Pete Dadds
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read further if you have not seen the season 10 premiere of “The Masked Singer,” which aired September 10 on Fox.
“The Masked Singer” kicked off its tenth season on Sunday night with a special episode — and a lot of Lovato. Demi Lovato as Anonymouse was the first celebrity to be unmasked this season – even though there’s an asterisk there. Lovato didn’t perform as part of the competition (otherwise they definitely would have moved on in the coming weeks), but as a solo act.
Lovato, of course, got his start at Disney – aka The Mouse House – through the Disney Channel movie Camp Rock and the series Sonny with a Chance. So the Anonymouse character itself was definitely a clue to Lovato’s identity beneath the mask.
Lovato opened the show with a strong rendition of “What About Love,” as originally performed by Heart. “Just like Michelle Obama, Oprah and Angelina Jolie, I’m on a special list: Time’s 100,” they told Anonymouse as the first clue to their identity.
Here was the second clue: a concrete slab with the words “Anonymouse” written on it. Lovato, still in character, said: “This is a literal concrete clue. My acting career has cemented me as a talented mouse.”
And then there was the voice-over on the clue pack from Anonymouse: “When I found out that ‘The Masked Singer’ needed a mystery guest to celebrate season ten, I knew I was the right rodent for the job. “I started working at an early age. But my big break came when I was able to showcase my voice. When my future looked bright on the outside, I was battling demons on the inside. The more I pushed, the more I felt myself slipping away. I was trapped on a path of bad choices. And at some point I hit rock bottom. But that was the wake-up call I needed to finally realize that I still had so much more life to live. Now I’ve made it my mission to seek joy wherever I can. And that’s exactly what I’m doing here. It’s about time I came over. They’ve all been guessing me for the last nine seasons! But when that mask comes off, you’ll see there’s no mouse like me.”
The first names excluded by the jury include: Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Pink and Lovato.
Returning for season ten are host Nick Cannon and panelists Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke.
Thicke, Scherzinger and McCarthy Wahlberg did everything right for Lovato as Anonymouse. Jeong went with Lady Gaga.
Lovato’s performance also coincided with the September 15 release of her new album “Revamped,” for which she re-recorded 10 of her songs as rock versions. Lovato will also appear live at the MTV Video Music Awards this Tuesday. (She’s finally nominated for Best Pop and Best Video.)
“The Masked Singer” will feature a new format this season, with three groups followed by battle royale semifinal episodes. The season also includes the return of wild card entrants, with each group being offered a wild card, and the Ding Dong Keep It On Bell bell is back in battle royale semi-final episodes where the judges can decide who to save a contestant from elimination and move them straight to the finals.
Featuring a total of sixteen celebrity singers, Season 10 features new costumes including “Donut”, “Anteater”, “Hawk”, “Hibiscus”, “Diver”, “Gazelle”, “Royal Hen” and a life size “S’More”. ” Marking the show’s 10th appearance, celebrities who have previously been unmasked since the show’s inception also return.
The season’s themed episodes include a tribute to Elton John; a “Trolls Night” in conjunction with the November release of DreamWorks Animation’s “Trolls Band Together”; a “Harry Potter Night” that airs Halloween week; “NFL Night”; “One Hit Wonders”; “Disco”; “Night of the 2000s”; “I wanna Rock”; and “Soundtrack of my Life.”
Here are the other mask-free celebrity appearances in Sunday’s special episode:
Rumer Willis and Michelle Williams in the “Season 10 Kickoff” episode of “The Masked Singer” (Trae Patton / Fox) Pete Dadds
Michelle Williams (Butterfly, Season 2) and Rumer Willis (Lion, Season 1): “(You Make me Feel Like) a Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin.
Barry Zito, Nicole Scherzinger and Victor Oladipo in the “Season 10 Kickoff” episode of “The Masked Singer.” (Trae Patton / Fox) Pete Dadds
Victor Oladipo (Thingamajig, Season 2) and Barry Zito (Rhino, Season 3), together with Scherzinger: “Meant to Be” by Bebe Rexha feat. Florida-Georgia Line
Joey Fatone and Bow Wow in the “Season 10 Kickoff” episode of “The Masked Singer.” (Trae Patton / Fox) Pete Dadds
Joey Fatone (Rabbit, Season 1) and Bow Wow (Frog, Season 3): “ABC” from the Jackson 5
Last spring, Bishop Briggs kept a constant flow throughout the ninth season of Fox’s The Masked Singer — and her perseverance was rewarded with the championship. Briggs won this season’s grand prize as Medusa and was revealed in the finals alongside runner-up David Archuleta, who was revealed to be a macaw.
Briggs as Medusa and Archuleta as Macaw joined Pentatonix as California Roll, Olivia Culpo as UFO, Lou Diamond Phillips as Mantis, Keenan Allen as Gargoyle, Melissa Joan Hart as Lamp, Alicia Witt as Dandelion, Dee Snider as Doll and Christine Quinn as Scorpio, George Wendt as Moose, Holly Robinson Peete as Fairy, Alexa Bliss as Axolotl, Lele Pons as Jackalope, Malin Akerman as Squirrel, Michael Bolton as Wolf, Grandmaster Flash as Polar Bear, Debbie Gibson as Night Owl, Howie Mandel as Rock Lobster, Sara Evans as Mustang and Dick Van Dyke as Gnome as the celebrities unmasked in season 9.
The Masked Singer is produced by Fox Alternative Entertainment with James Breen (who is also showrunner), Craig Plestis and Cannon as Executive Producers.