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The Masked Singer
Season 5
Promotional poster for season five, featuring costumes from previous seasons in the background
Starring	Robin Thicke Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg Ken Jeong Nicole Scherzinger
Hosted by	Nick Cannon Niecy Nash
No. of contestants	14
Winner	Nick Lachey as "Piglet"
Runner-up	JoJo as "Black Swan"
No. of episodes	12
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	March 10 (2021-03-10) – May 26, 2021 (2021-05-26)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 4Next → Season 6
List of episodes

The fifth season of the American television series The Masked Singer premiered on Fox on March 10, 2021, and concluded on May 26, 2021. The season was won by singer Nick Lachey as "Piglet", with singer JoJo finishing second as "Black Swan", and rapper Wiz Khalifa placing third as "Chameleon".

Panelists and hosts

Singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, television and radio personality Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, actor and comedian Ken Jeong, and recording artist Nicole Scherzinger all returned for their fifth season as panelists. The panelists once again competed for "The Golden Ear", with Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg winning for the second time. Regular host Nick Cannon tested positive for COVID-19 a few days before production was set to begin in February 2021; consequently, Niecy Nash guest hosted the first five episodes. Cannon returned after competing as "the Bulldog" in the fifth episode.

Guest panelists included Joel McHale in the third episode, Rita Wilson in the seventh episode, Chrissy Metz in the eighth episode, Rob Riggle in the ninth episode, Darius Rucker in the tenth episode, and season four winner LeAnn Rimes in the eleventh episode.

Contestants

The season began with two groups of five, Group A and Group B. In a new twist, four wild card contestants entered the competition beginning with the third episode, replacing previously eliminated contestants. The contestants among the season have a combined, "26 Grammy nominations, nine multi-platinum singles, four Oscar nominations, three Super Bowl appearances, six gold medals and two world records among them". In addition, the opening scene for the season premiere revealed that cast has, "a combined net worth over $600 million, eight marriages, 25 gold and platinum records, 459 tattoos, over 55 million records sold, over 198 million followers, three Grammy wins, three Emmy nominations, one Oscar win, nine divorces, and 146 toes."

This season featured a non-contestant masked character called "Cluedle-Doo". Over the course of 10 episodes, Cluedle-Doo periodically disrupted the broadcast to provide additional clues to the audience from his secret studio, teasing the host and panelists, while challenging the audience to discover who he was. In the semi-final episode, he appeared in person to perform "Return of the Mack" by Mark Morrison for the panel, then challenged them to guess his identity. After the panelists made their guesses who he was, none of which was correct, he unmasked himself as singer Donnie Wahlberg, panelist Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg's husband, shocking McCarthy Wahlberg who did not recognize his voice.

Kermit the Frog ("Snall") l") is the first fictional character to have competed on the American version of The Masked Singer and "Russian Dolls" (Hanson) are the second costume to feature more than one person (the first being Clint and Lisa Black's "Snow Owls" costume from the previous season) and the first costume to feature a group of different celebrities.

(WC) This masked singer is a wild card contestant.

Caitlyn Jenner ("Phoenix"), Danny Trejo ("Raccoon"), Logan Paul ("Grandpa Monster"), Nick Cannon ("Bulldog"), Mark McGrath ("Orca"), Bobby Brown ("Crab"), Tamera Mowry-Housley ("Seashell"), Tyrese Gibson ("Robopine"), Hanson ("Russian Dolls"), Omarion ("Yeti"), Wiz Khalifa ("Chameleon"), JoJo ("Black Swan"), and Nick Lachey ("Piglet")

Episodes

Week 1 (March 10)

Week 2 (March 17)

Week 3 (March 24)

Week 4 (March 31)

Week 5 (April 7)

Week 6 (April 14)

Week 7 (April 21)

Week 8 (May 5)

Week 9 (May 12)

Week 10 (May 19)

Performance by the Cluedle-Doo (Donnie Walhberg): "Return of the Mack" by Mark Morrison

Week 11 (May 26) – Finale

Group performance: "How Do I Live" by LeAnn Rimes

Ratings

Notes

1. The character performed in two costumes during the first and fifth performances and in three costumes during the second and third performances. When revealed, Taylor, Isaac, and Zac Hanson were underneath the main Russian Doll costume. Performances that utilized four costumes had one being used as a prop.
2. The character was originally introduced as "Porcupine"; his name was changed to "Robopine" before his first performance.
3. No vote was made by the panelists and superfans. Instead, Nash selected "Bulldog" to be eliminated. It was then unmasked to be Cannon, as part of transitioning the show's host duties back to him without the final guesses being obtained.
4. Kermit was voiced and performed by Matt Vogel, though Vogel was not revealed on camera.
5. Following the performance, Crab's performer (Bobby Brown) had to be briefly taken to his dressing room when he became overheated and short of breath in the costume.
6. Rimes, who served as a guest panelist for the episode, also sang in this performance with the three finalists.
7. Live+7 DVR ratings were unavailable, so Live+3 DVR ratings are listed instead.

References

1. "All-New Series Game of Talents Joins Television's #1 Show, The Masked Singer, For a Night of Hidden (and Masked!) Talent, Beginning Wednesday, March 10, on FOX" (Press release). Fox. February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
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3. Baysinger, Tim (February 3, 2021). "Niecy Nash to Guest-Host Masked Singer After Nick Cannon's Positive COVID Test". TheWrap. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
4. ^ Michael Schneider (April 7, 2021). "The Masked Singer Reveals the Identity of Bulldog, as Host Nick Cannon Preps His Return". Variety. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
5. Lauren Huff (April 6, 2021). "Rita Wilson and Chrissy Metz to join The Masked Singer as guest panelists". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
6. Michael Schneider (May 7, 2021). "The Masked Singer Reveals Final Season 5 Guest Panelists, Including Season 4 Winner LeAnn Rimes (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
7. Philiana Ng (February 23, 2021). "The Masked Singer to Introduce New Twist for Season 5". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
8. Lauren Huff (March 10, 2021). "The Masked Singer season 5 opener teases first look at the new wildcard contestants". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
9. Jennifer Maas (March 2, 2021). "Masked Singer Adds Cluedle-Doo, a Costumed Celeb Who Will Interrupt the Show With Clues". TheWrap. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
10. Rachel Yang (May 19, 2021). "The Masked Singer recap: Cluedle-Doo and Yeti unmasked, leaving panel stunned". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
11. Lauren Huff (May 12, 2021). "The Masked Singer's Russian Dolls reveal the secrets to their deceptive costumes". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
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13. Matt Vogel (March 11, 2021). "This is so sweet, dear Stephanie! Thanks, friend" (Tweet). Retrieved April 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
14. Cluedle-Doo Donnie Wahlberg Tricks Wife with "Return of the Mack" - The Masked Singer Season 5 E12, retrieved February 17, 2024
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23. Metcalf, Mitch (April 15, 2021). "Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 4.14.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
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• 2021 American television seasons
• The Masked Singer (American TV series)