The Masked Singer returned to TV for the season 11 premiere on Wednesday and introduced fans to a whopping five new contestants who are duking it out from inside costumes for a shot at the coveted Golden Mask trophy.
However, it isn’t just the contestants who are new this season. For the first time since the show began, the familiar panel of celebrity “detectives” has a brand new sleuth. Rita Ora joined the panel for the season premiere, taking over the seat previously held by Nicole Scherzinger for the past 10 seasons.
Ora was joined by stalwart panelists Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong and Jenny McCarthy — as well as host Nick Cannon — as they weighed in on the night’s five new costumed characters: The Book, The Goldfish, The Lovebird, The Starfish and The Ugly Sweater.
The Goldfish was the first singer to hit the stage, rocking a gorgeous orange gown costume. The songstress wowed the panel with her outfit before she kicked off the show with a stunning, breathtaking rendition of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” that left the audience in awe.
“What a way to open up season 11, right?” McCarthy declared. “And let me just tell you, that performance gets you all the way to the finals.”
“You know, I’m gonna second Jenny,” Ora chimed in. “The drama, the power, the presence — it was perfect. Well done!”
The Starfish swam out for the second act of the night, and while both costumes depicted aquatic creatures, the two couldn’t be further apart in terms of maneuverability and general vibe. The Starfish brought a fun, goofy energy to the show, and delivered a lovable cover of Madonna’s “Material Girl” that delighted the panel.
“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m in love with a starfish,” Ora shared.
Thicke, meanwhile, marveled, “Easily one of the most lovable costumes ever, characters ever. And the way you embodied it, the way you embraced it, great performance!”
The Ugly Sweater — one of the most unusual characters in the show’s history — took center stage next. The super colorful and bizarre contestant (designed in the vein of The Monster and Thingamajig) belted out a cover of “The Best” by Tina Turner that had the panel and the audience cheering.
“That is a rockstar! That is iconic!” Ora declared after the tune, while McCarthy added, “I think we’ve got an icon, a legend on our hands, you guys.”
The premiere’s penultimate performance came from The Lovebird — whose adorable green and orange costume was more straightforward and subtle than most — wowed the panel with a surprisingly beautiful and deft delivery of “Home” by Phillip Phillips.
“Really beautiful tone. Great song choice for your voice. And I love the way you used the whole stage,” Thicke shared. “You were hopping around. You really tried to lift the energy up. Great job!”
The final performer of the night sported one of the most over-the-top costumes in recent memory: The Book! However, not everything was what it seemed. In the clue package, The Book talked about how he was there to “prank a friend.” And then, when he came out singing “So Sick” by Ne-Yo, there was almost no doubt who the singer was under the costume.
As soon as the half-hearted but hilarious performance came to an end, the judges all knew it was actually Kevin Hart under the elaborate costume — and he “took it off” without the audience even voting at all.
“No! Don’t cheer for him! No!” Cannon yelled as Hart — Cannon’s close friend/frenemy and long-time prank rival — jumped around, celebrating his stunt. “You’re breaking the rules.”
“Oh, I got you, Nick!” Hart yelled. “This is a prank! You had no idea! You had no idea that I was coming here, Nick. And guess what, Nick? There’s nothing you can do about it!”
“That was the worst performance ever on the history of this show,” Cannon yelled back. “You embarrassed yourself! That was stupid.”
Despite somewhat upsetting the entire format of the show, the panel couldn’t help chant Hart’s name as they celebrated the surprise.
“I guess this is your celebrity unmasking tonight. So that means everyone else is safe,” Cannon explained. “And we gonna do it like we do every unmasking — you got to sing again.”
A surprise Hart then closed out the show delivering another truly terrible encore of the Ne-Yo song.
The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.
