In the Group B premiere, the Phoenix makes debut along with Black Swan, Grandpa Monster, Chameleon and the Piglet, while Niecy Nash serves as a guest host.
- Mar 18, 2021
AceShowbiz - "The Masked Singer" has unveiled another famous celebrity underneath an elaborate costume. The show returned with a new episode on Wednesday, March 17, which marked the Group B premiere of the current 5th season.
With Niecy Nash serving as the guest host, filling in for Nick Cannon who was recovering from COVID-19 at the time, the episode introduced five new contestants, Black Swan, Grandpa Monster, Chameleon, Phoenix and the Piglet.
Black Swan kicked off the performance with an edgy and passionate rendition of rock band Heart's "Barracuda". Using hints from the clue package, the panelists threw their guesses, with Ken Jeong predicting it's Anya Taylor-Joy, Jenny McCarthy naming Camila Cabello and Nicole Scherzinger saying it's Leona Lewis.
Grandpa Monster, who had a walker, followed it up with a youthful performance of Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5". The panelists suspected that he wasn't as old as the costume suggested, so they threw guesses which included names like Johnny Manziel, WWE star the Miz and Scott Disick.
Up next was Chameleon, who performed a cover of Nelly's "Ride Wit Me". From his tall stature and tech creds, the panelists guessed he was Dwight Howard, Diplo or "The Masked Singer" own Nick Cannon.
Phoenix then burned the stage with a performance of "Tik Tok" by Kesha (previously Ke$ha). The clue package led the panelists to suggest that it's someone associated with the LGBTQ community, with the guesses thrown including Tim Gunn, Caitlyn Jenner, Jonathan Van Ness and RuPaul.
Last, but not least, the Piglet sang Dan + Shay's "Speechless". His vocal quality and clues about a romantic split made the panelists think he was Adam Lambert, Liam Hemsworth or Charlie Puth.
The first contestant to be unmasked revealed that night was Phoenix, after Niecy announced that she got the lowest votes. And Phoenix was revealed as Olympic gold medalist and trans right advocate Caitlyn Jenner, which meant Jenny was right.
Caitlyn poked fun at Ken for changing his initial guess from her to RuPaul, saying onstage, "Ken, you've always been an idiot. What are we gonna do with you?"
Speaking to ET, Caitlyn explained why she decided to join the show. "I've always tried to encourage my children to kind of take risks in life, and put yourself out there, and they've all done that," the former reality star shared. "That's how you grow as a person, is to try new things and experience them."
