’s just a matter of who … and how many of them. But before we can get to those big reveals, we need to get through what are genuinely some of the best performances in the history of this show. If we were wearing masks while watching, they’d have been blown off by what went down tonight!

Let’s jump right in with this week’s mask. And don’t worry, before we get to the shocking unmasking(s), 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 Rita Ora first. We do this because we love … to torture you.

(“Fun, Fun, Fun,” The Beach Boys) Considering what we know these three are capable of, we found ourselves a little underwhelmed by the energy level of this opening number. This is a high-energy song about having a good time (at least until Daddy takes the T-Bird away). They were vocally all three solid and pretty equal, with Wasp coming out the weakest at the start, but nailing that high note at the end. They were good, but this wasn’t great.

(“House of the Rising Sun,” The Animals) Goo gave everything he didn’t have in that opening number to this one, offering a full-on rock concert experience the likes of which we’ve rarely seen ever on this show. He left the audience, the panel, and even us at home stunned as he dropped into the basement to start this before belting an incredible chorus, hitting high notes and wailing like a soul singer who just found the Lord. This was on another level. Just crazy good!

Clues & Guesses: The latest batch of clues featured Goo giving himself a year to meet his goal, and persevering. Nevertheless, he said that he’s only now starting to truly believe in himself. Throughout, he held gold coins, a conductor’s baton, and moved a rook chess piece.

We also saw the sheet music on the music stand that was also holding that baton, a bag of those gold coins, as well as cotton candy being slung behind him, and a blue rotary phone which he answered when he said he got that “rare call” which put him on the “rise.”

His on-stage clue was an “Inventions of the ’60s,” JELL-O. Inside was a large whistle, which got Goo singing, “O say can you see,” before adding, “That has a special meaning to me in more than one way.”

In his second week’s clue package, Goo headed to a theme park, where we learned about his fiancee and how she helped pull him out of being “frustrated and grumpy” in a happy place by asking him to dance. Visual clues in the story included a church robe with a cross on it, a golden ticket, and a bowl of fried ice cream … maybe an empanada?

His toy clue looked like the whole damned Malibu Barbie Dream House. “This right here is a dream house,” Goo explained, “which is pretty fitting for Robin, because I know he’s a fan.”

The first thing we noticed was how enormous Goo is, with his shoulders appearing to be at the very least even with Nick Cannon’s 6’0″ frame. That fits as his Masked Ambassador, Keenan Allen (a.k.a. Season 9’s gargantuan Gargoyle) talked about how, like his journey, this will show a softer side of Goo.

The mask himself then dropped a football hint right away while showing a fishing tackle box and talking about how he wanted to “tackle everything” that came his way while growing up. He admitted to being sensitive when he was younger about tough days at school that left him in tears, but found inspiration when his brother started playing guitar.

We saw a train pulling a car filled with disco balls, as well as a French horn while he talked about becoming a “music nerd” involved with an a cappella group and music lab, even winning awards for his efforts. On stage, we got to see music cleats, with Goo adding, “For me, you may want to focus on the sole of the shoes.”

Rita went with 2024 NBA All-Star game player Anthony Hamilton, who has curated a lot of careers, thus the baton. Ken, though, stood up to salute the towering 6’4″ Brian McKnight (a.k.a. his guess). He tied the gold coins to gold records, and McKnight has performed the national anthem plenty of times.

Robin decided to try and out-Jenny Jenny with the clues, talking about a soul version of the national anthem for ESPN, with the gold coins representing Leon Bridges’ third studio album, Gold-Diggers Sound.

The clues, and social media, are getting tighter and tighter around one guess, and it’s Los Angeles Rams 2023 rookie Kobie Turner. His high school history indeed included stints in a cappella groups. Adding this week’s conductor baton to the train clue, and we’re even closer to his high school nickname, “The Conductor,” and perhaps the most compelling clue is the fact that he’s engaged to Alissa Villanueva.

And Jenny picking up on the rook to rookie note during the package could refer to all his rookie accolades, including leading all rookies in sacks and landing in third for Rookie of the Year while making the PFWA NFL All-Rookie Team.

(“Do You Love Me,” The Countours) Bluebell didn’t really pick a song that goes anywhere vocally, so this wasn’t nearly as mindblowing as what we saw before her. She has a good voice and a lot of great stage presence, but in a moment where she needed to showcase her absolute best to survive a double-elimination, we kind of think her song choice did her no favors. She’s got the natural talent, but this wasn’t the moment.

Clues & Guesses: Bluebell went from the top to a big drop pretty quickly in her career, feeling like maybe no one loved her anymore. She talked about her ideas drying up, too, leaving her with severe writer’s block for years which she could not shake until she became a mother.

