It was Thanksgiving Eve, but each time is Halloween connected costumed contention The Masked Singer. And the show was decidedly inactive successful the Halloween tone Wednesday, with its (presumably delayed owed to the World Series) Fright Night occurrence — which climaxed with 2 so-talented-it’s-scary fearfulness icons being unmasked by the witching hour. But this precise rocky fearfulness representation amusement had a twist ending, erstwhile 1 of the contestants, the Scarecrow — who turned retired to beryllium 1 of fearfulness cinema’s eventual icons — practiced a self-exorcism by unmasking herself.
Only 1 different personage successful Masked Singer past had ever done this earlier (although forgetful big Nick Cannon, who intelligibly has a batch connected his caput these days, claimed this was a bid first): erstwhile Season 4’s Mickey “The Gremlin” Rourke violently yanked disconnected his headpiece and abruptly quit. This week, the Scarecrow volunteered to region her ain pumpkin-head and forfeit the contention — though she went astir it little frighteningly than Mickey had, and she really had a overmuch amended accidental than Mickey’d had of moving connected to the adjacent round. In fact, justice Ken Jeong had conscionable declared her raspy rendition of Steve Miller’s “Abracadabra” the astir magical show of the night.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait!” the Scarecrow interjected, conscionable arsenic Nick was astir to denote the episode's archetypal elimination. “I person thing to say! I emotion this amusement truthful much. I came to stock however overmuch I emotion you and what you each person done for the satellite and household entertainment. But I would similar to officially bow retired and unmask, and fto these 2 unthinkable competitors spell on,” she continued, gesturing generously to her rivals, the Snowstorm and Sir Bug-a-Boo. “These competitors are the existent deal. … I person a truly peculiar crushed for being present and I privation them to bask the signifier and each the accolades they truthful deserve.”
The shocked judges’ mouths gaped unfastened truthful wide, they looked similar living, breathing rubber Scream masks. But earlier this large pumpkin’s self-smashing, the judges had 1 past accidental to fig retired her identity. They focused connected her scary-movie clues, and 1 circumstantial witch clue, and guessed this mightiness beryllium Hocus Pocus’s Bette Midler, The Witches of Eastwick’s Susan Sarandon, The Witches’ Angelica Huston, Fatal Attraction’s Glenn Close, Halloween’s Jamie Lee Curtis, oregon Scream’s Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Drew Barrymore, oregon Parker Posey.
But if lone they’d zeroed successful connected the Scarecrow’s clues package’s rainbow roller skate, that would person led them to close 1979’s cinematic classical Roller Boogie and to Golden Globe-winning histrion Linda Blair. (Linda won that Globe for The Exorcist, not for Roller Boogie, conscionable to beryllium clear.) The "heads turn" hint was different evident 1 the judges someway overlooked.
The judges were truthful stunned erstwhile Linda unscrewed her head, they looked similar their ain heads were astir to rotation and spew pea soup. “There’s a fable successful the building!” exclaimed Nick. “My caput is blown! I’ve ne'er been truthful shocked connected this bid than I americium close now,” said Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg.
Linda’s show was unexpectedly sultry and funky, which mightiness person been wherefore the sheet hadn’t guessed that this was the 63-year-old creator formerly known arsenic Regan MacNeil. But Linda had intelligibly picked up immoderate rock-star swag from her galore past philharmonic boyfriends, among them Rick Springfield, Deep Purple's Glenn Hughes, Neil Giraldo, Styx's Tommy Shaw, and astir notably Rick James. This truly was the benignant of miss you work astir successful caller question magazines! L.A. powerpop set Redd Kross adjacent wrote a song astir her.
But Linda didn't spell connected The Masked Singer to amusement disconnected her popular chops oregon her stone cred. The laminitis of carnal payment enactment the Linda Blair World Heart Foundation, she was a pistillate connected a ngo to get the connection out, and she felt that ngo had been completed. “Let maine archer you what [The Masked Singer does] for maine and what you bash for the world: You instrumentality america retired of what is the astir hard clip successful past for 1 hr a week,” she began, thanking the judges. "I woody with animals being abused and thrown distant successful the streets. I person a foundation. ... I question the satellite and bash what I tin to marque it a amended place. You each person nary idea, your kindness and your love. And if you tin heal me, successful arsenic overmuch symptom arsenic I americium successful to effort to prevention those that don’t merit what’s happening, we tin bash better. And I consciousness you are my family.”
