The third season of The Masked Singer based on the Masked Singer franchise which originated from the South Korean version of the show King of Mask Singer. It premiered on VTM on 3 February 2023 and is hosted by Jens Dendoncker.
The season started with the best ratings since its debut, with almost 2 million viewers. Big surprise came when the prima ballerina Hippo had a male singing voice. The singer made it to the finale, and turned out to be actor Boris Van Severen. For the first time, no professional singer won, but actor and presenter Aaron Blommaert who did have singing experience. Blommaert did launch a singing career through his victory.
The program was the best-watched program in 2023 in Flanders, repeating the success of the previous seasons.
Production After the success of the first two seasons, even named the biggest success of broadcoaster VTM ever, a third season was ordered. It was announced that Jens Dendoncker, who was a judge in the previous seasons, would be the new host. A first trailer of the season was released 6 January 2023. It was filmed in a castle.
There were some changes. There were fourteen contestants this season, more than the previous seasons. For the first time the contestants were split into two groups of seven. Only the last remaining four contestants of each group, would join the final group of eight contestants towards the final.
Before the first episode, the audience could already hear the voices of the contestants since audio fragments were released.
Cast Panelists Panel members Julie Van den Steen, Andy Peelman and Kevin Janssens returned. Bart Cannaerts and Tine Embrechts, who participated at the previous season as masked singers, joined the panel. Of this group of 5 judges, a few of them would be selected for each episode.
+ Color key Featured in this episode as a judge.
+ The Masked Singer Judges Judge Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Andy Peelman colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="3" Bart Cannaerts colspan="2" colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="4" colspan="1" Julie Van den Steen colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="3" Kevin Janssens colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="2" Tine Embrechts colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="4" Karen Damen colspan="6" colspan="4" colspan="1" colspan="1" Guest Judge colspan="1" colspan="1" Astrid Coppens colspan="1" Kürt Rogiers colspan="1" Maaike Cafmeyer colspan="1" Nina Derwael colspan="1" Margriet Hermans colspan="1" colspan="1" Kamal Khamarch colspan="1" Jelle De Beule colspan="1" colspan="1" Belle Perez colspan="1"
Contestants The first eight contestants were introduced on 13 January.
The other six characters were revealed in many ways. A new character, Cosmos, appeared on a mural in Antwerp on 17 January 2023. Three new characters performed at an exclusive party on 21 January. On 25 January a new character, Mummy, was heard on several radio stations. The last contestant, Butterfly, was revealed in Leuven on 1 February and on 2 February online.
The season started in two groups. The remaining singers were brought together for the first time in the seventh episode, the long-announced Big Bang.
Stage name Celebrity Occupation Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Tovenaar ("Wizard") Aaron Blommaert Actor RISK WIN WIN WIN RISK WIN RISK SAFE WINNER Champignon ("Mushroom") Miguel Wiels Composer WIN WIN WIN WIN RISK WIN SAFE SAFE RUNNER-UP Raaf ("Raven") Coely Singer WIN RISK SAFE RISK WIN RISK SAFE SAFE THIRD HippoBoris Van SeverenActor WIN WIN SAFE RISK WIN WIN SAFE OUT Foxy Lady Danira BoukhrissTV Presenter WIN RISK SAFE WIN RISK RISK OUT Leeuw ("Lion") Maksim Stojanac Singer WIN WIN RISK RISK WIN OUT Minotaurus ("Minotaur") Jan Van Looveren Actor WIN WIN RISK WIN OUT Mummie ("Mummy") Véronique De Kock TV Presenter RISK RISK SAFE OUT Kosmos ("Cosmos") Siska Schoeters Radio Host RISK RISK OUT Soaperstar Kat Kerkhofs Program Maker RISK WIN OUT Vlinder ("Butterfly") MATTN DJ RISK OUT Groot Licht ("Big Light") Timmy Simons Footballer RISK OUT Kolonel Mops ("Colonel Pug") Marc Coucke Businessman OUT Skiwi Herman VerbruggenActor OUT
Episodes
Episode 1 (3 February) Group number: "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars + Performances on the first episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Mushroom "Iko Iko" by Justin Wellington WIN 2 Mummy "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga RISK 3 Lion "I Was Made for Lovin' You" by Kiss WIN 4 Big Light "Dancing On My Own" by Robyn RISK 5 Soaperstar "Into You" by Ariana Grande RISK 6 Skiwi "Le Freak" by Chic Herman VerbruggenOUT 7 Raven "Skyfall" by Adele WIN
Episode 2 (10 February) Group number: "Take On Me" by A-ha + Performances on the second episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Hippo "About Damn Time" by Lizzo WIN 2 Cosmos "Ain't Nobody" by Chaka Khan RISK 3 Colonel Pug "Sweet Caroline" by DJ Otzi Marc Coucke OUT 4 Butterfly "How Long Will I Love You" by Ellie Goulding RISK 5 Minotaur "The Show Must Go On" by Queen WIN 6 Foxy Lady "Don't Let Go (Love)" by En Vogue WIN 7 Wizard "Space Man" by Sam Ryder RISK
Episode 3 (17 February) + Performances on the third episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Lion "Late Night Talking" by Harry Styles WIN 2 Mummy "Break My Heart" by Dua Lipa RISK 3 Raven "In the Dark" by Purple Disco Machine & Sophie and the Giants RISK 4 Mushroom "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner WIN 5 Big Light "Green Green Grass" by George Ezra Timmy Simons OUT 6 Soaperstar "Not an Addict" by K's Choice ft. Skin WIN
