The Ding Dong Bell is back!! First introduced in Season 9, this special Save can be used by the Sleuth panel only once this season!  We got a ‘Masked Singer season 11 sneak-peek of an episode that will air later in the season and the Sleuth panel had yet to use the Bell.   We think by this time after seeing all of the Masks, they know exactly which potential Masks that they will use the bell on.

Nicole Scherzinger is out this season due to a conflict she has with work in London.   Nicole, who revealed in September 2023 that she had moved to London, was absent from “The Masked Singer” season 11 filming due to her stint as Norma Desmond in West End Show, Sunset Boulevard.  Rita Ora took Nicole’s place and joined the sleuth cast made up of:  Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong and Jenny McCarthy.

For the first time, “The Masked Singer” filmed full seasons back-to-back. Typically there are a few months of down time of filming in between seasons.  This time, there was no break for the cast and crew.

The Masks that we saw perform during our visit on set that day were: Starfish, Goldfish, and The Ugly Sweater.  The episode theme was “Queen,” as in legendary rock band Queen.  All the Masks sang a Queen song.  Some of the songs included: The Show Must Go On (sung by Goldfish), and Under Pressure (sung by Starfish)

All these Masks are connected to members of the Sleuth panel, and the audience will see how.  Rita doesn’t hide that she’s a fan of one Mask in particular, and in traditional Queen style, this episode involves some interaction from the audience.  Also, we have a major clue for one of the unmaskings this season.

TIME FOR CLUES & GUESSES:

Star Fish revealed that she was fired on one job, only to land her big break on another one.  The CLUES included a phone, and a rabbit (or hare).

Some of the GUESSES for Starfish were: Robin guessed Kate Mckinnon; Ken guessed Kate Flannery; and Rita guessed Amy Schumer. 

The Ugly Sweater Mask said he worked with Tupac, and there was a sad face clue.  Rita thought it might be a clue referring to Motown.

Some of the GUESSES for Ugly Sweater were: Rita guessed Smokey Robinson.  Jenny guessed Aaron Neville; Robin guessed Charlie Wilson.  He thought that another clue, the 24K, was for Charlie’s tour with Bruno Mars.

After they each sang their songs, there were some name drops in the form of clue’s brought out for each Mask.  These were the names of each celeb on the Sleuth panel who are connected to the Masks. 

 “Galileo” brought out Goldfish’s clue, which was Ken’s name .  Ken was tied to this Mask because both he and Starfish had the experience of going through a traumatic time with a loved one right before a big performance. 

For Ken, it was when he did the Hangover movie.  In tears, Ken told the story of how he didn’t want to do the movie because his wife was recovering from breast cancer.   He said he was glad that he did the movie because it ended up being a therapeutic experience.

After Starfish’s performance, Rita Ora said she was “obsessed” with Starfish!  Starfish’s Sleuth connection was Jenny.   She said she invited Jenny to one of her shows.

The Ugly Sweater had “Nick” written on bicycles for his clue.  Nick Cannon made a joke that he wanted the bikes for his kids.

THE MASKED SINGER: Sleuth Panel, Ugly Sweater. CR: Michael Becker / FOX. ©2024 FOX Media LLC.

The Ugly Sweater said that he gave Nick some dating advice.  Later in the show when Rita asked him what the advice was.  He responded that he didn’t want to get “bleeped” on TV.  So, he couldn’t say.  But, Nick didn’t take his advice! Lol.

QUEEN was the first rock band to involve its audience to interact with their music.  So, The Masked Singer honored that throughout the show by having the studio audience interact.  

After one of the breaks, the sleuthing panel started tapping their feet and hands to the beats of “We Will Rock You” and the audience joined-in. 

Another intro back in from a break was when half of the audience was invited onto the stage to participate in the beats to “Radio Ga Ga” using light-up sticks.

SLEUTHS REACT TO THE MASKS:

After Goldfish’s performance, Robin said he liked that she was vulnerable, and she really showed that she’s a great performer by building the song by the end.

Jenny called Ugly Sweater “iconic and legendary.”  Rita said she would like to see him in concert.

THE VOTING:

The audience made the initial round of first votes, the lowest voted got unmasked right away.   The last two contestants participated in the Battle Royale.  The sleuthing panel had to vote on the two.  In the Battle Royale, they sang the same song in different styles.

Also in this episode, there’s a surprise cameo by their boss, CEO Rob Wade who dropped by the set and doubled as a “magician” when he presented Starfish’s clue “Jenny.”  That’s right, as stated earlier, Starfish has a connection to Jenny McCarthy. 

EXCLUSIVE CLUE – One of the Masks in season 11 is a celebrity who was a guest on this past season’s show!

THE MASKED SINGER Season 11 will premiere on March 6, 2024, on FOX network.

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