The Masked Singer Reveals Sitcom Royalty in Most Surprising Unmasking Yet

Read more on toofab.com

Baby Mammoth, Prince, Space Bunny and somewhere between two and six Queen Cobras battle it out as Ken Jeong offers up a guess so bad, the studio audience meets it with stunned silence.

For the first time all season, there was not an easy elimination on “The Masked Singer,” as all four remaining contestants in this round are actually pretty solid singers and performers.

Still, they had a few new surprises up their sleeves. Two of them who got the studio moving and grooving last week with uptempo performances offered a softer side, and stunned us even more with the quality of their vocal talent. But it didn’t help narrow down who they are.

It’s interesting that the most talented group — except for last week’s disastrous eliminee, Rudy Giluiani — is also the most perplexing when it comes to trying to suss out who they are under those adorable costumes.

Speaking of trying to figure out who they are we’re stumped even more now just trying to figure out how many there are when it comes to Queen Cobra(s). Last week, there was one lead singer, but there were definitely more this week, with anywhere up to a half dozen people possibly part of this act.

It’s hard enough trying to guess one voice, much less multiple voices — and especially when you aren’t quite sure how many voices you’re hearing and how many are in the group of people you’re trying to identify. At least they all sounded great, separate and together!

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.

ROUND ONE

TEAM BAD: QUEEN COBRA

(“I Say a Little Prayer,” Aretha Franklin) Queen Cobra once again had the judges confounded with six people in costume and definitely more than one of them singing (with two in the lead). Once again, the sound was so polished and confident, it’s clear that they have done this before. Could this be a bunch of Pussycat Dolls messing with Nicole? They certainly harmonize as if they’ve been at it for years! It was beautiful.

Guesses: This week’s Mega Clue for Queen Cobra(s) came out in the form of a magical well because this show is shamelessly ridiculous. This clue was a massive looking Valentine with two hearts on it.

“This first clue, it goes out to someone special,” one of the Cobras said upon seeing it. Written on the heart was the phrase “B. Mine.” That was enough to get Jenny excited, saying, “I love it when I’m right.” So what is she right about, exactly?

She couldn’t help but think of her Brandy & Monica guess last week with their megahit, “The Boy Is Mine.” They did recently reconcile — such as it was — during a Verzuz battle, so it could be that they’re continuing those good vibes on the “Masked Singer” stage.

Nicole, though, wondered if it could possibly be R&B trio (originally a quartet) Allure. Robin wondered if the Queen of their identity could be trying to tie them to Queen Latifah’s label and this is label-mates, and duo, Zhané. He also connected the valentine to their hit, “Sending My Love.”

The connection for Queen Cobra(s) was Holly Robinson Peete, who wished them well on their journey, saying she was sure America would be “hypnotized” by their vocals. Holly’s appearance had Twitter thinking even more about En Vogue, because she’s legit besties with Terry Ellis.

#QueenCobra ,need i say more #TheMaskedSinger #Envogue #HollyRobinsonPeete #Terryellis pic.twitter.com/ALCLMiAcRq

— Antonio (@planetantonio99) April 28, 2022@planetantonio99

I feel like the valentines heart for queen cobras represents love and en vogue song my loving you’re never going to get it. Please tell me somebody else thought this too. #themaskedsinger

— J? (@ThatMermaid_J) April 28, 2022@ThatMermaid_J

The Queen Cobras are the group En Vogue. When they used @hollyrpeete as an acquaintance that gave it away!!#themaskedsinger

— E. Marie (@jerzeepeech) April 28, 2022@jerzeepeech

Ion who the rest of the people are up under these masks but I’m 95% sure that #QueenCobra is EnVogue #TheMaskedSinger pic.twitter.com/dcbeCjH5vo

— Phenomenally Black ????♈️ (@luvwinsresist) April 28, 2022@luvwinsresist

Queen Cobra is Envogue. Terry Ellis and Cindy Herron. Thanks, @hollyrpeete for the hint. You and Terry have been best friends for years. #TheMaskedSinger #queencobra

— Ms.COD ? (@MsCOD16) April 28, 2022@MsCOD16

TEAM CUDDLY: SPACE BUNNY

(“All Night Long (All Night),” Lionel Richie) Space Bunny didn’t present early as much of an accent this week, but there was a hint of it. What was really surprising, though, was how subtly strong this vocal performance was. He was spot-on with his pitch and had a lovely quality to his voice, with just a hint of rasp. He carries himself like someone who definitely sings, but probably not like this.

