The eighth season of the American television series The Masked Singer premiered on Fox on September 21, 2022, and concluded on November 30, 2022. The season was won by actor/singer Amber Riley as "Harp", with vocal group Wilson Phillips finishing second as "Lambs". The season was followed by a Christmas special, which aired on December 7, 2022.
Panelists and host
Nick Cannon, singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, television and radio personality Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, actor and comedian Ken Jeong, and recording artist Nicole Scherzinger all return as host and panelists. Jeong did not appear in the seventh episode as he had tested positive for COVID-19 at the time.
The first episode featured Will Arnett who appeared in a cameo before the first king/queen crowning, the second episode included season one runner-up Donny Osmond as a guest panelist, with the Blue Man Group and Carrot Top as additional guests, the third episode featured Jodie Sweetin and season one contestant Tori Spelling as additional guests, the fourth episode featured Andrew Lloyd Webber as a guest panelist, the fifth episode featured The Muppets, with Miss Piggy as a guest panelist, as well as season five contestant Kermit the Frog, Animal, Fozzie Bear, and others appearing as additional guests, the sixth episode featured Tag Team, Danielle Fishel, and Lance Bass as additional guests, the seventh episode featured Leslie Jordan and Joel McHale (filling in for an absent Jeong) as guest panelists, with Sheila E. as an additional guest, and the eighth episode featured Jon Lovitz and season three contestant Drew Carey as additional guests.
Leslie Jordan, a guest panelist in the seventh episode aired on November 9, was killed in a car accident on October 24, 2022, marking the first posthumous appearance in the series. The episode was dedicated in his honor, including a tribute at the beginning and end of the episode.
Production On May 16, 2022, it was announced that Fox renewed the series for an eighth season, prior to the airing of the seventh season's finale on May 18. On June 6, 2022, it was announced that the season would premiere on September 21.
The formatting for the season sees three contestants battle in each episode, with one eliminated mid-show and taken to the VIP section while the other two battle out. A king/queen is crowned at the end of each episode who then moves on to the following episode, while the other in the top two gets eliminated. The season also includes themed nights for the first time, including "Vegas Night", "Comedy Roast", "Hall of Fame", "Muppets Night", "Andrew Lloyd Webber Night", "TV Themes", "'90s Night", "Thanksgiving", and "Fright Night".
Numerous episodes during the season were rescheduled due to the Major League Baseball playoffs. The first took place on October 12, when game two of the NLDS between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves suffered a rain delay with game play resuming during primetime on the east coast. Consequently, the airing of the Andrew Lloyd Webber episode was pre-empted nationally. However, it aired on CTV in Canada as scheduled. The season was further delayed by the World Series, when a necessary game five took out another air date (November 2). Following a rainout of game three, the remainder of the World Series schedule was pushed back a day, placing a potential game seven on the next scheduled air date (November 6), though only six games were played in the World Series.
The sing-a-long holiday special included a dedication for actor Kirstie Alley, who died on December 5, 2022. Alley portrayed "Baby Mammoth" in the previous season.
Contestants Following her death, it was reported that actor Anne Heche had been in negotiations to participate in the season, though it is unclear how far she was in the process.
The season features 22 contestants, the highest number of contestants on any American season of The Masked Singer. The contestants in this season are reported to have a combined 42 books, 32 Grammy nominations, 16 Emmy wins, 10 Teen Choice Awards, eight gold albums, five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and four Golden Globe nominations.
+ Results Stage name Celebrity Occupation(s) Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Harp Amber Riley Actor/singer WIN WIN WIN SAFE WINNER Lambs Wilson Phillips Vocal group WIN WIN SAFE RUNNERS-UP Snowstorm Nikki Glaser Comedian/TV host WIN WIN OUT Sir Bug a Boo Ray Parker Jr. Singer OUT Scarecrow Linda Blair Actor/activist WD Avocado Adam Carolla Actor/comedian OUT Bride Chris Jericho Professional wrestler WIN OUT Gopher George Clinton Singer/bandleader OUT Venus Fly Trap George Foreman Retired boxer OUT Milkshake Le'Veon Bell NFL player OUT Walrus Joey Lawrence Actor/singer OUT Robo Girl Kat Graham Actor/singer WIN OUT Beetle Jerry Springer TV host OUT Mermaid Gloria Gaynor Singer OUT Maize Mario Cantone Actor/comedian OUT Fortune Teller Daymond John Businessman OUT Mummies Mike Lookinland Actor OUT Barry Williams Actor Christopher Knight Actor Panther Montell Jordan Singer OUT Pi-Rat Jeff Dunham Ventriloquist/comedian OUT Hummingbird Chris Kirkpatrick Singer OUT Hedgehog Eric Idle Actor/comedian OUT Knight William Shatner Actor OUT
Episodes Week 1 (September 21) The USC Trojan Marching Band served as musical accompaniment for Hedgehog's performance in this episode. + Performances on the first episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Harp "Perfect" by P!nk WIN 2 Hedgehog "Love Me Do" by The Beatles Eric Idle OUT 3 Hummingbird "I Don't Want to Be" by Gavin DeGraw Chris Kirkpatrick OUT 4 Knight "Puttin' On the Ritz" by Fred Astaire William Shatner OUT
After being unmasked, Idle sang his signature song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Life of Brian.
