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Ever since it hit television screens in January of 2019, FOX’s
The Masked Singer has captivated fans across the globe. The reality singing competition series is part of a franchise that began in South Korea and features celebrities singing songs while they’re wearing costumes and face masks from head-to-toe concealing their identities.
The show is hosted by
Nick Cannon. It employs panelists who attempt to guess the celebrities’ identities by interpreting clues provided throughout each season. The panelists include singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, television and radio personality Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, actor and comedian Ken Jeong, and singer/songwriter Rita Ora (who recently replaced longtime panelist Nicole Scherzinger prior to the eleventh season). These panelists appear in each episode and alongside an audience, they vote for their their favorite singer after they all have performed. The least popular celebrity is eliminated and forced to take off their mask and reveal their identity.
The show is wildly successful. In fact, the first five seasons received the highest
Nielsen ratings for a non-sports program in the adults 18–49 key demographic. Although the show has received mixed reviews from critics and particularly negative opinions of its panelists, there are two things that have garnered the absolute highest praise. Those two things are the costumes and the singing from the celebrities. The costumes were inspired by
haute couture. The first six seasons, they were designed by Marina Toybina, who won a Costume Designers Guild Award and a Creative Arts Emmy Award. It goes without saying that the singing is the heart of the show. Over the course of its eleven seasons celebrities from Wayne Brady to Toni Braxton have graced the stage and blew the live crowd, the judges and the millions watching at home away. Season 11, which ended in May, was won by the talented Vanessa Hudgens.
Ahead of the premiere of Season 12 (Wednesday, September 25th), we thought it would be fun to celebrate the show’s legacy. We put together a gallery to highlight some of our favorite celebrity performances from the groundbreaking show. Let us know which ones were your favorites and if we forgot any!