Guesses: Last week, the panel was throwing out names like Sean Paul and Shaggy, and we could hear hints of both of them this week — especially when Space Bunny shouted a bit of an ad-lip at one point. In that moment, we were leaning a bit Shaggy of the two, trying to surprise us with the smoothness and depth of his talent.

His Mega Clue was a mega dumbbell with 500 lbs on it. “I’ve been doing a lot of intense training over the years, ready to knock the competition out, mama.” Is that LL Cool J reference too obvious? Ken thought so, instead losing everyone by guessing Floyd Mayweather.

He knew they weren’t with him, as he also immediately said, “Let me finish!” Robin considered the basketball on fire, and he did say “fired up” this week as well as another fire reference. Then, throwing in the dumbbell, Robin wondered if it’s Pitbull showing off a softer side.

Jenny was a mess, with Robin very cordially shutting down all of her guesses from Ne-Yo, Usher and — somehow — Richard Simmons. And yet, Twitter was hearing what we were hearing, thinking more and more that maybe this is Shaggy under those ears. Maybe it was him! They even tied him to all those “Space Jam” clues.

#TheMaskedSinger im telling y’all the space bunny is shaggy look at the clues and listen to his voice yall!☝️☝️☝️☝️ pic.twitter.com/1tcDVJW2zg

— bethanya af (@iloveblackppll) April 28, 2022@iloveblackppll

#TheMaskedSinger Ok. Pretty sure Space Bunny be Sean Paul!

— Madison Carroll (@FandomEmpress11) April 28, 2022@FandomEmpress11

spacebunny chooses really good song choices i hope he keeps it up,, lowkey one of the reasons spacebunny is my favorite out of s7
also its shaggy guys its too obvious lmao #TheMaskedSinger

— konnie (ESPEON HYPE) (@DEClDUEYE) April 28, 2022@DEClDUEYE

#TheMaskedSinger yeah just retweeting this cuz Space Bunny is definitely Shaggy…… https://t.co/MhGmRIs00M pic.twitter.com/bXLfknwIH3

— Karrie (@KB291) April 28, 2022@KB291

For some dumb reason, I think the Space Bunny is Carrot Top. #TheMaskedSinger

— Elroy Mcgillicuddy (@moriya2k2) April 28, 2022@moriya2k2

TEAM CUDDLY: BABY MAMMOTH

(“The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s in His Kiss),” Cher) Baby Mammoth carries herself and performs like a confident performer who’s maybe a few decades removed from her heyday but can still get it going on onstage. This wasn’t a mindblowing vocal, but it was a good one with enough polish.

Guesses: Baby Mammoth’s Mega Clue is a bird cage, but it didn’t have Tweety Bird in it. Instead, it said “Danger: Wild Animal.” She explained, “I think that all animals should be wild things, so I set it free and helped it escape.”

Somehow, Ken took that to Reese Witherspoon because she has a movie called “Wild” and she wore pink in “Baby Mammoth.” It may be one of his worst guesses of all time, and it was met brilliantly by dead silence from the studio audience. Somehow that’s even better than groans or boos!

We weren’t feeling Nicole’s Melissa McCarthy guess, either, if we’re honest, as she was a cheerleader in high school, but does not sound like this.

Jenny McCarthy wondered her way through Diane Keaton, but instead wondered if it could be “Birdcage” star Dianne Wiest.