Week 2 (September 28) - "Vegas Night" Guest performance: Guest panelist Donny Osmond performs a medley of "The Greatest Show" from The Greatest Showman and "Viva Las Vegas" by Elvis Presley + Performances on the second episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Panther "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone SAFE 2 Pi-Rat "Crocodile Rock" by Elton John Jeff Dunham OUT 3 Harp "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston SAFE Battle Royale 4 Panther "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf Montell Jordan OUT Harp WIN
After being unmasked, Jordan performed his hit "This Is How We Do It" as his encore performance.
Week 3 (October 5) - "TV Theme Night" Guest performance: Panelist Robin Thicke performs "As Long As We Got Each Other" by B. J. Thomas (from Growing Pains) + Performances on the third episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Mummies "The Monkees" - The Monkees theme song Mike Lookinland OUT Barry Williams Christopher Knight 2 Fortune Teller "Movin' On Up" - The Jeffersons theme song SAFE 3 Harp "Thank You for Being a Friend" - The Golden Girls theme song SAFE Battle Royale 4 Fortune Teller "Everywhere You Look" - Full House theme song Daymond John OUT Harp WIN
After their unmasking, Lookinland, Williams, and Knight sang "It's a Sunshine Day" from The Brady Bunch.
Week 4 (October 19) - "Andrew Lloyd Webber Night" Guest performance: Panelist Nicole Scherzinger performs "Memory" from Cats + Performances on the fourth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Maize "Heaven on Their Minds" from Jesus Christ Superstar Mario Cantone OUT 2 Mermaid "Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat SAFE 3 Robo Girl "Bad Cinderella" from Bad Cinderella SAFE Battle Royale 4 Mermaid "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" from Evita Gloria Gaynor OUT Robo Girl WIN
After being unmasked, Gaynor sang her signature song "I Will Survive" as her encore performance.
Week 5 (October 26) - "Muppets Night" Guest performance: Kermit the Frog with Nick Cannon and the panelists perform "Rainbow Connection" + Performances on the fifth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Robo Girl "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen (with Kermit on piano) SAFE 2 Beetle "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra Jerry Springer OUT 3 Lambs "Hot n Cold" by Katy Perry SAFE Battle Royale 4 Robo Girl "Call Me" by Blondie (with Animal on drums) Kat Graham OUT Lambs WIN
Week 6 (November 6 and 9) - "90s Night" and "Hall of Fame Night" Guest performance: Tag Team performs "Whoomp! (There It Is)" + Performances on the sixth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Walrus "Two Princes" by Spin Doctors (1991) Joey Lawrence OUT 2 Milkshake "Jump on It" by Sir Mix-a-Lot (1996) SAFE 3 Lambs "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette (1996) SAFE Battle Royale 4 Milkshake "What Is Love" by Haddaway (1993) Le'Veon Bell OUT Lambs WIN Guest performance: Panelist Nicole Scherzinger performs "Fame" by Irene Cara
+ Performances on the seventh episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Bride "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon SAFE 2 Gopher "It's Your Thing" by The Isley Brothers SAFE 3 Venus Fly Trap "Get Ready" by The Temptations George Foreman OUT Battle Royale 4 Gopher "All Star" by Smash Mouth (with Sheila E. on percussion) George Clinton OUT Bride WIN After being unmasked, Clinton sang his signature song "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)" as his encore performance.
Week 7 (November 16) - "Comedy Roast Night" + Performances on the eighth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Bride "White Wedding" by Billy Idol Chris Jericho OUT 2 Snowstorm "Thank U, Next" by Ariana Grande SAFE 3 Avocado "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles SAFE Battle Royale 4 Avocado "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon Adam Carolla OUT Snowstorm WIN
Week 8 (November 23 and 24) - "Fright Night" and "Battle of the Semi Finals" + Performances on the ninth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Sir Bug a Boo"Devil with the Blue Dress On" by Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels SAFE 2 Scarecrow "Abracadabra" by The Steve Miller Band Linda Blair WD 3 Snowstorm"Sweet but Psycho" by Ava Max SAFE Battle Royale 4 Snowstorm"Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell WIN Sir Bug a Boo Ray Parker Jr. OUT After being unmasked, Parker sang his signature song "Ghostbusters" as his encore performance.
+ Performances on the tenth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Harp "About Damn Time" by Lizzo SAFE 2 Snowstorm "Thinking of You" by Katy Perry Nikki Glaser OUT 3 Lambs "Need You Now" by Lady A SAFE Battle Royale "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson
Week 9 (November 30) - "Two Hour Epic Finale" + Performances on the twelfth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Harp "The Edge of Glory" by Lady Gaga Amber Riley WINNER "Gravity" by John Mayer 2 Lambs "I'm Every Woman" by Chaka Khan Wilson Phillips RUNNERS-UP "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner
After being unmasked, Wilson Phillips sang their signature song "Hold On" as their encore performance.
Ratings
Notes
References