SPOILER ALERT: Do not read on if you have not watched the season 11 premiere of “The Masked Singer,” which aired March 6 on Fox.
“The Masked Singer” kicked off its 11th season on Wednesday night — and in perhaps the show's most bizarre revelation ever, comedian Kevin Hart brought a prank war with host Nick Cannon to the show.
Hart brought his one-night-only appearance to “The Masked Singer” as a book, singing “So Sick” for Ne-Yo (who happens to be the show's Season 10 winner). The performance…was a bit sharp, Doug. At the end of the song, the show's panelists seemed to dig it. But after Robin Thicke quickly recognized Hart, the star took off his costume to reveal himself.
“This is a joke, you had no idea I was coming here Nick, and guess what, there's nothing you can do about it,” Hart shouted to Cannon — who had presumably not been informed of the appearance beforehand. Hart and Cannon have a long history of pranking, and they've turned that into a series of “Celebrity Prank Wars.”
“This is stupid!” Cannon shouted. “That was the worst performance ever in the history of this show!”
Hart claimed that his unusual rendition of “So Sick” was intentional, but Cannon wasn't having it: “You embarrassed yourself! You look so stupid.” Hart replied, “Look at Nick. There's nothing stupid about me. You know who looks stupid? You, in that stupid jacket.”
In the end, with Hart revealing himself, none of the other celebrity contestants were revealed for Wednesday's premiere.
Before revealing himself, Heart As Book added: “I'm excited. I've done a lot. I love a lot. But what I'm doing now, this is probably my most refreshing experience yet. I've been looking forward to this. This is all I've been thinking about. And really Coming here and expressing myself, I'm very excited.
Returning for Season 11 is host Nick Cannon, along with panelists Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke, while Rita Ora has joined The Office to fill in for Nicole Scherzinger, who was in London to star in “Sunset Boulevard” on the West End.
Ora opened Season 11 with a performance of “Who Are You?” – One of the distinctive presentation topics.
Season 11 of “The Masked Singer” will include “The Wizard of Oz”-themed episodes in celebration of the classic film’s 85th anniversary; “Transformers” (marking the brand’s 40th anniversary) and musical tributes including “Billy Joel Night” and “Queen Night.” Additional themes include “Girl Groups,” “The Soundtrack of My Life,” “TV Night,” and “Bath Anthems.”
With sixteen popular singers, including three “wildcards”, Season 11 features new costumes including “Gumball”, “Lizard”, “Ugly Sweater”, “Goldfish”, “Starfish” and “Book”.
Here are the other Group A performances in Wednesday's first episode:
“The Masked Singer” goldfish (Michael Baker/FOX)
Pete Dads
Goldfish
Song: “The Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo
Painting Guesses: Lea Michele, Selena Gomez, Carly Rae Jepsen
an idea: Gold record. “Let the record show that gold is the color of my luck.”
Package voiceover: “It's official. The Masked Singer network finally caught me. When I first started, I made an overnight splash. But all this success made me feel like I was living in a fishbowl, with everyone's eyes and expectations on me. I had to make big decisions.” I could play it safe, or dive into deeper, darker waters. So, I took the plunge. Despite the risk, I swam against the tide and broke the mold. To this day, I still like to keep people guessing. That's why I “Here. Hollywood can be a little soul-sucking. So, I'm proud that I kept my head on my shoulders. Just as this mask would be.”
“The Masked Singer” starfish (Michael Baker/FOX)
Pete Dads
sea Star
Song: “Material Girl” by Madonna
Painting Guesses: Catherine O'Hara, Cherie Oteri, Molly Shannon
an idea: The clock that says “50 billion”. “I've streamed over 50 billion minutes. And that was in just one year!”
Package voiceover: “I heard you guys were having a premiere party. So, I put on a bathing suit and came right over. When I was first starting out, I was serving steaks to the stars. I've dealt with the likes of Steve Martin and Whitney Houston. All I heard was, 'Check out, please!' And then I got… On the party of a lifetime. One that will make my name known around the world. Now, I have it all. And I can afford it! So, trust your blessings to come. Or find a rich sugar mama like me to enjoy.
Ugly Sweater “The Masked Singer” (Michael Baker/FOX)
Pete Dads
Ugly jacket
Song: “The Best” by Tina Turner
Painting Guesses: Charlie Wilson, Nile Rodgers, Verdine White
an idea: “Featured” on an ugly sweater. “The ugly sweater is always in style. That must be the reason why the biggest stars want to work with me.”
Package voiceover: “When I burst onto the scene as a handsome young man, I was the epitome of style and the top of the world. I lost focus. My whole world collapsed. I went from living in penthouses to sleeping on park benches. My life was hanging by a thread. But when I hit rock bottom, I knew I had to To change. And I started fighting to get my voice back. And now I'm back on top, better than before. So, I want to win this trophy for all the people who helped me get back on my feet, to simply live my best life.
Lovebird, “The Masked Singer” (Michael Baker/Fox)
Pete Dads
Love bird
Song: “Home” by Philip Phillips
Painting Guesses: Travis Kelce, Odell Beckham Jr., Nick Viall
an idea: A TV with “Leading Man” written on it. “I may be a great lovebird, but you know I'm better as a leading man.”
Package voiceover: “It's very fitting that I'm a lovebird. Because what can I say, I'm a hopeless romantic. Every decision I've made in my life has been because of love. Either the hope of finding it, or the fear of losing it. And you know how they say, love makes you do wild things Well, they were right. Well, moving on. I've had success in many fields. But I've always followed my heart. I've ended up in front of millions. I've even won awards for being so likable. But the accomplishment I'm most proud of is finally finding someone “What to live with. And now, I've followed my love of music to be on this stage. I'm not a singer, but I've always wanted to be on this show for several seasons. And I'm so happy to be here tonight.”
“The Masked Singer” (Michael Baker/Fox)
Pete Dads
book
Song: “So Sick” by Ne-Yo
Painting Guesses: Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Eddie Murphy, Kevin Hart (Robin)
Package voiceover: “Of course I'm the book. I have stories for days and a real vocabulary…what's the word? Good. And I owe it all to my mother. See, my brother was a troublemaker. A true crime novel. So, my mother had to lay down the law on me. So, I was Good at everything, from school to sports. But when it came to performing, I was obnoxious. There's that vocabulary again. That means terrible. But I knew I had to do it. And these days, I'm a bestseller. He's made more than “$4 billion at the box office. That's a lot of paper! Now here I am with a cover song of last season's hero. With a mission to impress a special friend.”
Last season's performers included Ne-Yo as Cow, John Schneider as Donut, Macy Gray as Sea Queen, and Janel Parrish as Gazelle, joining John Oates as Anteater and Keyshia Cole as Candelabra. Sebastian Bach as Tiki, Ginuwine as Husky, and Ashley Parker Angel as S. More, Metta World Peace as Cuddle Monster, Luann de Lesseps as Hibiscus, Tyler Posey as Hawk, Billie Jean King as Royal Hen, Michael Rapaport as Pickle, Tom Sandoval as Diver, Anthony Anderson as Rubber Ducky and one-time special guest Demi Lovato as Anonymous.
Fox Alternative Entertainment is behind The Masked Singer, which is executive produced by showrunner James Breen, Craig Plestis and Nick Cannon. The series is based on the South Korean format created by Mun Hwa Broadcasting Corp.
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