The Masked Singer (American TV series) season 4

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The Masked Singer
Season 4
Promotional poster for season four, featuring "Crocodile"
Starring
Hosted byNick Cannon
No. of contestants16
WinnerLeAnn Rimes as "Sun"
Runner-upAloe Blacc as "Mushroom"
No. of episodes14
Release
Original networkFox
Original releaseSeptember 23 (2020-09-23) –
December 16, 2020 (2020-12-16)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 3
Next →
Season 5
List of episodes

The fourth season of the American television series The Masked Singer premiered on Fox on September 23, 2020, following a sneak peek episode that aired on September 13,[1][2] and concluded on December 16, 2020. The season was won by singer LeAnn Rimes as "Sun", with singer Aloe Blacc finishing second as "Mushroom", and singer Nick Carter placing third as "Crocodile".

Panelists and host[edit]

Nick Cannon, 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 fourth season as host and panelists.[3][4] Following controversial statements made on his podcast, it was confirmed that Cannon would remain as host of the show, after Fox accepted his apology.[5]

Guest panelists included Joel McHale in the third and fourth episodes, season two winner Wayne Brady in the sixth episode, Niecy Nash in the seventh episode, Cheryl Hines in the eighth episode, Jay Pharoah in the ninth episode, and Craig Robinson in the tenth episode.[6]

The panelists also engaged in a competition for the Golden Ear in this season. After each masked singer performed for the first time along with an initial clue package, each panelist wrote their first impressions-based guess at the identity of the celebrity and kept in a safe until the men in black are instructed to bring it out upon a contestant's elimination. Those guesses were revealed after each celebrity was unmasked, with panelist scoring a point for each celebrity they got correct from their initial first impression, with the panelist with the most correct answers winning the Golden Ear.[7] Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg won the first Golden Ear for getting the most guesses correct.[8]

Production[edit]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, various industry-adopted safety protocols were implemented for production (as well as a change in location from Television City to Red Studios Hollywood), which included that the tapings to have a virtual audience, and that the judging panel would be 8 feet apart from each other. Fox Alternative Entertainment president Rob Wade said that the show would still "feel very much like" past seasons, having employed "various quarantining and various camera tricks" to preserve the visible presence of a studio audience.[9] Executive producer Craig Plestis stated that a goal for season four's costumes was to "increase the bonkers level and keep the production values up". A "virtual audience" was incorporated into voting.[9] To accommodate social distancing, many of the clue packages used animation by Bento Box Entertainment, the studio behind Bob's Burgers as opposed to live-action filming typically used for their clue packaging.[10]

Contestants[edit]

The season featured 16 contestants,[10] including "Snow Owls" wearing the first duet costume with its own vehicle,[11] the first costume to have animatronic parts ("Serpent"), and the first puppet costume ("Baby Alien"). The contestants in this season are reported to have a combined net worth over $398 million, 46 Grammy nominations, 23 platinum records, 10 Hall of Fame appearances, and one Olympic gold medal, to collectively have sold over 281 million records, appeared in over 5,475 episodes of television and 151 films, made five Super Bowl appearances, have four stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, hold three world records, one Time 100 honor, and one Oscar nomination in a major category.[12][13]

Results
Stage name[14] Celebrity Occupation(s) Episodes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12
Group A Group B A B Group C A B C
Sun LeAnn Rimes Singer SAFE SAFE WIN WIN WINNER
Mushroom Aloe Blacc Singer SAFE SAFE RISK WIN RUNNER-UP
Crocodile Nick Carter Singer SAFE SAFE SAFE WIN THIRD
Seahorse Tori Kelly Singer SAFE SAFE SAFE OUT
Jellyfish Chloe Kim Olympic gold medalist SAFE SAFE WIN OUT
Popcorn Taylor Dayne Singer SAFE SAFE RISK OUT
Broccoli Paul Anka Singer SAFE SAFE OUT
Serpent Dr. Elvis Francois Surgeon/viral video star SAFE SAFE OUT
Whatchamacallit Lonzo Ball NBA player SAFE SAFE OUT
Snow Owls Clint Black Singer SAFE SAFE OUT[a]
Lisa Hartman Black Actor/singer
Squiggly Monster Bob Saget Comedian/TV host SAFE OUT
Lips Wendy Williams Talk show host OUT
Baby Alien Mark Sanchez Retired NFL player SAFE OUT
Giraffe Brian Austin Green Actor SAFE OUT
Gremlin Mickey Rourke Actor/boxer WD[b]
Dragon Busta Rhymes Rapper OUT
  The masked singer won with their performance and remained in the competition.
  The masked singer was in the bottom two, but was not eliminated.
  The masked singer was safe from elimination.
  The masked singer was eliminated from the competition and unmasked.
  The masked singer did not perform.
  The masked singer unmasked themselves and left the competition.
The celebrities who competed in the fourth season of The Masked Singer, pictured in order of elimination (L–R):


