The tenth season of the American television series The Masked Singer premiered on Fox on September 27, 2023, following a preview special that aired on September 10, and concluded on December 20, 2023. The season was won by singer Ne-Yo as "Cow", with actor/singer John Schneider finishing second as "Donut", actor/singer Janel Parrish placing third as "Gazelle", and singer Macy Gray placing fourth as "Sea Queen".
Panelists and host
Nick Cannon, singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, television and radio personality Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, actor and comedian Ken Jeong, and recording artist Nicole Scherzinger all return as host and panelists for their tenth consecutive season.
The first episode included David Spade as an additional guest, the second episode included Le'Veon Bell ("Milkshake" from season eight), Antonio Gates, and DeSean Jackson as additional guests, the third episode included season six winner Jewel, Lance Bass, and Kate Flannery as additional guests, the fifth episode included season two finalist Adrienne Bailon-Houghton as an additional guest, the seventh episode included Trolls characters Queen Poppy and Branch as additional guests, the eighth episode included The Trammps and Taylor Dayne ("Popcorn" from season four) as additional guests, the ninth episode included Kelly Osbourne ("Ladybug" from season two) and Bret Michaels ("Banana" from season three) as additional guests, and the tenth episode included Hunter Hayes ("Astronaut" from season three) as an additional guest.
Production On May 15, 2023, it was announced that the series was renewed for a tenth season. A promo revealing the season's premiere date featured letters inspired by previous costumes. A special preview episode aired on September 10, and featured previous contestants such as Michelle Williams and Rumer Willis, Joey Fatone and Bow Wow, and Victor Oladipo and Barry Zito, as well as a special unmasking.
The format features gimmicks from previous seasons. Smackdowns, which were featured in the second, third, and fourth seasons, returned with four contestants in each group, wild card contestants, which were featured during the fifth and sixth seasons, also return in the second episode of each group, and battle royales, which were featured in the eighth and previous seasons, return in the group finals episodes. Additionally, the "Ding Dong Keep It On" Bell, which was featured in the previous season, returns for the group finals episodes, where the judges can only save one contestant from elimination and move them directly to the finale.
The season also features the return of themed nights, a gimmick introduced in the previous seasons. The season includes themes such as "Trolls Night", "Harry Potter Night", "Elton John", "NFL Night", "One Hit Wonders", "Disco", "2000s Night", "I Wanna Rock", and "Soundtrack to My Life".
Contestants The season features 16 contestants split across three groups. Group A features five contestants, while Groups B and C feature four contestants. Each group features one wild card contestant who joins the competition during the second episode of their respective group; each culminated in a semi-final episode where one contestant moved on to the season finale. The contestants in this season are reported to have a combined 40 medals, 33 Grammy nominations, seven Hall of Fame awards, three lifetime achievement awards, and over 50 tattoos.
Additionally, a special guest mask known as "Anonymouse" performed during the season kickoff special, who was later revealed to be singer/songwriter and actor, Demi Lovato.
+ Results Stage name Celebrity Occupation(s) Episodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Group A Group B Group C A B C Cow Ne-Yo Singer SAFE SAFE SAFE WIN WINNER Donut John Schneider Actor/singer SAFE SAFE WIN RUNNER-UP Gazelle Janel Parrish Actor/singer SAFE SAFE SAFE KEPT THIRD Sea Queen (WC) Macy Gray Singer SAFE WIN FOURTH Candelabra Keyshia Cole Singer SAFE SAFE OUT Anteater John Oates Musician RISK RISK OUT Tiki Sebastian Bach Singer/actor SAFE RISK OUT Husky Ginuwine Singer SAFE SAFE OUT S'More Ashley Parker Angel Singer SAFE SAFE RISK OUT Cuddle Monster (WC) Metta World Peace Former NBA player OUT Hibiscus Luann de Lesseps Reality TV personality OUT Hawk Tyler Posey Actor/musician RISK OUT Royal Hen Billie Jean King Former tennis player OUT Pickle (WC) Michael Rapaport Actor/comedian SAFE OUT Diver Tom Sandoval Reality TV personality SAFE OUT Rubber Ducky Anthony Anderson Actor/comedian OUT
Episodes "Season 10 Kickoff" - September 10 + Performances on the special episode # Performer(s) Song Identity 1 Anonymouse "What About Love" by Heart Demi Lovato Special performances 2 Rumer Willis and Michelle Williams "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin 3 Nicole Scherzinger, Victor Oladipo, and Barry Zito "Meant to Be" by Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line 4 Joey Fatone and Bow Wow "ABC" by The Jackson 5 5 Nicole Scherzinger "Purple Rain" by Prince
Week 1 (September 27) "Season 10 Premiere" + Performances on the first episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Gazelle "Uninvited" by Alanis Morissette SAFE 2 Diver "Any Way You Want It" by Journey SAFE 3 S'More "Slow Hands" by Niall Horan SAFE 4 Rubber Ducky "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners Anthony Anderson OUT 5 Cow "Bones" by Imagine Dragons SAFE
