Yahoo Movies 'The Masked Singer' recap: Tori Kelly, Chloe Kim, Taylor Dayne unmasked in heated semi-finals
Spoiler alert! The following contains details from the Dec. 2 episode of "The Masked Singer," including the identities of the unmasked celebrities.
Six contestants remained at the start of "The Masked Singer" on Wednesday's episode — but only three moved on to the finale.
In a heated semi-finals episode, Seahorse, Crocodile, Mushroom, Jellyfish, Popcorn and Sun left it all on the stage for in-house sleuths Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke. Additionally, Craig Robinson from "The Office" joined as a guest panelist, promoting his new role as host of the series' upcoming spin-off, "The Masked Dancer."
The episode also brought several key clues, with each singer offering a "super clue" about their identities before their performances. Plus, after each performance, host Nick Cannon unlocked a safe containing the name of a panelist with whom the contestant shares some kind of connection.
Here's everything that went down during Wednesday's high-stakes Super-Six episode:
Seahorse
Clues: The first pair to face off was Seahorse and Crocodile, after some clues.
During Seahorse's video, the contestant spoke about finding her confidence through the show and unlocking her inner diva. "If I want to make it to the finale, I've got to stop saying no to myself and start saying 'Yes, I can,'" she said. At the end of her video, Seahorse offered her super clue: a telescope. "Do you see things more clearly now?" she teased.
During her performance, Seahorse brought the choreography, busting some moves as she belted out "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars. “If this was the Olympics for vocal acrobatics, she would take the gold," said Scherzinger.
After her performance, it was time for Seahorse's safe clue. When Cannon opened Seahorse's safe, he was surprised to find his own name on a slip of paper. “So Nick, this is wild, but even before this show, you were a great host to me," said Seahorse.
“She was on Wild N’ Out,” McCarthy quickly chimed in. “I mean, I host other stuff, too!” Cannon quipped back.
Guesses: Then it was time for some guesses. Thicke suggested singer-songwriter Tori Kelly, while McCarthy had other ideas. "This artist has a song called ‘Meet Me in Space,’ and also ‘Spaceship,' " she said, thinking of the telescope clue. "I think this could be Kesha." Robinson guessed Sia.
Crocodile
Clues: Although his costume is a fierce predator, Crocodile showed his softer side during his clue segment, revealing he's a dad. “I’m not just doing this for myself, but for my croclings – my kids, my everything," he said, adding that he drives eight hours to see them after every show. For his super clue, Crocodile held up a box of pizza, with a rat nibbling on one of the slices.
In honor of his kids, Crocodile gave a heart-wrenching performance of Aerosmith's “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing," wowing the panelists. When it was time to open up Crocodile's safe, Cannon found Robinson's name inside.
“Hey, Craig, you’re one of my favorite actors, and it’s so cool to be able to share the screen with you again,” Crocodile told "The Office" actor, who joked back, “I narrowed it down to 20 people."
Guesses: Robinson brainstormed musical dads, suggesting AJ McLean and Howie Dorough from the Backstreet Boys. Jeong also had boy bands on the brain, guessing Nick Lachey from 98 Degrees.
After the audience voted, Crocodile prevailed, swimming on to the final three.
Mushroom
Clues: The next masked singers to go head-to-head were Mushroom and Jellyfish, with Mushroom up first. During his intro segment, Mushroom revealed that he lost someone close to him to COVID-19. For his super clue, Mushroom produced a clock. "What time is it? Time to make it to the final three," he said, before the clock's hands turned to 3:00.
Mushroom then gave a performance of Amy Winehouse's “Valerie." And, as if this contestant wasn't enough of a fun-gi, he also showed off some beatboxing skills toward the end of the song.
According to Mushroom's safe clue, he has a connection to Thicke, who cheekily confessed, "I do have a connection with mushrooms."
“Robin, I love mixing it up with you again, because this is definitely not the first time we’ve connected," said the contestant.
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Guesses: After hearing the safe clue, Thicke still had a feeling Jaden Smith was behind the mask. Scherzinger, however, pointed out that Mushroom tends to walk with his hips, which made her think he might have some dancing prowess in addition to his singing skills. She guessed actor and musician Jordan Fisher, who has appeared on TV and Broadway. Robinson also said he picked up on a "Broadway vibe," and went with Leslie Odom Jr. from "Hamilton." After talking through his (very complicated) reasoning, Jeong somehow ended up with comedian Keegan-Michael Key as his guess.