Busta Rhymes ("Dragon"), Mickey Rourke ("Gremlin"), Brian Austin Green ("Giraffe"), Mark Sanchez ("Baby Alien"), Wendy Williams ("Lips"), Bob Saget ("Squiggly Monster"), Clint and Lisa Hartman Black ("Snow Owls"), Lonzo Ball ("Whatchamacallit"), Paul Anka ("Broccoli"), Taylor Dayne ("Popcorn"), Chloe Kim ("Jellyfish"), Tori Kelly ("Seahorse"), Nick Carter ("Crocodile"), Aloe Blacc ("Mushroom"), and LeAnn Rimes ("Sun")

Not pictured: Dr. Elvis Francois ("Serpent")

Episodes[edit]

Week 1 (September 23)[edit]

Performances on the first episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Sun "Cuz I Love You" by Lizzo undisclosed SAFE
2 Giraffe "Let's Get It Started" by Black Eyed Peas undisclosed SAFE
3 Popcorn "What About Us" by P!nk undisclosed SAFE
4 Dragon "Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J Busta Rhymes OUT
5 Snow Owls "Say Something" by A Great Big World undisclosed SAFE
undisclosed

Week 2 (September 30)[edit]

Performances on the second episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Crocodile "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi undisclosed SAFE
2 Baby Alien "Faith" by George Michael undisclosed SAFE
3 Seahorse "Only Girl (In the World)" by Rihanna undisclosed SAFE
4 Whatchamacallit "I Wish" by Skee-Lo undisclosed SAFE
5 Serpent "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers undisclosed SAFE
6 Gremlin "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King Mickey Rourke WD[b]

Week 3 (October 7)[edit]

Guest panelist performance: "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke performed by Joel McHale as "The Robin"

Performances on the third episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Popcorn "Falling" by Harry Styles undisclosed SAFE
2 Giraffe "Get Down on It" by Kool & the Gang Brian Austin Green OUT
3 Snow Owls "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" by Meghan Trainor (feat. John Legend) undisclosed SAFE
undisclosed
4 Sun "Praying" by Kesha undisclosed SAFE

Week 4 (October 14)[edit]

Performances on the fourth episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Serpent "The Bones" by Maren Morris undisclosed SAFE
2 Crocodile "Toxic" by Britney Spears undisclosed SAFE
3 Baby Alien "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons Mark Sanchez OUT
4 Whatchamacallit "Money Maker" by Ludacris (feat. Pharrell Williams) undisclosed SAFE
5 Seahorse "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion undisclosed SAFE

Week 5 (October 28)[edit]

Performances on the fifth episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Squiggly Monster "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival undisclosed SAFE
2 Mushroom "This Woman's Work" by Maxwell undisclosed SAFE
3 Jellyfish "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie undisclosed SAFE
4 Broccoli "The House is Rockin'/Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" by Stevie Ray Vaughan/Jerry Lee Lewis undisclosed SAFE
5 Lips "Native New Yorker" by Odyssey Wendy Williams OUT

Week 6 (November 4)[edit]

Guest panelist performance: "Memories" by Maroon 5 performed by Wayne Brady as "Mr. TV".

Performances on the sixth episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Mushroom "If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher undisclosed SAFE
2 Broccoli "Hello" by Lionel Richie undisclosed SAFE
3 Squiggly Monster "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones Bob Saget OUT
4 Jellyfish "Crazy" by Patsy Cline undisclosed SAFE

Week 7 (November 11)[edit]

Group performance: "Raise Your Glass" by P!nk

Performances on the seventh episode
# Stage name Song Result
1 Sun "Piece of My Heart" by Janis Joplin WIN
2 Snow Owls "The Prayer" by Andrea Bocelli & Celine Dion RISK
3 Popcorn "Domino" by Jessie J RISK
Smackdown Identity Result
1 Snow Owls "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion Clint Black OUT[a]
Lisa Hartman Black
2 Popcorn "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams undisclosed SAFE

Week 8 (November 18)[edit]

Performances on the eighth episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Seahorse "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears undisclosed SAFE
2 Crocodile "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis undisclosed SAFE
3 Whatchamacallit "Lean Back" by Terror Squad ft. Fat Joe & Remy Ma Lonzo Ball OUT
4 Serpent "Cool" by Jonas Brothers Dr. Elvis Francois OUT

