What the hell did I just watch? The second episode of the latest season of The Masked Singer kicked off on a high note, showcasing some of the best voices the show has had in its entire run. The good times did not last for long, as the show came completely off the rails as it was coming to an end.
Before I get to the shocking end, let’s meet the contestants that make up Group B. A total of six ‘singers’ make up Group B and consist of the Crocodile, the Sea Horse, the Gremlin, the Serpent, Whatchamacallit and Baby Alien.
First up was the Crocodile and he may be the freshest looking contestant to date. The clue package gave us a lot of insight on who may be behind the mask. The Crocodile grew up in Hollywood, went through some heartbreak and instability, and feels most comfortable in water. Other clues in the package included: an Italian flag, a pineapple with a fish on top of it, a Vegas hotel and a rainbow.
The Crocodiles performance of Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” is certainly some type of performer. My initial guess is Joey Lawrence but I am not 100% convinced I’m right. The judges had far better hunches than me including Robin Thicke aka Malibu Ken’s guess of Donnie Wahlberg.
Next to hit the stage is without a doubt the cutest character ever on the Masked Singer. Baby Alien is also the first contestant to have a moving mouth. The Out of This World cutie’s clues included the Liberty Bell, multiple Ferris Bueller references, martial arts, the Tony Awards, parades and roses. Baby Alien didn’t have the strongest voice of the night but still belted out a respectable version of George Michael’s “Faith.” I ran with the Bueller hints and believe it is Matthew Broderick. Each judge had excellent guesses including Ralph Macchio, David Schwimmer and Freddie Prinze, Jr.
The Seahorse stormed the stage and completely owned every inch of it, and it is very clear that whoever is behind the mask is an extremely polished singer. The contestant gave a ferocious rendition of Rhianna’s “Only Girl (In the World)” and the clue package included references to the OK Corral, Hogwarts, Emotion Ocean, dolphins and tea. At first, I was leaning toward actress Victoria Justice but than Nicole Scherzinger convinced me it could be triple-threat Hailee Steinfeld. Last week, host Nick Cannon revealed that an Academy Award nominee was a contestant on this season and Steinfeld was nominated for work in the 2010 remake of True Grit. The big surprise at the end of this episode could possibly have eliminated Steinfeld as a viable guess.
The next contestant had me longing for one of my all-time favorite candy bars, the Whatchamacallit. It is hard to miss the humor in the song selection of the Whatchamacallit as he appears to be rather tall. The contestant delivered a strong take on Skee-Lo’s “I Wish” and had the judges and myself scratching our heads on who could be under the mask. After his performance my initial thought was that it could be Wiz Khalifa while the judges guess’ ranged from hip-hop stars Swizz Beatz and Tyler, the creator to NBA superstar Damian Lillard. The internet was filled with predictions but the two that stood out the most were two with backgrounds in the world of magic, Neil Patrick Harris and Penn Jillette.
The highlight of the night came in form of the performance from the Serpent. The costume of this star is also a first for the show as it has animatronics integrated into it. The six robotic snake arms make this one cold-blooded competitor. The Serpent is hands down the best singer of the season so far and will definitely be a tough out.
The clue package for the Serpents was heavy on books and included on entitled “How To Be A Good Serpent” and references to the Caribbean and a path towards destruction. The contestant also said that the prescription number to its identity is “#31118.” My initial thought as well as that of Nicole is that is Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. The number clue if broken down can refer to the 3 albums he has released, the 11 Broadway/off-Broadway productions he has been a part of and the 18 years he spent on a Broadway stage. A user on Reddit also thinks it could be a reference to Romans 3:11-18 which was written by Paul. One must not forget that Odom played the role of Paul in the Tony Award winning musical RENT.
The Serpent’s beautiful take on the Proclaimers “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” illustrated the professional singing chops he has. Jenny McCarthy and Ken Jeong both had solid guess’ with John Legend and fellow Hamilton alum Daveed Diggs respectfully.
The episode was going nice and smoothly up to this point as the final contestant of the night was preparing to take the stage. We are introduced to the Gremlin and a part of me was disappointed that it didn’t look like a mogwai after getting wet but rather a furry and floppy-eared creature that appeared ready to devour the competition. The clue packaged revealed that the Gremlin has a checkered past, is a true romantic, and loves to cook.
The Gremlin treated us to a rather lose interpretation of the Ben E. King classic “Stand By Me.” The gravelly voiced singer seemed to forget a number of the words to the song and seemed to have nearly everyone perplexed on who this could be. Guesses included Jerry Lee Lewis and WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin.
As host Nick Cannon was sending the show to commercial break the Gremlin began to take its mask before the audience and judges had the chance to vote. Once the show returned from break we find Cannon pleaded with the contestant to stop but that wasn’t about to keep the star from freeing themselves from the shackles of its hidden identity. Once the mask is off we see that it is actor Mickey Rourke. This sent the entire studio in shock as no one has ever eliminated themselves before in the show’s history.
With Rourke removing himself from the competition, one has to believe that this also eliminates Hailee Steinfeld as a competitor. One of the hints last week was that one of the contestants was an Academy Award nominee and Rourke was nominated for his portrayal of Randy ‘The Ram” Robinson in the movie The Wrestler.
It was a wild ending to this week’s episode of the Masked Singer and one can only hope things are just as crazy next week when we are introduced to the contestants of Group C.
Here’s a recap of the singers to date and my first thoughts on who is behind the mask
- The Sun- LeAnn Rimes
- The Giraffe- Travis Barker
- Popcorn- Taylor Dayne
- The Dragon- Busta Rhymes (easiest pick of the season)
- Snow Owls- Julianne and Derek Hough
- The Crocodile- Joey Lawrence
- Baby Alien- Matthew Broderick
- Seahorse- Victoria Justice
- Whatchamacallit- Wiz Khalifa
- The Serpent- Leslie Odom, Jr.
- The Gremlin- No clue and it didn’t really matter
Steven McCash is the Music Columnist for SoBros Network. He is the pioneer of New Music Friday, highlighting each week’s new releases in the world of music, in addition to the occasional live show review. Follow on Twitter: @MC_Cash75
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