Jellyfish
Clues: But Jellyfish wasn't going down without a fight. During her intro segment, the sea creature quipped, “I’m feeling at the top of my game and ready to fight for a place in the finals.” She held up a miniature model of the Eiffel Tower for her super clue before a moving performance of “Stay” by Rihanna. Inside her safe, Cannon found a seashell. He held it up to his ear as Jellyfish said, "Dr. Ken, I’ll be direct. We’ve never met, but I can’t say I didn’t try."
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Guesses: By the end of Jellyfish's performance, Jeong still thought she was an athlete, but pointed out that certain aspects of stage scenery made him think of a different sport. "Just through process of elimination, this may be an Olympic gold medalist," he said. "But when I noticed all the white, maybe it’s not a gymnast. Maybe it’s a skier, maybe it's someone in the winter Olympics, if we’re thinking, like, snow?” He guessed pro-snowboarder Chloe Kim. Scherzinger went with Grimes, while Thicke guessed gymnast Gabby Douglas.
After the audience voted, Mushroom sprouted to victory and was sent to the finals.
Popcorn
Clues: The final showdown of the night was between Popcorn and Sun. For Popcorn's intro segment, the contestant suggested she's been performing "since all these other creatures were in diapers.” For her super clue, she held up a stop sign — perhaps a reference to the classic 1965 Supremes song "Stop! In the Name of Love," Jeong noted.
After a performance of Tina Turner's "Better Be Good To Me," it was time for Popcorn's safe clue, which said she shared a connection to McCarthy. "Jenny, we’ve definitely talked before, but never about how we both are published authors," Popcorn said.
Guesses: McCarthy guessed singers Mary Wilson and Taylor Dayne, while Thicke went with Tina Turner and Bette Midler. Robinson also guessed Wilson.
Sun
Clues: The final performance of the night went to Sun, who gave a fiery super clue. “Now let me break out this red hot clue,” she quipped, before breathing fire from her mask. Sun gave a stripped-down performance of Billie Eilish's "When the Party's Over" which made Robinson, Jeong and Scherzinger tear up.
“All my life I’ve felt the heat of the sun,” Robinson said, fighting back tears. “I had never heard the voice of the sun until now.”
According to Sun's safe clue, she shares a connection with Scherzinger.
“Well, it’s great to see you on this big stage, because last time we met was in the bathroom," she told the panelist. Scherzinger replied, "Ironically, I’ve met a lot of people in the bathroom."
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Guesses: Scherzinger guessed LeAnn Rimes, while Jeong went with Kate Hudson (Hud-sun, perhaps?). The fire clue made Robinson guess Emilia Clarke, who played Dragon rider Daenerys Targaryen in "Game of Thrones."
The audience voted to send Sun soaring into the finale.
The triple elimination
There was only one thing left to do by the end of the episode: unmask the three eliminated singers. But before the unmaskings, Cannon reminded the panelists of their first impressions earlier in the season, before they each locked in their final guesses.
First up was Popcorn. Cannon reminded viewers that in previous episodes the panel almost unanimously guessed Turner, except for Scherzinger, who guessed Diana Ross because of Popcorn's "legendary vibes." But this week, she and McCarthy switched their guesses to Dayne.
When it was time to take the mask off, Scherzinger and McCarthy were correct: Dayne was Popcorn! "I grew up listening to you know I love you!" McCarthy said.
As for Jellyfish, Thicke's early impression was TikTok star Addison Rae, but he switched his final guess to Douglas. In previous weeks, McCarthy first thought of Daisy Ridley, but ultimately settled on gymnast McKayla Maroney. Scherzinger swapped her guess from model Sofia Richie to musician Grimes, while Jeong changed from his first guess of actress Yara Shahidi to snowboarder Kim. Robinson also went with Kim.
And it turned out Jeong and Robinson were right: Kim was Jellyfish!
“Thank you for being an inspiration to my daughters," Jeong told Kim. "You are a huge name in our household, and you inspire us all."
The last mystery of the night was Seahorse. Jeong, who initially guessed Fergie, wound up choosing Christina Aguilera, and Thicke switched his guess from singer JoJo to Kelly. Though McCarthy said she was "wrestling between" singers Kesha and Halsey, she settled on Halsey, while Scherzinger changed her guess from Maren Morris to Kelly. Robinson also went with Kelly.
Scherzinger and Robinson were spot on: Seahorse was Kelly. "I'm gutted that you're going home, because we thought she could take the entire competition," Scherzinger said. "You're the best vocalist we've ever had on this show,"
Next week, "The Masked Singer" will air a holiday-themed singalong episode with no elimination; the season finale, pitting the three remaining contestants, airs Dec. 16.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Masked Singer': Tori Kelly, Chloe Kim, Taylor Dayne unmasked