Week 9 (November 26)[edit]

Group performance: "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5

Performances on the ninth episode
# Stage name Song Result
1 Jellyfish "Don't Start Now" by Dua Lipa WIN
2 Mushroom "Unconditionally" by Katy Perry RISK
3 Broccoli "Old Time Rock & Roll" by Bob Seger RISK
Smackdown Identity Result
1 Broccoli "Take Me Down" by Alabama Paul Anka OUT
2 Mushroom "A Song for You" by Donny Hathaway undisclosed SAFE

Week 10 (December 2)[edit]

Group performance: "Take On Me" by A-ha

Guest panelist performance: "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor performed by Craig Robinson

Performances on the tenth episode
# Group Stage name Song Identity Result
1 B Seahorse "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars Tori Kelly OUT
2 Crocodile "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith undisclosed WIN
3 C Mushroom "Valerie" by Amy Winehouse undisclosed WIN
4 Jellyfish "Stay" by Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko Chloe Kim OUT
5 A Popcorn "Better Be Good to Me" by Tina Turner Taylor Dayne OUT
6 Sun "When the Party's Over" by Billie Eilish undisclosed WIN

Week 11 (December 16) – Finale[edit]

Group performance: "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by Darlene Love

Performances on the final episode
# Stage name Song Identity Result
1 Crocodile "Open Arms" by Journey Nick Carter THIRD PLACE
2 Mushroom "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder Aloe Blacc RUNNER-UP
3 Sun "The Story" by Brandi Carlile LeAnn Rimes WINNER

Ratings[edit]