Episode 4 (24 February) + Performances on the fourth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Foxy Lady "Maybe You're the Problem" by Ava Max RISK 2 Minotaur "All I Want" by Kodaline WIN 3 Wizard "Grace Kelly" by MIKA WIN 4 Cosmos "Snap" by Rosa Linn RISK 5 Butterfly "Crazy What Love Can Do" by Becky Hill, David Guetta & Ella Henderson MATTN OUT 6 Hippo "Tainted Love" by Marilyn Manson WIN
Episode 5 (3 March) + Performances on the fifth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Mushroom "Livin' la Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin WIN 2 Lion "Take Me to Church" by Hozier RISK 3 Mummy "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" by Britney Spears SAFE 4 Soaperstar "Happier Than Ever" by Billie Eilish Kat Kerkhofs OUT 5 Raven "Queen of the Night" by Whitney Houston SAFE 1 Mummy & Soaperstar "I Need Never Get Old" by Nathaniel Rateliff 2 Lion & Raven "Raise Your Glass" by P!nk
Episode 6 (10 March) + Performances on the sixth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Foxy Lady "Don't Go Yet" by Camila Cabello SAFE 2 Hippo "Another Love" by Tom Odell SAFE 3 Cosmos "Chained to the Rhythm" by Katy Perry Siska Schoeters OUT 4 Wizard "Careless Whisper" by George Michael WIN 5 Minotaur "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana RISK 1 Foxy Lady & Cosmos "All These Nights" by Tom Grennan 2 Hippo & Minotaur "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey
Episode 7 (17 March) + Performances on the seventh episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Wizard "Locked Out of Heaven" by Bruno Mars WIN 2 Mummy "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles Véronique De Kock OUT 3 Lion "Let Me Entertain You" by Robbie Williams RISK 4 Foxy Lady "Because Of You" by Kelly Clarkson WIN 5 Mushroom "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John WIN 6 Hippo "Heavy Cross" by Gossip RISK 7 Minotaur "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban WIN 8 Raven "We Found Love" by Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris RISK
Episode 8 (31 March) + Performances on the eighth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Minotaur "Dance All Over Me" by George Ezra Jan Van Looveren OUT 2 Hippo "The Loneliest" by Måneskin WIN 3 Foxy Lady "Unholy" by Sam Smith ft. Kim Petras RISK 4 Raven "Hold My Hand" by Lady Gaga WIN 5 Wizard "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" by ABBA RISK 6 Lion "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson WIN 7 Mushroom "Like A Virgin" by Madonna RISK
Episode 9 (7 April) + Performances on the ninth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Raven "Never Gonna Not Dance Again" by P!nk RISK 2 Mushroom "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You" by Glenn Medeiros WIN 3 Hippo "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince WIN 4 Foxy Lady "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley RISK 5 Lion "Lionheart (Fearless)" by Joel Corry & Tom Grennan RISK 6 Wizard "Miss You" by Jérémie Makiese WIN Sing-off details 1 Raven"Larger Than Life" by Backstreet Boys SAFE 2 Foxy Lady SAFE 3 Lion Maksim StojanacOUT
Episode 10 (14 April) Group number (with Queen and Wolf from Season 1 and Miss Kitty, Knight, and Rabbit from Season 2): "Firework" by Katy Perry + Performances on the tenth episode # Stage name Song Duet partner Identity Result 1 Hippo "2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)" by Lizzo Camille Dhont (Miss Kitty) SAFE 2 Wizard "One" by U2 Loredana (Knight) RISK 3 Mushroom "Get Down (You're the One for Me)" by Backstreet Boys Conner Rousseau (Rabbit) SAFE 4 Foxy Lady "You're the One That I Want" by John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John Kevin Janssens (Wolf) RISK 5 Raven "Try" by P!nk Sandra Kim (Queen) SAFE Sing-off details 1 Wizard"Relight My Fire" by Take That ft. Lulu N/A SAFE 2 Foxy Lady N/A Danira Boukhriss OUT
Episode 11 (21 April) Each contestant performed two songs. Two contestants were saved from elimination by the judges, one contestant was saved by the audience. The remaining contestant was unmasked. + Performances on the eleventh episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Mushroom "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi rowspan="2" SAFE "We Are the Champions" by Queen 2 Hippo "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" by Elton John Boris Van Severen OUT "Love On Top" by Beyoncé 3 Raven "Strong" by London Grammar rowspan="2" SAFE "Hurts" by Emeli Sandé 4 Wizard "Noodgeval" by Goldband rowspan="2" SAFE "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Celine Dion
Episode 12 (28 April) - Finale Group number: "Spectrum (Say My Name)" by Florence + The Machine After each contestant performed two songs, two of them were saved by the audience and the third one was unmasked. The remaining two contestants went up against each other in a sing-off. The audience chose the winner, after which both the runner-up and the winner were unmasked. + Performances on the twelfth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Raven "Chandelier" by Sia Coely THIRD "Queen of the Night" by Whitney Houston 2 Mushroom "I'm Into Folk" by The Radios rowspan="2" SAFE "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner 3 Wizard "Never Enough" by Loren Allred rowspan="2" SAFE "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" by ABBA Sing-off details 1 Mushroom"Dream On" by Aerosmith Miguel Wiels RUNNER-UP 2 Wizard Aaron Blommaert WINNER
References
External links