This season of The Masked Singer started with 16 contestants and dwindled down each week until we got to the Super 6 last week. This week, the field was cut in half as we said goodbye to three singers. The episode started with Sun, Popcorn, Jellyfish, Crocodile, Seahorse, and Mushroom all singing for their spot in the finale.
We knew going into this season that contestants are said to have a combined net worth over $398 million, 46 Grammy nominations, 23 platinum records, 10 Hall of Fame appearances, one Olympic gold medalist, collectively sold over 281 million records, appeared in over 5,475 episodes of television and 151 films, five Super Bowl appearances, four stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, three world records, one Time 100 honor, and one Oscar nominee in a major category.
Paula Anka (Broccoli) was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984 and Clint Black (half of the Snow Owls) joined in 1996, leaving two of the three finalists as inductees as well. The Olympic gold medalist and Time 100 honoree are the same person and was unmasked on this week’s episode. Mickey Rourke (Gremlin) was nominated for an Oscar for his staring role in The Wrestler. By process of elimination, it appears that Mushroom or Crocodile must be a 5-time Super Bowl participant. Mark Sanchez (Baby Alien) is the only unmasked contestant that played in the NFL and never made it to the big game in his 10-year career. Mushroom is obviously a younger person based on his voice and the youngest person that has played in 5 games is former New England Patriots offensive tackle Matt Light at 42 years of age. Crocodile is believed to be a boy bander, but did have a clue that is thought to be a reference to Dancing with The Stars. There have been numerous NFL players to participate on the show including Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, and Hines Ward to name a few. The clue says, “appeared in” and not “played in” so could it be someone who has been in 5 Super Bowl commercials or maybe someone who has performed at 5 Super Bowls? I truly have no idea how this clue is going to play out but it would be awesome if it were Tedy Bruschi.
The 2 remaining members of each group faced off against each other with the winner of the duel advancing the final. Group B took the stage first, pitting Seahorse and Crocodile in a battle for the ages. Seahorse performed first and during her clue package, she revealed that before being on the show she had never attempted choreography and was ready to take her performance up a level. She delivered an energetic performance of Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like” and the popular guess of Tori Kelly grew even stronger after she was done.
Seahorse’s counterpart, Crocodile, took on Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” and actually improved the song with his take. There was a Pizza Rat reference during his clue package which did not help me at all, but I am sticking with my guess of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys.
After the two performed, the judges made their guesses and after voting, we find that Seahorse’s time on the show is coming to an end.
The finalists from Group C entertained the audience next with Jellyfish and Mushroom. Mushroom took on Amy Winehouse’s version of “Valerie” and we learned through the clue package that he has lost someone due to Covid-19. The popular opinion of who Mushroom is is Jaden Smith, but I am holding out hope that my guess of Hamilton alum Anthony Ramos is correct.
The clue package for Jellyfish including the Eiffel Tower and other hints of Paris. After her performance of Rhianna’s “Stay,” the judges concluded that Jellyfish would be going home tonight. Judge Ken Jeong was on point with her guess of Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim and I was not even in the same universe, as I believed it was Jessica Simpson.
Finally, the two remaining powerhouses closed out the show. The Sun and Popcorn have been the top contestants since season four began and they both left everything on the stage this week. Popcorn delivered a take on Tina Turner’s “Better Be Good to Me” that had the judges thinking it could be the Brownsville, Tennessee native. The Sun followed Popcorn’s amazing performance with one that was equally amazing on its own. Sun, who has previously tackled strong female vocalist including Janis Joplin, Kesha and Lizzo, gave a very raw and emotional a cappella turn of Billie Eilish’s “When the Party’s Over” for the semi-finals.
The face-off between the two could easily have been the finals if not for them being in the same group. After much thought the panel and audience voted and reluctantly decided it was not time for the Sun to set. Legendary pop singer Taylor Dayne, who many thought, including myself, was Popcorn, was indeed Popcorn.
After the triple elimination semi-final episode, we are left with Crocodile, Sun, and Mushroom to see who is taking home the top prize of The Masked Singer. Tune in to FOX on Wednesday, December 16 for what is sure to be the most entertaining finale in Masked Singer history.
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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