Visual clues along the way included a sugar container, her tearing a carnival ticket in half, and a picture of white lilies. Her ’60s toy was an Easy-Bake Oven, which Bluebell used to make a vegemite sandwich, considered a “delicacy” where she’s from.

Her previous batch of clues talked about some of the struggles she’s faced, when she shared how “everything” went wrong after she landed her big break. Things got so bad she was struggling to make ends meet. It wasn’t until she pivoted to a different talent that doors opened and her career bloomed.

She talked about writing lists of what she wanted out of life, never questioning her belief that she could achieve whatever she dreamed. We saw her writing in her journal, a picture of a dragon, a “sun”-flower, and ripped polaroid in the clue package.

On stage, her toy clue was an astronaut, with Bluebell adding, “I’ve been ready to take you out of this world, ever since my arrival.” And was that a hint of an accent we heard in there when she said that?

When we first met her, Bluebell was getting very “touchy-feely” with Nick, which is often a clue in itself. Her Masked Ambassador is Kelly Osbourne (a.k.a. Season 2’s Ladybug), who said that her friend Bluebell is all too familiar with “tabloid fodder.” They’ve even made headlines together.

Kelly said that Bluebell had overnight success, while Bluebell looked at a TV script for “Episode 1204: Bluebell of the Ball,” but with that fame came gossip. Bluebell said that as she blew up, her alleged relationships with rock stars, billionaires, and royals took over. And yet, she didn’t find “true love” until recently.

Visual clues included Bluebell rocking out on a blue guitar with a phoenix sticker on it and ripped blue jeans, which Kelly added “cargo pants” and “crop tops” to after Bluebell said, “I’m kind of having a moment.” That was her reason for doing the show. Her on-stage clue was a pair of blinged out roller blades, with Bluebell explaining, “I try to roll with the situation, but I always rock it out.”

Ken picked up on the down under vegemite clue, to find Rose Byrne, who is a mom, and even connected the sugar jar to something neighbors share, thinking of her movie Neighbors with Seth Rogen. Rita shifted to Aussie soap Neighbours for the sugar to land on British icon Kylie Minogue, who was on that show — but Jenny thought she was stretching a bit when the only mom-hood Rita could come up with was, “She’s a mom to the LGBTQ community.” Jenny, instead, went with Naomi Watts.

But the one with the most traction on social media seems to be the right one. The torn ticket and last week’s Polaroid referencing her breakout single, “Torn,” Natalie Imbruglia had an album named White Lilies Island, which could tie with the flowers in the clue package. She also took a multi-year hiatus from music, returning in 2019, the same year her son was born.

Tying to earlier clues, Imbruglia reportedly dated Richard Branson and Prince Harry, while she and Kelly Osbourne definitely made headlines together. She launched her career as an actress on Aussie soap opera Neighbours, but when that didn’t work out, she pivoted to singing. Oh, and Natalie was born in Australia, and they do love their vegemite down under!

(“Ain’t No Way,” Aretha Franklin) Wasp soared again into his falsetto, but with so much more control and passion than last week. He was up and down on a song that gives you no place to hide. This was a vocal powerhouse performance with as much heart as technical ability. It was a stunningly gorgeous and moving tribute to his mother.

Clues & Guesses: This week, Wasp paid tribute to his mother, who passed away after facing her “darkest battle,” that he wasn’t equipped to help her overcome. He talked about her as his protector and his hero, sharing that she loved Halloween and playing dress-up — even saying she’d probably want to wear his wasp costume.

As he talked, we saw an old-timey (treasure?) map, a stethoscope, and a shot of a lava lamp next to a DNA strand behind him. His ’60s invention was the ATM, with a $1,000,000 withdrawal triggering bills to fly everywhere. “That’s an interesting bill,” Wasp said, showing Robin’s face on a million-dollar bill. “Just like this bill, I’ve also hit a million,” he added.

For his second week, Wasp pulled back the curtain on his crowded upbringing, growing up with more than a dozen family members living under the same roof, with Wasp describing them all as “hustlers.” The only thing missing was his dad.

He said that when he finally stepped out and made it, though, he returned home to love and support from his whole family, including his father. His dad even expressed how proud of him he was. Clues in the package included a folding ladder, a theater marquee with his name, and a red crab.

His on-stage toy was a Barbie stage with two dolls standing on it, each with one arm raised, one on a bit of a pedestal. “Every minute I’m out there, I take my live performances to new heights,” Wasp explained.

