Unmasked Encore Performances

There have been many trends that have been a part of The Masked Singer from season to season. These include the contestants walking onto the stage while a song is playing, each group having theme nights, with Group A having the premiere as a regular episode, wildcard contestants in each group, and the unmasked contestant performing an encore of the song they had just performed that episode or any song they performed that season. Over time, some of these trends have changed, as Seasons 7, 8, and 9 did not have any wildcard contestants, and neither will Season 12, and the walk-in song for contestants on theme nights is now a song that relates to the theme of the episode and not the costume itself. However, there is one trend that has evolved in a fascinating way and will also be the focus of my blog post for today, unmasked encore performances.

On Wednesday, September 21, 2022, during the premiere of its Eighth Season, actor and comedian Eric Idle from Monty Python was unmasked. At this point in time, I would have expected him to perform “Love Me Do” by The Beatles, which he had just performed earlier that night. Instead, Nick Cannon said “Here to perform unmasked once and for all, with a song I think we all know from the iconic film ‘The Life of Brian,’” before Eric Idle started singing the song “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” I was initially surprised to hear him singing a completely different song, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it made sense, as it served as a way of showing younger viewers who don’t know who he is what he is famous for. I initially thought that this would be a one-time thing, but I quickly found out that was not the case. 

The very next week, R&B singer Montell Jordan was unmasked. For his encore performance, he performed his song “This Is How We Do It,” during which he also changed some of the lyrics to add in the name of the show and some of the panelists as well. I think it was this point in time when I figured out that any unmasked contestant who was a singer would perform their most famous song as their encore performance.

The following week, Barry Williams, Christopher Knight, and Mike Lookinland from “The Brady Bunch” were unmasked, and they performed “It’s a Sunshine Day,” which is a song featured from one of their albums. I found it cool that they also let celebrities who are not singers perform a song that they are famously associated with.

In the next episode, Gloria Gaynor was unmasked, and she performed her song “I Will Survive” as her encore. I feel that this can be described as an iconic moment for the show, and it also makes me wish they had already been doing this when they had Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Dionne Warwick, and Ruth Pointer as contestants.

A few episodes later, George Clinton from Parliament-Funkadelic was unmasked, and for his encore performance, he sang “Give Up the Funk,” which was an entertaining performance as he invited special guest for the episode Shelia E. to join him on stage and all the other panelists walked onto the stage as well. 

Two weeks later, Ray Parker Jr. was unmasked, and he performed his song “Ghostbusters,” which was great, as the episode was also Fright Night.

During the finale, Wilson Phillips was unmasked, and they performed their song “Hold On.”

I found out at the beginning of Season 9 that they were continuing this tradition, as when Dick Van Dyke was unmasked, he performed “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” as his encore performance, which I thought was very cool because it was the first time a Disney song was performed on the show, and he showed off some dance moves at the age of 97.

Two weeks later, DJ and rapper Grandmaster Flash was unmasked, and rather than sing an encore performance, he instead used some turntables and scratched along to “Good Times” by Chic. I think it’s cool that they let him demonstrate not only what he is famous for but also what he created.

The following week, Michael Bolton was unmasked, and he performed his song “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You.” 

A few weeks after that, Dee Snider from Twisted Sister was unmasked, he performed an acapella version of “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” which I think was unplanned and he chose to do it because he was upset about being unmasked with how little he said to the panelists at this moment. 

A few weeks later, actor Lou Diamond Philips was unmasked, and we were presented with what is in my opinion one of the best moments of the show. As he is an actor with no famous songs, I expected him to perform either one of the two songs he had already performed, so I was shocked when Nick said, “Let’s get one more song,” as I had no idea what he could have been referring to. What happened next was incredible, as since one of his most famous roles is playing singer Ritchie Valens, he performed the song “La Bamba.”

For the final scene of the season, Bishop Briggs performed her song “River” as her unmasked encore, which I felt was the perfect way to end an amazing season.

It was a while before this trend continued in Season 10, as the first few reveals were not singers, but it continued in a way I never would have guessed. Reality star Luann de Lesseps was unmasked, and she performed her song “Money Can’t Buy You Class,” which surprised me as I feel that is a song you would only know if you followed the “Real Housewives.”

A few weeks later, Ashley Parker Angel from O-Town was unmasked, and he performed their song “All or Nothing,” which I thought was great, as since he has retired from an entertainment career, it was his way of showing how he became famous in the first place.

The following week, we had two unmasked performances of signature songs. First, Ginuwine was unmasked and performed his song “Pony,” which I found surprising considering all the blatant innuendos in the lyrics. Then, former Skid Row lead singer Sebastian Bach was unmasked and performed their song “Youth Gone Wild,” which I found interesting considering the tension he has with his former bandmates.

A few weeks later was the finale, and there were two more unmasked performances of signature songs. The first was Macy Gray performing “I Try,” and the second was Ne-Yo performing “Miss Independent.” I think it’s great that they were both allowed to do this, as they didn’t do it when they were previously contestants on the Australian and UK versions of the show.

This trend continued into Season 11 when Sisqo was unmasked and performed “Thong Song.” I found this moment to be great, as not only had I previously written about him as being perfect for the show, but I also said it would be great to hear him sing that song as his encore. It was also cool to see him do a single-handed cartwheel during his performance.

A few weeks later, Charlie Wilson from The Gap Band was unmasked and performed their song “You Dropped a Bomb on Me.” I find it great when they let legendary singers perform the songs they are famous for.

Several weeks after that, Thelma Houston was unmasked and performed her song “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” I think that it was great for them to let her perform that song as it helped people who are not familiar with her know why she is famous. 

This trend is not just exclusive to America, as contestants in the Australian, Mexican, and UK versions of the show performed their signature songs after they were unmasked. 

Overall, this is a trend that I am glad the show added, as it gives certain contestants one final performance, and I can’t believe that Eric Idle is the one who kicked it off. I hope that this trend will continue when Season 12 premieres!