The first season of The Masked Singer based on the Masked Singer franchise which originated from the South Korean version of the show King of Mask Singer. It premiered on VTM on 18 September 2020, and is hosted by Niels Destadsbader. The season was won by singer Sandra Kim as "Queen", with actor-singer Giovanni Kemper finishing second as "Diver", and actor Kevin Janssens placing third as "Wolf".
The season was very successful with every episode having more than 1 million viewers. The final made a record with having more than 2 million viewers, giving broadcoaster VTM the highest rating in more than 20 years. The Masked Singer was the best-watched program of 2020 in Flanders. One of the highlights of this season was the instant recognition by panelist Damen of her ex-colleague Aerts. Their reunion after the unmasking of Aerts even made headlines in the Netherlands.
Because of the high ratings, the show was renewed for a second season.
Cast Panelists and host Niels Destadsbader was the host of the series. Jens Dendoncker, Julie Van den Steen and Karen Damen were permanent members of the panel. In every episode, there was another guest judge.
Episode Guest judge 1 Sean Dhondt 2 Leen Dendievel 3 Guga Baúl 4 Ingeborg 5 Laura Tesoro 6 Vincent Banić 7 Lize Feryn 8 Sean Dhondt
Karen Damen guessed eight out of ten contestants correctly, making her the highest scoring judge. Julie Van den Steen only managed to guess three contestants. Jens Dendocker didn't guess any of the contestants.
Contestants + Stage name Celebrity Occupation Episodes12345678 Koningin ("Queen") Sandra Kim SingerWINWINWINWINWINSAFESAFEWINNER Duiker ("Diver") Giovanni Kemper Dancer WINWINWINWINRISKSAFESAFERUNNER-UP Wolf Kevin Janssens ActorWINWINRISKRISKWINRISK SAFETHIRD Suikerspin ("Candyfloss") (WC) Nora Gharib ActressWINRISKRISKSAFEOUT Aap ("Monkey") Ruth Beeckmans ActressRISKWINWINRISKWINOUT Zeemeermin ("Mermaid") (WC) Kathleen Aerts Singer RISKRISKWINOUT Duiveltje ("Devil") Andy Peelman ActorWINRISKRISKOUT Otter Sam Bettens SingerRISKRISKOUT Libelle ("Dragonfly") Dina Tersago TV PersonalityRISKOUT Monster Bart Tommelein Politician OUT
Episodes Episode 1 (18 September)
+ Performances on the first episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Monkey "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus RISK 2 Diver "Dusk Till Dawn" by Zayn & Sia WIN 3 Dragonfly "La Isla Bonita" by Madonna RISK 4 Devil "Someone You Loved" by Lewis Capaldi WIN 5 Monster "Leef" by André Hazes Jr. Bart Tommelein OUT 6 Queen "Unstoppable" by Sia WIN 7 Otter "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish RISK 8 Wolf "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds WIN
Episode 2 (25 September) A new contestant "Mermaid" enters the competition. + Performances on the second episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Diver "Treat You Better" by Shawn Mendes WIN 2 Mermaid "A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman RISK 3 Devil "I'll Be There For You" by The Rembrandts RISK 4 Wolf "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon WIN 5 Dragonfly "Instagram" by Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Dina Tersago OUT 6 Queen "Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa WIN 7 Otter "When Doves Cry" by Prince RISK 8 Monkey "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears WIN
Episode 3 (2 October) A new contestant "Candyfloss" enters the competition. + Performances on the third episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Candyfloss "Good as Hell" by Lizzo WIN 2 Otter "Feeling Good" by Michael Bublé Sam Bettens OUT 3 Monkey "Shallow" by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper WIN 4 Mermaid "Physical" by Dua Lipa RISK 5 Queen "Writing's on the Wall" by Sam Smith WIN 6 Wolf "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" by Shania Twain RISK 7 Devil "Youngblood" by 5 Seconds of Summer RISK 8 Diver "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi WIN
Episode 4 (9 October)
+ Performances on the fourth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Devil "Goud" by Bazart Andy Peelman OUT 2 Queen "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd WIN 3 Monkey "Don't Call Me Up" by Mabel RISK 4 Diver "Lay Me Down" by Sam Smith WIN 5 Wolf "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown RISK 6 Mermaid "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus WIN 7 Candyfloss "Hoe het danst (English)" by Marco Borsato, Davina Michelle & Armin van Buuren RISK
Episode 5 (16 October) In this episode, only one of the masked singers at risk was saved from elimination by the judges. The bottom two contestants went up against each other in a sing-off. The audience chose the winner, the runner-up was unmasked.
+ Performances on the fifth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Mermaid "Bang Bang" by Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj RISK 2 Wolf "Leave a Light On" by Tom Walker WIN 3 Candyfloss "Never Seen the Rain" by Tones and I RISK 4 Monkey "Creep" by Radiohead WIN 5 Diver "Heartbreaker" by Loïc Nottet RISK 6 Queen "Always Remember Us This Way" by Lady Gaga WIN Sing-off details 1 Mermaid"Hold Back the River" by James Bay Kathleen Aerts OUT 2 Diver WIN
Episode 6 (23 October) Each contestant performed a song. Two contestants were saved from elimination by the audience, one contestant was saved by the judges. The remaining two contestants went up against each other in a sing-off. The audience chose the winner, the runner-up was unmasked. + Performances on the sixth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Candyfloss "Kiss" by Prince SAFE 2 Wolf "Teeth" by 5 Seconds of Summer RISK 3 Queen "Euphoria" by Loreen SAFE 4 Diver "Jealous" by Labrinth SAFE 5 Monkey "California Gurls" by Katy Perry RISK Sing-off details 1 Monkey"Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon Ruth Beeckmans OUT 2 Wolf WIN
Episode 7 (30 October) Each contestant performed two songs. Two contestants were saved from elimination by the judges, one contestant was saved by the audience. The remaining contestant was unmasked. + Performances on the seventh episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Wolf "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by Backstreet Boys rowspan="2" SAFE "Pony" by Ginuwine 2 Diver "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence rowspan="2" SAFE "Think About Things" by Daði & Gagnamagnið 3 Queen "Girl on Fire" by Alicia Keys rowspan="2" SAFE "California Dreamin" by Sia 4 Candyfloss "Who You Are" by Jessie J Nora Gharib OUT "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé
Episode 8 (6 November) - Finale After each contestant performed two songs, two of them were saved by the audience and the third one was unmasked. The remaining two contestants went up against each other in a sing-off. The audience chose the winner, after which both the runner-up and the winner were unmasked. + Performances on the eighth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Diver "High Hopes" by Panic! at the Disco rowspan="2" SAFE "Dusk Till Dawn" by Zayn feat. Sia 2 Wolf "Wicked Game" by Chris IsaakKevin Janssens THIRD "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" by Shania Twain 3 Queen "River Deep, Mountain High" by Tina Turner rowspan="2" SAFE "Unstoppable" by Sia Sing-off details 1 Diver"This Is Me" by Keala Settle Giovanni Kemper RUNNER-UP 2 Queen Sandra Kim WINNER
Ratings Official ratings are taken from CIM, which includes viewers who watched the programme within 7 days of the original broadcoast.
EpisodeDateViewersWeekly ranking118 September 20201.247.4633225 September 20201.511.762132 October 20201.541.371249 October 20201.577.0151516 October 20201.538.2432623 October 20201.591.5521730 October 20201.811.458186 November 20202.048.8851
See also
The Masked Singer franchise
References
External links