The Masked Singer 8 Will Feature New Format, More Masks

The Masked Singer
L-R: Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Nick Cannon, Ken Jeong and Nicole Scherzinger CR: Michael Becker / FOX. 

The Masked Singer returns to FOX for its 8th season with a brand new format beginning Wednesday September 21 at 8 pm ET/PT.

First, there will be 22 masked celebrities, the most celebrities the show has featured ever. How will that work in a roughly 10 week series? Instead of ONE elimination a week, there will be only ONE celebrity moving on to the next round. In other words, instead of a mask performing several times, most of the celebrity masks will only perform once.

Only ONE celebrity will advance to the next round every week

Each episode will feature several performances by intricately disguised celebrities, but for the first time ever, only one contestant will move on from each episode. The studio audience will vote for their favorite, and the singer with the least amount of votes will unmask mid-show. That celebrity will get a front row seat in The Masked Singer VIP section to watch the rest of the competition and the second unmasking. 

Next, the Top Two singers face off in a Battle Royale performance of the same song. The winner will be crowned the King or Queen of The Masked Singer and move on to the next week’s episode against new competition, and the other will unmask! The three finalists left standing after each round will compete in the Semi-Finals.

According to executive producer Craig Plestis if there are three people competing, one person will be eliminated quickly, in the middle of the show. And then the two remaining singers will perform again in a “Battle Royale” each week. One person will be unmasked after that, and the other one will move on in the competition.

The new format features three rounds of three episodes each

“It’ll be roughly between four to three singers in each episode. It varies a little bit, but you will see new masks every week,” he told Entertainment Weekly.

The new format will last for three rounds of three episodes each in order to whittle it down to three semifinalists. “So there’s the [first] three episodes, we get a king or queen. We do another three episodes, we get another king or queen. Another three episodes, you get another king or queen. So that’s how we get to our three finalists for the semifinals,” Plestis explained.

New themes and guest stars for season 8

Season Eight will introduce all-new themed episodes, including “Vegas Night,” “Comedy Roast,” “Hall Of Fame,” “Muppets Night,” “Andrew Lloyd Webber Night,” “TV Themes,” “’90s Night,” “Thanksgiving” and “Fright Night.” The themes will be weaved throughout the performers’ song selections, costumes, celebrity guests, set design… and may even provide clues as to WHO is under the mask.

New celebrities will be introduced every single week, disguised in costumes that include “Bride,” “Avocado,” “Venus Fly Trap,” “Sir Bugaboo,” “Scarecrow,” “Hedgehog,” “Mummies” – and many more

The new season also welcomes celebrity guest appearances (unmasked!) by stars such as Donny Osmond, Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Muppets, Will Arnett, Leslie Jordan, Joel McHale, Tori Spelling, Jon Lovitz, Jodie Sweetin, Carrot Top, Blue Man Group, Lance Bass, Danielle Fishel, Sheila E. and Drew Carey.

The Season Eight contestants boast a combined 32 Grammy Nominations, 16 Emmy Wins, 8 Gold Albums, 4 Golden Globe Nominations, 42 Books, 10 Teen Choice Awards, and 5 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Masked Singer is hosted by Nick Cannon and features panelists Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke.

About mj santilli 34833 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!