Week 2 (October 4) - "NFL Night" Guest performance: Le'Veon Bell performs "I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas + Performances on the second episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Cow "Treasure" by Bruno Mars (from Super Bowl XLVIII) SAFE 2 Diver "I Ain't Worried" by OneRepublic (from Super Bowl XLVII pregame NFL tailgate party) Tom Sandoval OUT 3 Gazelle "The One That Got Away" by Katy Perry (from Super Bowl XLIX) SAFE 4 S'More "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5 (from Super Bowl LIII) SAFE Wild card Pickle "Pinball Wizard" by the Who (from Super Bowl XLIV) SAFE
Week 3 (October 11) - "2000s Night" Guest performance: Jewel performs "Standing Still" + Performances on the third episode # Stage name Song Result 1 Pickle "Beverly Hills" by Weezer RISK 2 Gazelle "Lucky" by Britney Spears SAFE 3 S'More "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's RISK 4 Cow "Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake SAFE Smackdown Identity Result 5 Pickle "Sugar, We're Goin Down" by Fall Out Boy Michael Rapaport OUT S'More SAFE
Week 4 (October 18) - "A Celebration of Elton John" Guest performance: Panelist Robin Thicke performs "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John + Performances on the fourth episode # Stage name Elton John song Result 1 Hawk "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" RISK 2 Husky "Bennie and the Jets" SAFE 3 Royal Hen "Philadelphia Freedom" RISK 4 Tiki "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" SAFE Smackdown Identity Result 5 Royal Hen"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee) Billie Jean King OUT Hawk SAFE
Week 5 (October 25) - "Harry Potter Night" Guest performance: Adrienne Bailon-Houghton performs "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins + Performances on the fifth episode # Stage name Song Result 1 Tiki "Magic" by Pilot RISK 2 Husky "Super Freak" by Rick James SAFE 3 Hawk "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" by The Police RISK Wild card Sea Queen "Love Potion No. 9" by The Clovers SAFE Smackdown Identity Result 5 Tiki"Monster" by Lady Gaga SAFE Hawk Tyler Posey OUT
Week 6 (November 8) - "One Hit Wonders Night" + Performances on the sixth episode # Stage name Song Result 1 Donut "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede SAFE 2 Hibiscus "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls RISK 3 Anteater "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn RISK 4 Candelabra "1 Thing" by Amerie SAFE Smackdown Identity Result 5 Anteater"Mickey" by Toni Basil SAFE Hibiscus Luann de Lesseps OUT
After being unmasked, de Lesseps performed her original song "Money Can't Buy You Class".
Week 7 (November 15) - "Trolls Night" Guest performance: Poppy and Branch perform "Better Place" by NSYNC
+ Performances on the seventh episode # Stage name Song Result 1 Anteater "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys RISK 2 Candelabra "All My Life" by K-Ci & JoJo SAFE 3 Donut "I Do (Cherish You)" by 98 Degrees SAFE Wild card Cuddle Monster "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" by New Kids on the Block RISK Smackdown Identity Result 5 Cuddle Monster"Can't Stop the Feeling!" by Justin Timberlake Metta World Peace OUT Anteater SAFE
Week 8 (November 29) - "Disco Night" Guest performances: The Trammps perform "Disco Inferno" and Taylor Dayne performs "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor + Performances on the eighth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 S'More "That's the Way (I Like It)" by KC and the Sunshine Band Ashley Parker Angel OUT 2 Cow "Ring My Bell" by Anita Ward SAFE 3 Gazelle "On the Radio" by Donna Summer SAFE Battle Royale 4 Gazelle "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor KEPT Cow WIN
After being unmasked, Parker Angel performed O-Town's hit song "All or Nothing".
Week 9 (December 6) - "I Wanna Rock" Guest performance: Bret Michaels performs "Nothin' But a Good Time" by Poison + Performances on the ninth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Tiki "I Was Made for Lovin' You" by Kiss SAFE 2 Husky "Always" by Bon Jovi Ginuwine OUT 3 Sea Queen "To Be with You" by Mr. Big SAFE Battle Royale 4 Tiki "Nothin' But a Good Time" by Poison Sebastian Bach OUT Sea Queen WIN After being unmasked, Ginuwine performed his signature song "Pony" and Bach sang Skid Row's "Youth Gone Wild".
Week 10 (December 13) - "Soundtrack to My Life" Guest performance: Hunter Hayes performs "Wanted" + Performances on the tenth episode # Stage name Song Identity Result 1 Candelabra "I'm Goin' Down" by Mary J. Blige SAFE 2 Anteater "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry John Oates OUT 3 Donut "Georgia on My Mind" by Ray Charles SAFE Battle Royale 4 Donut "Wanted" by Hunter Hayes WIN Candelabra Keyshia Cole OUT
Week 11 (December 20) Group performance: "What I Like About You" by The Romantics + Performances on the eleventh episode # Stage name Song Identity Result Round 1 1 Cow "Rhythm Nation" by Janet Jackson SAFE 2 Gazelle "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol Janel Parrish THIRD PLACE 3 Sea Queen "Rescue Me" by Fontella Bass Macy Gray FOURTH PLACE 4 Donut "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker SAFE Round 2 5 Donut "Drift Away" by Dobie Gray John Schneider RUNNER-UP 6 Cow "Take a Bow" by Rihanna Ne-Yo WINNER After being unmasked, Gray performed her signature song "I Try", and Ne-Yo performed "Miss Independent".
Ratings
Notes
References