Spoiler alert! This story contains details from “The Masked Singer” Season 2, Episode 10, including the identity of the eliminated celebrity.
And then there were five.
Half a dozen mysterious contestants started the competition Tuesday on “The Masked Singer,” with their eyes on a place in the semifinals kicking off Wednesday.
T-Pain, the winning contestant from Season 1, joined panelists Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong, Robin Thicke and Nicole Scherzinger.
The Fox started things off. During the clues portion, he was shown reading a book titled “A Guide on How to Break-up.” He also said he was feeling like “I want to get away, I want to fly away,” seemingly borrowing lines from Lenny Kravitz’s “Fly Away.” He also made yet another reference to being a superhero.
Fox showed off some impressive dance moves while belting out “Blame It” by Jamie Foxx, featuring T-Pain.
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“Who are you?!” an excited Scherzinger wondered when he was done.
“I loved everything about it,” T-Pain raved.
Fox offered the panelists a clue to get their wheels turning: “I have spent one of the best weekends of my life with one of you.”
Scherzinger shared that she and Jamie Foxx have spent some time together, Jeong also suspected the Oscar winner. Thicke thought Fox’s story could be one of a man named Brady – Wayne Brady, while T-Pain guessed Kravitz.
Next, Leopard took his spot in the line-up, dubbing himself “The Menace of Tennis.” Tofu, a hefty paycheck and a motorcycle crash appeared as clues.
Leopard chose “We Are Young” by Fun. to dazzle the audience, and it worked on McCarthy, who said he epitomized what she loved about the show.
Following his performance, Leopard said, “I was presented an award on an awards show that included one of you, and I was wearing a custom leather outfit, darling.”
Eric Benét (McCarthy), Seal (Thicke) and Enrique Iglesias (Jeong) were all names thrown out by the panel.
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Thingamajig, the possible love of Scherzinger’s life, performed next. Prior to amazing the panel with John Legend’s “Ordinary People,” the incognito contestant said he was going to “start back at one” and would “campaign for myself.” He said he was out to prove he’s “anything but ordinary.”
Following Thingamajig’s number, T-Pain referred to him as his son, saying the costume was “derivative” of his Monster. The “Bartender” artist believed John Legend was under the costume, on stilts. Scherzinger, trying to be on the ball, guessed Markelle Fultz of the Orlando Magic. Thicke stuck with his previous guess of Montell Jordan.
As for Thingamajig’s connection to the panel? He shared, “Well, panel, I collaborated with the same artists as one of you.”
Flamingo seemed to emphasize a few key phrases before taking the stage, including “a different world” and “sister, sister.”
Jeong deemed her rendition of “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac “amazing.”
Offering a hint to the panel, Flamingo said: “I shared some couch time with one of you in 2013.”
A quick-on-his-feet Thicke quipped: “Is that my therapist?”
Guesses ranged from Hilary Duff (Jeong) to Adrienne Bailon (McCarthy) and Fantasia Barrino (Thicke).
In Tree’s package, the celebrity revealed she missed collaborating with her friends, and cheerleaders were present.
Tree sang Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory,” compete with a confetti shower, which T-Pain “loved.”
Tree told the panel: “I have shared a stage and a standing O with one of you.”
Jeong suspected Tree to be Bebe Neuwirth, while Thicke seemed to be thinking of Rachael Ray. T-Pain, likely hoping for a Christmas miracle, thought Mariah Carey could be the masked contestant.
The last performer of the night, Rottweiler, again made references to leading a “zen” life, sharing that he meditated often.
Scherzinger called his version of Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” the “most vulnerable and honest” performance he’d given yet.
As for a commonality with the panel, the contestant shared: “I have been on the same list as one of you, and it was not People’s Sexiest Man Alive.”
Could Darren Criss be in the costume? Thicke certainly thought so. Thinking of references made to “my so called life” and “30 seconds,” Scherzinger guessed Jared Leto, an alum of the mid-’90s TV show and member of band Thirty Seconds to Mars. Jeong thought Bow Wow could be in the dog getup.
In the end, it was Tree’s time on “The Masked Singer” that was cut short.
The panel issued their final guesses, which had little overlap. Thicke and Scherzinger picked Amy Sedaris, McCarthy supposed it was “SNL” alum Ana Gasteyer, and Jeong and T-Pain stuck with their guesses made earlier in the show.
In the end, McCarthy jumped for joy as Gasteyer, who acted in “A Christmas Story Live!” with Jeong, was revealed.