The Wasp’s Masked Ambassador is Ne-Yo (a.k.a. Season 10 winner Cow), who said, “I think it’s about time for my boy the Wasp to enter this game. I’ve known him since he was fresh on the scene and he gained huge success by taking my words of wisdom. I think he’s got what it takes to snag the Golden Mask trophy, just like I did in Season 10.”

Wasp then opened up about growing up in a tough neighborhood, saying there’s no reason he would have made it out. “But I learned to dig deep and fight,” he said, sporting a pair of boxing gloves. He then said that his career blew up to the “biggest screens and stages in the world.” Ne-Yo said he had the ladies swarming.

Other visual clues included a shot of Mars and a lightbulb over Ne-Yo’s head while talking about his words of wisdom. For Sports Night, the singers brought an athletic shoe from home to represent their life. Wasp’s honeycomb themed basketball shoes left him saying, “Fresh kicks help me stay on my game.”

Rita chased the Ne-Yo connection to “Let Me Love You” and DNA to his track of the same name to land on Mario. Robin said that he’s toured with Mario and absolutely agrees he has this level of vocal mastery and artistry. But the falsetto sent him to Craig David as his guess, or Eric Benet. Jenny, meanwhile, tied the stethoscope to Jason Derulo’s “Heartbeat.” with the previous clue tying to his Cats appearance.

Perhaps the most popular answer, that’s certainly growing on us, is Mario. He was raised by his grandmother in west Baltimore while his single mother struggled with heroin addiction, and he’s previously talked about having 18 family members living in his house.

Ne-Yo wrote “Let Me Love You” for him, cementing that connection. He also starred in the TV adaptation of theatrical production Rent, giving us our marquee — and the ladder, too, while we’re at it, for its unique staging. As for the internet, they’re claiming they’ve known it was Wasp from the first note the first time they saw him!

There were two gut-wrenching, soulful, powerful performances tonight. And then there was Bluebell, who appeared to have a lot of fun out there, but she didn’t pour her heart onto the stage. She knows how to do that, so we thought the song choice was going to be her undoing on this one.

With no second chances before the first unmasking of the night, it wasn’t even close. The studio audience got this one right. It’s no knock on Bluebell as she’s more than talented enough — she just got outperformed on this one.

• Robin Thicke: Isla Fisher
• Jenny McCarthy: Naomi Watts
• Ken Jeong: Rose Byrne
• Rita Ora: Kylie Minogue

Alas, while they were all “Torn” to see her go, no one on the panel got this one right at all. It was indeed Natalie Imbruglia. To their credit, the panel could not have been closer to the right answer with some of those guesses, as she’s definitely an Aussie. Alas, they had the wrong Neighbours star.

(“I Heart It Through the Grapevine,” Marvin Gaye) Goo went silky smooth and low to caress his way into this classic track, putting some of his own flair on it. Even Wasp was getting into the groove of those powerhouse vocals as he pushed and soared through the climax, leaving it all on the floor. Wasp picked up the tempo and put a whole different vibe on it. He had every bit of command with his approach, changing the tone but delivering just as fully. The difference was solely in the approach, as both masks totally killed these performances.

Truth be told, it can be tricky trying to decide whether or not to use the Ding-Dong-Keep-It-On Bell for these Group Finals, but it would be almost impossible to fathom Group C dropping two more singers of this caliber on the competition. These are two of the best singers the show has ever seen.

If a choice had to be made, we’d have given the slightest edge to Wasp just because he has a little more polish and a few more tricks up his sleeve. We can’t deny the emotion that Goo can put into a performance, but we think he could get that much better with a little more seasoning as a singer. Wasp is at the top of his game, and what a peak it is.

The winner of the panel vote — and they were already considering the Bell — was Wasp, sending Goo to the night’s second unmasking. Clearly, they felt that extra bit of polish Wasp has as a performer and singer pushed him over the edge, too.

• Robin Thicke: Leon Bridges
• Jenny McCarthy: Johnny Gill
• Ken Jeong: Brian McKnight
• Rita Ora: Anthony Hamilton

Despite being a little rawer, there’s no denying the charisma and gift that Goo has, which is why the panel was torn as Goo struggled to “take it off.”

In the end, the panel agreed as they decided to risk losing someone great in the next Group to ensure they wouldn’t lose someone great in this Group by banging that Bell. As they did, an excited Goo had two reasons to celebrate.

On the one hand, he lives to sing another day and is still in the running for the Golden Mask trophy. On the other, if he is who we all think he is (outside of the panel), what flattering comparisons that they think he’s these music icons. On top of that, it was a unanimous decision by the panel!

The Masked Singer shifts to Group C for the “Who Are You Fest” next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.