You don’t have to mask your excitement for this show.
The Masked Singer’s 12th season is about to begin.
“It’s a dozen,” host Nick Cannon recently told Page Six, before referencing his outsized brood. “Got the same amount of kids.”
In addition to Cannon returning as emcee, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong, Rita Ora and Robin Thicke are coming back as panelists. And they’ll need to keep their eyes and ears open for clues if they want to figure out the contestants’ true identities.
Because while the competitors will be rocking the mic, they’ll also be rocking some pretty elaborate costumes. Among the disguises set to hit the stage this season are Buffalo, Leaf Sheep, Show Bird, Woodpecker and Ship. Others include Chess Piece, Dust Bunny, Blue Bell, Wasp and Goo, and some performers will be dressed up as Sherlock Hound, Royal Knight, Strawberry Shortcake, Ice King and Macaron.
While fans will just have to stay tuned to find out who’s who, Cannon did drop some hints about what viewers can expect—telling E! this is “best season of talent that we've had yet.”
"It is season 12 and the show is so popular," he continued. "When you have winners in alumni like LeAnn Rimes to Ne-Yo, people are really coming to win that trophy. So every episode they could win it. They could take it all the way. You're seeing some finale type performances every episode."
And as viewers put on their detective hats, they can turn to the “masked ambassadors” to help them crack the case—who, as a teaser revealed, include Ne-Yo, Jewel, Hanson, Dick Van Dyke and more.
“We're taking people who've been on the show before, have had the experience, and they're actually helping with the clues for the individuals that are on the show this time,” Cannon explained to E!. “And they're associated with them. That’s a good hint, and it kind of just ties everybody together and shows that we all family.”
The Masked Singer’s 12th season premieres Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. EST on Fox. In honor of its latest installment, here are 12 unmaskings from years past that have made fans’ jaws drop.
Vanessa Hudgens
We're not breaking free from our excitement over this reveal. The High School Musical alum bopped to the top of season 11 and won as the goldfish. Even host Nick Cannon called it the "best finale ever."
Demi Lovato
While the singer wasn't officially a contestant, fans may have still felt like they had a heart attack after she surprised them by revealing she was Anonymouse on the season 10 premiere.
Dick Van Dyke
Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-ee, when you're with the Mary Poppins alum you're in glad company.
And that's exactly how the audience felt after Van Dyke pulled off his gnome mask on the season nine premiere. Even former panelist Nicole Scherzinger was brought to tears.
"I love you so much," she told the actor. "The whole world loves you so much. It's an honor to have you on our show."
Rudy Giuliani
While his unmasking was leaked by the press before the show aired, the panelists were still surprised to see the former New York City mayor jump out of his box on season seven.
So much so that Ken Jeong walked off the stage shortly after Giuliani took off his Jack in the Box mask.
Still, Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade told Deadline he had "absolutely no regrets" about casting Giuliani.
“The Masked Singer is all about delivering jaw-dropping moments, which is exactly what [we] accomplished whether it was on set or with the viewers at home,” he said to the outlet, later adding, "My only regret or surprise was obviously that the reveal was spoiled but kudos to [Deadline], please just don’t do it again."
Donnie Wahlberg
There was a new kid on the block for season five.
And even though panelist Jenny McCarthy had been married to Wahlberg for about seven years at that point, she still wasn't able to detect that he was disguised as rooster Cluedle-Doo.
"Donnie! Have you been coming in each week and lying?" she asked before the singer teased back, "I've been sneaking in and out."
Kermit the Frog
Someday we'll find it—not only the rainbow connection but also the replay of Kermit's time on The Masked Singer.
Even though the Muppets star was eliminated from the show on the first episode of season five, he still made his mark by performing "You Make My Dreams Come True" and popping out of his snail costume.
"As they say, it's not easy bein' green," Kermit told the panelists, "but sometimes it's even harder being a snail. And I'm never going to hear the end of this from Miss Piggy."
Wendy Williams
The talk show host's iconic performance on season four was the hot topic on everyone's lips.
Though her secret identity wasn't a total surprise as both Scherzinger and McCarthy correctly guessed Williams was in the lips costume after she rocked the stage to "Native New Yorker."
"I can't sing, I can't dance," Williams said following the unmasking, "but I know how to have fun."
Mickey Rourke
The Sin City alum had the whole city talking after his self-elimination from the competition on season four.
After performing "Stand by Me," Rourke told Cannon he wanted to take his gremlin mask off because he was too hot—proceeding to then rip it off.
"I don't know what's happening, ladies and gentleman," Cannon said. "This is a Masked Singer first."
Sarah Palin
Bearly anyone knew the former governor of Alaska was the one rapping to "Baby Got Back" on season three. Although, panelist Robin Thicke did guess Tina Fey, who impersonated Palin on Saturday Night Live.
So after the 2008 Republican VP nominee revealed herself to be the one behind the bear mask, Cannon noted, "This might be the most shocked I have ever been on this show."
Tony Hawk
The legendary skateboarder had to pack his trunks after it was revealed he was behind the elephant mask on season three.
And while some may have considered the move a complete 180 from what they'd typically expect from Hawk, he noted that musicality runs in his family.
"I just thought it'd be a fun challenge," the athlete, who performed "Friday I'm in Love," told People in 2020. "No one was really pushing me in that direction. My older sister is a pretty accomplished singer. She sang backup for Michael Bolton and Righteous Brothers and John Denver. So I felt like I had some musical history in my family. I never wanted to sing in public necessarily, but I thought if I'm gonna do it, what a great way to do it and be anonymous behind a mask."
Lil Wayne
The panelists were more than a lil stumped by this robot’s true identity. But their reaction to the “A Milli” artist’s unmasking on the season three premiere was anything but robotic. As Thicke put it, “This is the most shocked I’ve ever been on this show.”
T-Pain
The Grammy winner proved all he does is win, win, win, no matter what after being crowned the first-ever Masked Singer champion.
Throughout the debut season, T-Pain—who was dressed as a fuzzy, blue monster—performed a range of hits, including Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now," Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want to Be, Lenny Kravitz's "American Woman" and Sam Smith's "Stay With Me." Still, he left all the panelists wondering who was the man behind the mask, resulting in a true mic-drop moment.