No matter who this is, we can all definitely agree that Baby Mammoth’s original song is a stone-cold bop. If that gets released, it’s definitely going straight to the top of the iTunes chart. And someone needs to make a TikTok dance of it stat!

When they’re not getting that killer new anthem, Twitter was starting to narrow down who they think is underneath the show’s cutest mask yet. There’s something about that distinctive voice that demands to be recognized, and they think they know just who it might be: Kirstie Alley.

"Baby Mammoth " getting stuck in our heads.

?? #TheMaskedSinger #MaskedSinger pic.twitter.com/AJv8Lr0z4e

— Alex R. (@AlexTheGreatzz) April 28, 2022@AlexTheGreatzz

#TheMaskedSinger anyone else hear Kirstie Alley when the #BabyMammoth sang? pic.twitter.com/mQX8QFrIuM

— Jodi Foreman (@jodiforeman) April 28, 2022@jodiforeman

#BabyMammothMask is not a pro singer but that voice is familiar. Kirstie Alley?? Never watched reruns of her show but she was always in tv commercials til recently & Baby Mammoth sounds like her #TheMaskedSinger

— American Idol Fan (@krummy09) April 28, 2022@krummy09

I hear Kirstie Alley when Baby Mammoth sings. Maybe cheerleader for Cheers! #TheMaskedSinger

— Brandy (@BrAnDnY) April 28, 2022@BrAnDnY

I think @kirstiealley is the Baby Mammoth. It’s gotta be her. The birdcage clue confuses me, though. #TheMaskedSinger

— miranda ✿ (@introvert_412) April 28, 2022@introvert_412

Me for no reason for the rest of the night.
"Baby Mammoth. Baby Mammoth"#maskedsinger#TheMaskedSinger pic.twitter.com/wCVD2Z4Wbp

— Simply Mercedez (@MercedezReign) April 28, 2022@MercedezReign

TEAM GOOD: PRINCE

(“Lay Me Down,” Sam Smith) Prince sounded like a pro last week, but he laid it down to a whole new level this week. This was stripped back and gorgeous. He has a surprising amount of rich power in his voice, we found ourselves thinking he must be a stage performer a la Broadway or something, because he could belt if he wanted to, and yet he had a lovely restraint. It was beautiful.

Guesses: Deep in the pointlessly large well, Prince’s Mega Clue was luggage. He said he’d toured a lot of hotels all over the world, and this one was definitely “the most wild one.” Ken thought that was enough to confirm it was Enrique Iglesias, but no one was buying it.

Robin was thinking maybe it could be Niall Horan, with an assist from Jenny thinking the Mars rock last week could be a reference to Niall talking about how he sings Bruno Mars songs in the shower.

Nicole agreed with our theatrical guess based on the voice, wondering if the luggage could point to “American Horror Story: Hotel” star, Darren Criss, who was happy to be back on a team last week — like maybe the “Glee” Club?

Twitter agrees with the “AHS” connection, but they think this instead is Cheyenne Jackson — a popular guess they’ve been trying to manifest for years on this show. This time, though, they’re feeling more confident than ever, so maybe it finally happened! He even has the “Glee” connection.

That said, the consensus isn’t quite as complete for this one as any of the other performers, leading to stray guesses like Ben Platt, Ricky Martin — but things are definitely moving more definitively toward Cheyenne.

Me explaining to anyone with me why the Prince is Cheyenne Jackson on #themaskedsinger pic.twitter.com/8Cvsssr2Lk

— carlz (@carrrrllllzzzz) April 28, 2022@carrrrllllzzzz

Def the Frog Prince is #cheyennejackson on #TheMaskedSinger – He was on American Horror Story Hotel

— DorieDesignNYC (@DorieDesignNYC) April 28, 2022@DorieDesignNYC

YOU KNOW WHAT @NicoleScherzy
YOU ARE SPOT ON ABOUT THE PRINCE BEING THEATRICAL, BUT ITS DEFINpITELY NOT @DarrenCriss , LOVELY I KNOW HIS VOICE/TONE/RANGE AND ITS NOT HIM!!!!!!!!!???