"Thanks, Linda, for utilizing this level successful the champion mode possible," said Ken, who declared this his favourite uncover ever. "We emotion you!"
So, that near past week’s reigning queen, the Snowstorm, and this week’s different caller contender, the Seuss-like, four-legged Sir Bug-a-Boo. But adjacent though Sir Bug-a-Boo’s soulful, rousing instrumentality connected “Devil With the Blue Dress On” had Jenny (who seemed to beryllium wearing a Terri Nunn-of-Berlin Halloween costume for immoderate reason) raving astir his “beautiful tone,” aft helium battled the Snowstorm connected Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me,” his Masked Singer dreams were ghosted, oregon busted. (I personally thought helium did amended successful the battle, with a raspy rap amended suited to the song.) And we recovered retired — arsenic Jenny had guessed astir instantly — that this was Ray Parker Jr.
Well, of course it was Ray! Not lone did this colorful crooner dependable conscionable similar the “Ghostbusters” taxable vocalist and Motown legend, but 3 of his cardinal clues were green slime, an old-school landline telephone with 3 question marks connected it, and adjacent an existent ghost! I swear, the show’s producers were not adjacent trying to beryllium opaque erstwhile they slapped unneurotic Sir Bug-a-Boo’s hint bundle this week; they mightiness arsenic good person conscionable strapped a proton battalion to Ray’s backmost portion they were astatine it. I person nary thought wherefore the different 3 judges adjacent bothered to suggest that this mightiness beryllium Jordan Peele, Randy Jackson, Lil Rel Howery, oregon 1 of the Wayans brothers… oregon wherefore Jenny changed her conjecture astatine the past infinitesimal to Ghostbusters histrion Ernie Hudson.
"Man, you are specified an accomplished instrumentalist and wrote immoderate of the biggest hits successful the satellite arsenic a guitarist from the Motown days — everybody from Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye — and truly conscionable being a fixture successful this manufacture for truthful long," Nick said excitedly, to which Ray quipped, "And I thought I was gonna beryllium a imperishable fixture connected this show! ... But I privation to say, erstwhile y'all request idiosyncratic other to travel connected this amusement and you request idiosyncratic extra, who you gonna call?"
So, this meant that the Snowstorm held onto her crown for a 2nd week, aft her cool-as-ice solo show of Ava Max’s “Sweet But Psycho,” truthful she’ll present beryllium heading to the Season 8 semifinals against erstwhile reigning queens the Harp and the Lambs. It’s already abundantly evident that the Harp is Amber Riley and the Lambs are Wilson Phillips (The Masked Singer producers didn’t marque their clues excessively hard either), but who is the Snowstorm?
I’m a spot little definite astir this one, and the judges’ guesses were each implicit the place; past week they thought the Snowstorm mightiness beryllium Anna Kendrick, Heather Graham, Katherine Hahn, Iliza Shlesinger, Aubrey Plaza, Whitney Cummings, oregon Zooey Deschanel, and this week they threw astir random names similar Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, and assorted Real Housewives. But I’m sticking to the conjecture I made last week: I judge this is comedian Nikki Glaser. It sounds similar her.
But the clues (which, admittedly, were a small trickier successful this case) adhd up arsenic well. The Snowstorm said she has to beryllium “cold-blooded” to past successful her male-dominated enactment of work, and women person historically had a pugnacious clip connected the drama circuit. She said she’s shared the signifier with Rob Lowe, and she perfectly slayed connected that Comedy Central Rob Lowe roast. (One of her ocular clues was roasted chestnuts, too.) She mentioned “speed-dating,” which Nikki did connected Instagram Live during the pandemic, positive of people Nikki is the existent big of Blind Date. We saw a location and a invited mat, references to Nikki’s Welcome Home Nikki Glaser? world series, and heard the operation “pitch-perfect,” astir apt a motion to her Perfect tv special. And finally, we saw a “Masked Universe” comic book… and, well, Nikki is simply a stand-up comic.
The Masked Singer volition permission Halloween down and get into the existent vacation tone Thursday — yes, the 24th, Thanksgiving — with a peculiar semifinals occurrence that volition find which 2 contestants volition beforehand to Season 8’s expansive finale. So, if you’d alternatively ticker the Lambs vs. Snowstorm vs. the Harp than the Bills vs. Lions oregon Patriots vs. Vikings, Fox has you covered this Tofurkey Day. See you then.
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