Season 11 Premiere

Hello everybody! Today I am going to share with you a recap and my thoughts on the premiere of Season 11 of The Masked Singer! I hope you all enjoy what I have to say!

The season started off the best way that it could, as it kicked off with a performance from new panelist Rita Ora, who sang the theme song to the show “Who Are You” by The Who. It was a great performance, and she also showed why she was the perfect celebrity to replace Nicole as a judge on the show. 

After that, we met the first contestant of the season, which was The Goldfish. In her clue package, she talked about how she made it big when she first got started, but that she felt trapped because of this success. She also said that she had to take risks with the rest of her career and that she loves to keep people guessing. There was also a jar full of candy hearts, lip marks, and a glass slipper. She then went on to give an amazing performance of “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo. After the performance, she gave an additional clue, which was a gold record and then she said that gold is her lucky color. The internet has given several guesses as to who they think this could be, but the one that I think makes the most sense is Vanessa Hudgens. She made it big with her one of her first roles in “High School Musical,” became an idol to many fans at the time, starred in many edgy movies and comedy movies after the series ended, the jar full of candy hearts could be because the character she played in the movie “Spring Breakers” was named Candy, the lip marks could be a reference to all the roles she has had where she kissed someone, the glass slipper is because she was in the three “Princess Switch” movies and played Cinderella in a musical production, and the gold record is for her album that is certified gold.

After that, we met The Starfish, and just by the way she walked out, I knew that she was going to be entertaining. It was clear that she was very happy to be there, with how much she was moving and bouncing around. In her clue package, she said that she got her start serving steaks to the stars like Steve Martin and Whitney Houston, and that she had nothing to her name. She then said that she got the gig of a lifetime that made her name known worldwide. Some visual clues included a mug filled with office supplies, a sign that had a four-leaf clover on it, a bottle of “PA’s Sunscreen,” and a doll. She then gave a very entertaining performance of “Material Girl” by Madonna. After her performance, she gave an additional clue, saying that she has been streamed over 50 billion minutes in one year. I agree with the internet who says that The Starfish is Kate Flannery. She did get her start as a waitress at Kate Mantelini restaurant in Beverly Hills, and the gig of a lifetime that made her name known worldwide was playing Meredith on “The Office,” which also explains the mug of office supplies. The sign with the four-leaf clover is because she is Irish, the bottle of “PA’s Sunscreen” is because she is from Pennsylvania and “The Office” took place in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the doll could be because she was in a production of “Valley of the Dolls,” and it makes sense that she has been streamed over 50 billion minutes in one year with how popular “The Office” became on streaming.

After that, we met The Ugly Sweater, who had a unique entrance to the stage, as rather than walking out, he was rolled out on balls of yarn. In his clue package, he said that he was very successful when he got started, but that he lost focus and his world unraveled, and that he went from living in penthouses to sleeping on park benches and noticed that he had to change and started fighting to reclaim his voice. Visual clues included a train, a rabbit in a hat, an alarm clock, and a record player with a Blue Note record on it. He then gave an amazing performance of “The Best” by Tina Turner. After the performance, there was another clue, which was another ugly sweater that said “Featuring,” and then he said that he is always in style, which is why the biggest stars want to work with him. I agree with the popular guess on the internet, which is that Robin was correct when he said R&B singer Charlie Wilson. He was successful as a member of The Gap Band, but he also struggled with cocaine and alcohol addictions that resulted in him becoming homeless and sleeping on the streets of Hollywood Boulevard from 1993 to 1995 and entered a drug rehabilitation program and ended up marrying his social worker. The rabbit in a hat is a clue to either his song “Magic” or The Gap Band album “Magicians Holiday,” the train is a clue for The Gap Band song “Party Train,” and the sweater that says “Featuring” is a clue to the fact that he has worked with Snoop Dogg, Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Common, Lil Kim, and T-Pain.