Viewership and ratings per episode of The Masked Singer (American TV series) season 4
No. Title Air date Timeslot (ET) Rating
(18–49)
Viewers
(millions)
DVR
(18–49)
DVR viewers
(millions)
Total
(18–49)
Total viewers
(millions)
Ref.
0 "Special Season Four Sneak Peek" September 13, 2020 Sunday 8:00 p.m. 1.6 5.57 [16][17]
1 "The Season Premiere - The Masks Return" September 23, 2020 Wednesday 8:00 p.m. 1.6 5.92 0.8 2.88 2.4 8.80 [18]
2 "The Group B Premiere - Six More Masks" September 30, 2020 1.9 6.94 0.7 2.48 2.6 9.42 [19]
3 "The Group A Play Offs - Famous Masked Words" October 7, 2020 1.5 6.01 0.8 2.38 2.3 8.39 [20][21]
4 "The Group B Play Offs - Cloudy with a Chance of Clues" October 14, 2020 1.7 6.50 [22][23]
5 "The Group C Premiere - Masked But Not Least" October 28, 2020 1.6 6.20 0.7 2.08 2.3 8.28 [24]
6 "The Group C Play Offs - Funny You Should Mask" November 4, 2020 1.7 6.57 0.7 2.14 2.4 8.71 [25]
7 "The Group A Finals - The Masked Frontier" November 11, 2020 1.6 6.07 0.6 2.03 2.2 8.10 [26]
8 "The Group B Finals - The Mask Chance Saloon" November 18, 2020 1.7 6.42 0.7 2.13 2.3 8.55 [27]
9 "The Group C Finals - The Masks Give Thanks" November 26, 2020 Thursday 8:00 p.m. 3.5 11.42 0.7 2.16 4.2 13.58 [28][29]
10 "The Semi Finals - The Super Six" December 2, 2020 Wednesday 8:00 p.m. 1.6 6.57 0.6 1.92 2.2 8.49 [30]
Special "The Holiday Sing-a-Long" December 9, 2020 1.1 4.89 0.3 1.26 1.4 6.14 [31][32]
11 "Road to the Finals" December 16, 2020 1.3 5.44 [33]
12 "The Season 4 Finale - Last Mask Standing" December 16, 2020 Wednesday 9:00 p.m. 1.8 7.41 [33]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Prior to the unmasking, Nick Cannon had to enlist the Snow Owls' dancers to "hatch" them out of their egg vehicle for a final clue to their identity.
  2. ^ a b Rourke, after completing his performance in costume and while being interviewed by Cannon, complained about how hot it was in the costume and proceeded to unmask himself before the judges could vote, eliminating himself from the competition.[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kimberly Roots (August 26, 2020). "The Masked Singer Sets Season 4 Premiere Date, Reveals Costumes". TVLine. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  2. ^ Peter White (August 26, 2020). "Fox Adds I Can See Your Voice To Fall Schedule To Create Ken Jeong Block As MasterChef Junior Pushed". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  3. ^ Lauren Huff (September 21, 2020). "Everything we know about The Masked Singer season 4 so far". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  4. ^ Jennifer Maas (September 11, 2020). "The Masked Singer Season 4: Here's Everything We Know – So Far". TheWrap. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  5. ^ Michael Schneider (July 15, 2020). "Nick Cannon Apologizes for Anti-Semitic Comments; Fox Stands Behind The Masked Singer Host". Variety. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  6. ^ Michael Schneider (November 9, 2020). "Masked Singer Reveals Extra Panelists, Thanksgiving Special and Triple Elimination Episode (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  7. ^ Erin Jensen (September 23, 2020). "The Masked Singer premiere recap: Busta Rhymes' Dragon fire is extinguished in premiere". USA Today. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  8. ^ Jennifer Maas (December 16, 2020). "Which Masked Singer Judge Won the Golden Ear Trophy?". TheWrap. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Peter White (September 21, 2020). "The Masked Singer: Fox's Rob Wade On How The Mystery Singing Competition Got Back On Stage". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Jennifer Maas (September 21, 2020). "The Masked Singer Pulled Off Its Pandemic Season With Animation, Fan Voting and a Baby Alien". TheWrap. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Michael Schneider (September 8, 2020). "The Masked Singer to Include First-Ever Two-Headed Duet Costume This Season". Variety. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ^ Lauren Huff (August 26, 2020). "The Masked Singer season 4 first characters and premiere date revealed". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  13. ^ Michael Schneider (September 23, 2020). "The Masked Singer Premiere Reveals the Identity of the Dragon: Here's the Star Under the Mask". Variety. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  14. ^ Lauren Huff (September 14, 2020). "All The Masked Singer season 4 costumes, including first-ever 2-headed duet". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  15. ^ Michael Schneider (September 30, 2020). "The Masked Singer Shocker: Here's the Identity of Gremlin, Who Yanked His Own Mask Off". Variety. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  16. ^ Douglas Pucci (September 16, 2020). "Sunday Final Ratings: Tom Brady's Buccaneers Debut Delivers Most-Watched Fox NFL Week One Telecast in Four Years". Programming Insider. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  17. ^ David Bauder (September 15, 2020). "For television executives, return of football is good news". Associated Press. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  18. ^ Will Thorne (October 6, 2020). "Live+7 Ratings for Premiere Week: Masked Singer and Football Dominate". Variety. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  19. ^ Will Thorne (October 13, 2020). "Live+7 Ratings for Week of Sept. 28: Masked Singer Almost Catches Presidential Debate". Variety. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  20. ^ Douglas Pucci (October 8, 2020). "Wednesday Final Ratings: Harris-Pence Delivers Second-Largest Vice Presidential Debate in TV History". Programming Insider. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  21. ^ Rick Porter (October 21, 2020). "Masked Singer Continues to Rule 7-Day Ratings in Week 3". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  22. ^ Douglas Pucci (October 20, 2020). "Wednesday Final Ratings: The Amazing Race Premieres its 32nd Season on CBS". Programming Insider. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  23. ^ David Bauder (October 20, 2020). "Football rules nationally, Dodgers in Los Angeles". Associated Press. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  24. ^ Will Thorne (November 10, 2020). "Live+7 Ratings for Week of Oct. 26: This Is Us Premiere Grows 86% to Top Delayed Charts". Variety. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  25. ^ Will Thorne (November 17, 2020). "Live+7 Ratings for Week of Nov. 2: The Good Doctor Premiere Adds 4.5 Million Viewers". Variety. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  26. ^ Douglas Pucci (November 13, 2020). "Wednesday Final Ratings: CMA Awards on ABC Slightly Bests September's ACM Awards". Programming Insider. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  27. ^ Douglas Pucci (November 19, 2020). "Wednesday Final Ratings: ESPN a Close Runner-Up to Fox in Key Prime Time Demos with NBA Draft". Programming Insider. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  28. ^ Rick Porter (December 8, 2020). "The Good Doctor Leads 7-Day Ratings Gains for Thanksgiving Week". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  29. ^ David Bauder (December 2, 2020). "Who did it? TV viewers intrigued by HBO's The Undoing". Associated Press. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  30. ^ Douglas Pucci (December 19, 2020). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: Four ABC Dramas Lead in Raw Adults 18-49 Boosts". Programming Insider. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  31. ^ Mitch Metcalf (December 10, 2020). "Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.9.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  32. ^ Douglas Pucci (December 23, 2020). "Live+7 Weekly Ratings: ABC Murder Mystery Big Sky Leads Delayed Viewing in Total Audience". Programming Insider. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  33. ^ a b Mitch Metcalf (December 17, 2020). "Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.16.2020". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.