I'M TELLING YOU BEN PLATT IS #PrinceMask @MaskedSingerFOX #TheMaskedSinger

— DREAMER (@hazelroses1970) April 28, 2022@hazelroses1970

The Call Me Kat commercials with Cheyenne Jackson crack me up… hello, Prince. #notacoincidence #TheMaskedSinger

— Kelly (@ArendelleKel) April 28, 2022@ArendelleKel

I totally forgot Cheyenne Jackson was in Glee. He's deff the prince. #themaskedsinger

— J? (@ThatMermaid_J) April 28, 2022@ThatMermaid_J

ROUND TWO: HEAD-TO-HEAD DUEL

This is the first round of the season where the four singers at this stage of the round were all legitimate singers who gave a solid performance. So apparently only Rudy Giuliani was a complete disaster for this group.

Of course, the strongest group means the biggest heartbreak, as well as a much more unpredictable audience vote. Vocally, we’d say that Baby Mammoth and Space Bunny should probably be the two put into this danger zone, but we wonder if Baby Mammoth’s adorable original song (just repeating her name) and overall cuteness might push her above … Queen Cobra(s)?

Ultimately, though, the audience and panel got this one exactly right, sending Space Bunny and Baby Mammoth into the duel. The other two acts were just a touch more stellar on a night that really was solid. And of the two of them, it genuinely could go either way, so this performance will mean everything.

Baby Mammoth continued to crack us up after Space Bunny said, “It’s going down.” She countered quickly with, “It’s going up.” Maybe she is a vocally talented comedian, because all of her interactions seem to lead with a natural humor, suggesting that’s who she is first and foremost.

(“Me Too,” Meghan Trainor) Baby Mammoth continues to leave us scratching our heads, with a hilarious song choice and a vocal that we absolutely cannot place. It sounds like something that should be instantly identifiable, and yet here we are. As a vocal showcase, it didn’t offer much, but she has personality for days.

(“Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” Culture Club) Space Bunny had a little more substance to his vocal, with another appropriate and adorable song choice for this stage of the competition. It didn’t sound absolutely killer, but neither did his opponent. But if they we’re going by voice, we’d say he took this with the slightest edge

UNMASKING 10

While she’s absolutely adorable, and a blast embracing this character, Space Bunny definitely had a stronger night this week, and he showed more diversity and range in his voice last week, as well. There are no easy eliminations anymore, so Baby Mammoth would be our pick to go — and then we would be sad.

After the panel voted, they backed our pick and sent Baby Mammoth out of the competition. She has been a hoot from the beginning, and it’s disappointing we only got two weeks with her. But she was put in a stacked round and she just couldn’t measure up in the end.

• Robin Thicke: Kirsten Dunst
• Jenny McCarthy: Kirstie Alley
• Ken Jeong: Reese Witherspoon
• Nicole Scherzinger: Rachael Ray

We were right there with the panel on this one, clearly as clueless as they were based on the randomness of all those guesses above. Robin justified his guess by saying you can’t keep Kirsten Dunst in a cage, while Nicole said Rachael flips a mean bird in the kitchen. They were clearly reaching.

Except maybe Jenny McCarthy suddenly did put the clues together, tying the “2” medal with “It Takes Two,” the talk bubbles with “Look Who’s Talking” and the cheer megaphone with “Cheers.” That was some stellar sleuthing as it was indeed Kirstie Alley.

The clue reveal, though, actually said the “2” referenced her second place finishes in the UK version of “Celebrity Big Brother” and “Dancing with the Stars.” Regardless, she has a solid singing voice in that signature lower, raspy register of hers, which explains her more limited range.

We’re definitely not going to miss that chant though “Baby Mammoth, Baby Mammoth” #TheMaskedSinger pic.twitter.com/7gsx3IWTYH

— Chris Woodburn (@ImChrisWoodburn) April 28, 2022@ImChrisWoodburn

“The Masked Singer” continues Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

Getty