After that, the next performer to come out was The Lovebird. In his clue package, he said that it was fitting that he was the Lovebird because he is a hopeless romantic, and that every decision he has made in his life has been because of love, either hoping to find it or the fear of losing it, and that love has made him do crazy things. He also said that he has had success in many fields, has always followed his heart, ended up in front of millions, won awards for being so lovable, and that his proudest achievement is finally finding someone to nest with. The visual clues included a rainbow heart, roses, a wedding cake with only a groom on it, a watch with a #1 on it, a trophy that said “Most Lovable,” gold football cleats, and two dice that read 2 and 3. After that, he gave an impressive performance of “Home” by Phillip Phillips. Once the performance was over, he gave another clue, which was a television that said the words “Leading Man,” and then he said that he is even better as a leading man. I agree with the popular guess on the internet, which is that The Lovebird is Colton Underwood from “The Bachelor.” The talk of being a hopeless romantic is because he was on the 14th Season of “The Bachelor” and got eliminated after week 8, he was on Season 5 of “Bachelor in Paradise,” where he was linked to fellow contestant Tia Booth, but then broke up with her during the season, dated gymnast Aly Raisman from 2016 to 2017 after asking her out in a video, dated the winner of Season 23 of “The Bachelor,” Cassie Randolph, from November 2018 to May 2020. His talk about the fear of losing love could be referring to him asking Cassie Randolph for a second chance without the pressure of an engagement. He has also won two awards, a Reality TV Award, and an MTV Movie & TV Award. His talk of finding someone to nest with is because he got married last year. The rainbow heart in the pool is because he is in the LGBT community, the roses are because of “The Bachelor,” the wedding cake with only a groom could be another clue to him being gay, the watch with a #1 is a reference to “The Bachelor” being the most watched show, the trophy that says “Most Lovable” could be referring to him winning Fan Favorites at the Reality TV Awards, the gold football cleats are because he used to be a football player, the dice reading 2 and 3 are because he was the star of Season 23 of “The Bachelor,” and the TV saying “Leading Man” is a reference to him starring in “The Bachelor” and having his own show called “Coming Out Colton.”

The last contestant of the night to perform was The Book. This was a contestant that they teased in all the trailers, specifically the moment where he unmasked himself before it was time to do so. This made me think about the people that would pull off a stunt like this, such as somebody from “Jackass,” like Bam Margera, Johnny Knoxville, and Steve-O. Then for a while, I was convinced that it was Joel McHale, as he seems like the kind of celebrity that would try to mess with everybody on the show, and I also thought that he is a celebrity that Nick would feel comfortable calling out for ruining the show and telling them they look very stupid. As the premiere got closer, I saw a few more details about this unmasking, which was that it was one that amazed the panelists so much that they walked onto the stage to laugh at what they were witnessing, and the person who was unmasked appeared to be shorter than Nick. With all this new information and the information that we already had, I changed my early guess to Kevin Hart. When he performed, he gave a performance of “So Sick” by Ne-Yo that was so bad that it was funny, and from hearing the voice that couldn’t be disguised, I knew that it was Kevin Hart. It was also very clear that all four panelists knew that it was him, and after his performance, Robin even said that Kevin Hart was the only person it could be. His unmasking was also one of the funniest moments of the entire show, as he unmasked himself right at that moment, and immediately told Nick that he had pranked him. Nick then went on to criticize him for ruining the show, and then criticized the panelists and the audience for chanting his name, also telling him that he looked stupid, prompting Kevin to tell Nick that he looked stupid. Nick also told Kevin that he gave the worst performance of the entire show, which Kevin responded by saying that he was bad on purpose, and even showed what it would sound like if he was trying, which Nick responded by saying that it was still terrible. 

Overall, it was a great premiere that has me looking forward to the rest of the season! I hope you all enjoyed reading my writeup of the episode, and I’ll see you again on The Wizard of Oz Night!