The Masked Singer 12 Finale: Top 2 UNMASKED, but who takes home the Golden Masked Trophy?
The Masked Singer season 12 CONCLUDES with the season finale. Nick Cannon hosts, Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong and Rita Ora sit on the judges panel. The final two celebrities, Wasp and Buffalos battle it out to see which emerges as the season champion.
Tonight’s group includes: Strawberry Shortcake, Wasp, and Buffalos. According to the official FOX press release, Nick Lachey (Piglet) returns to The Masked Singer to perform a rendition of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. The finalists will perform two songs each before the winner is revealed and all are UNMASKED.
Wasp
Clues: Not so much clues tonight, but recaps of the finalists journeys. He began building his empire at a young age, and collaborated with big stars. Still, he feels overlooked. One clue is in the finalist real voice. he says “I love you ma.” His mother died of a drug overdose.
Performance: When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars – Wasp is obviously a famous R&B singer who maybe isn’t so famous anymore. The Masked Singer attracts singers who had their moments in other decades, only to eventually fall off the charts. Wasp delivers a very pretty and emotional version of the song. The judges are reviewing their guesses so far. New guesses come later in the show. Rita got the right answer (Mario).
Buffalos
Clues: They had to fight there way out of the hood and endured a death and a member departing the group. Nick Lachey is their ambassador. They mention being in the business for 3 decades. “Let’s buffalo” they say in their real voices.
Performance: Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye. I’m wondering, with their “ambassador” in the house, Buffalos will win. There really isn’t a “best” performer. They are both major R&B talents from the 90s. But it’s hard to beat three-part harmonies, right? This arrangement is very suited to the trio. Jenny guessed right. The trio is Boyz II Men.
Wasp
Performance: I’m Your Baby Tonight by Whitney Houston – This is boring song choice and a boring arrangement. But Wasp can sing and he’s a good dancer. He interacts with the audience like the pro that he is. What would he say to young wasp: “Trust your intuition, believe in yourself.”
Judges family members are in the audience, including Robin’s mom, Rita’s husband and Jenny’s son.
Buffalos
Performance: Too Good at Goodbyes by Sam Smith – If I had to pick a winner, I’d go with Buffalos. Wasp’s performances were good. But Buffalos are bringing the drama tonight–good song choices arranged well. This last performance is such a tear jerk. The fake tears will be flowing from the panel! OK One of the Buffalos is crying “I don’t even know why…with these guys, we can do anything.”
And the WINNER of The Masked Singer 12 is…Runner-up Unmasked!
The studio audience and the panel vote for the winner. The Votes are in and it was “VERY VERY VERY CLOSE” says Nick. The Winner of The Masked SInger season 12 is…Buffalos! They make history as the first group to win The Masked Singer!
But first, time to UNMASK the runner-up, Wasp! Final guesses. Jenny: Jason Derulo. Ken: Usher. Rita: Mario (CORRECT). Robin Mario (CORRECT). Robin, Ne-Yo and Mario were on tour together. And Wasp is Mario! Nick calls him one of the best voices in the game. Mario loves fun stuff, which is why he decided to do the show. Mario teases that he thinks he knows who the Buffalos are. And he probably does.
The WINNER is UNMASKED!
Final guesses! The entire panel’s final guess is Boyz II Men. Robin says the a’cappella singing tonight in their second performance sealed the deal. And indeed, The Buffalos are Boyz II Men. Mario is yelling, I KNEW IT I KNEW IT. Nick knew it too. And he probably guessed Mario too. Shawn Stockman explained that they did Masked Singer to show viewers a different side of their talent. They sing out with Motown Philly. Mario sings a bit..but this performance seems to be pre-recorded. Ha ha.
