Season 9 of the American version of The Masked Singer premiered on February 15, 2023, and concluded on May 17, 2023.
Production
In late December 2022, a ninth season was officially confirmed via the official FOX YouTube channel.[1] On January 11, 2023, the season was officially announced and it was revealed that the season would premiere on February 15, 2023, along with the names of the first four costumes.[2] Five additional costume names were revealed during a football game aired on January 15.[3][4]
Themed nights, introduced in the previous season, returned.[2] The themed nights in the season included "Opening Night", "ABBA Night", "New York Night", "DC Superhero Night", "Sesame Street Night", "Country Night", "80s Night", "Movie Night", and "The Masked Singer in Space Night".[5][6][7]
A new twist, titled the 'Ding Dong Keep it On Bell', debuted in the season. The bell allowed panelists to save a singer from elimination.[8][5]
French Hen costume
French Hen, as seen in the promotional poster
Prior to the airing of the season, promotional material including a press release[2] and poster[9] included a mask called French Hen. It is unknown what has happened to this particular costume and the use of it, although it has been revealed that the celebrity participant of Night Owl was a last-minute addition to the season after a celebrity dropped out,[10][11] due to reportedly testing positive for COVID-19.[12] Nothing has officially been confirmed, though it is speculated that the celebrity who dropped out would have been French Hen.
The French Hen costume would eventually be reused for the basis of Royal Hen in Season 10.
Contestant Progress
| Rank | Photo | Contestant/Celebrity | Ep. 1 | Ep. 2 | Ep. 3 | Ep. 4 | Ep. 5 | Ep. 6 | Ep. 7 | Ep. 8 | Ep. 9 | Ep. 11 | Ep. 12 | Ep. 13 | Ep. 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | |||||||||||||
| 1st |  |
Medusa - Bishop Briggs | WIN | WIN | BELL | ADV | SAFE | SAFE | 1st | ||||||
| 2nd |  |
Macaw - David Archuleta | ADV | SAFE | SAFE | 2nd | |||||||||
| 3rd |  |
California Roll - Pentatonix | ADV | SAFE | ELIM | ||||||||||
| 4th |  |
UFO - Olivia Culpo | ADV | ELIM | |||||||||||
| 5th |  |
Gargoyle - Keenan Allen | BELL | BR + ELIM |
|||||||||||
| 6th |  |
Mantis - Lou Diamond Phillips | BELL | ELIM | |||||||||||
| 7th |  |
Lamp - Melissa Joan Hart | BR + ELIM |
||||||||||||
| 8th |  |
Dandelion - Alicia Witt | WIN | ELIM | |||||||||||
| 9th |  |
Doll - Dee Snider | WIN | ELIM | |||||||||||
| 10th |  |
Scorpio - Christine Quinn | BR + ELIM |
||||||||||||
| 11th |  |
Moose - George Wendt | ELIM | ||||||||||||
| 12th |  |
Fairy - Holly Robinson Peete | WIN | BR + ELIM |
|||||||||||
| 13th |  |
Axolotl - Alexa Bliss | ELIM | ||||||||||||
| 14th |  |
Jackalope - Lele Pons | BR + ELIM |
||||||||||||
| 15th |  |
Squirrel - Malin Åkerman | WIN | ELIM | |||||||||||
| 16th |  |
Wolf - Michael Bolton | ELIM | ||||||||||||
| 17th |  |
Polar Bear - Grandmaster Flash | ELIM | ||||||||||||
| 18th |  |
Night Owl - Debbie Gibson | BR + ELIM |
||||||||||||
| 19th |  |
Rock Lobster - Howie Mandel | ELIM | ||||||||||||
| 20th |  |
Mustang - Sara Evans | BR + ELIM |
||||||||||||
| 21st |  |
Gnome - Dick Van Dyke | ELIM | ||||||||||||
- █ The contestant won The Masked Singer.
- █ The contestant was a runner-up.
- █ The contestant was safe from elimination.
- █ The contestant won the episode and was crowned King/Queen of The Masked Singer, making them advance in the competition.
- █ The contestant won the final episode for their round, and advanced to the quarter finals.
- █ The contestant was saved by the Ding Dong Keep it On Bell, making it to the Rejoin episode.
- █ The contestant competed in the Battle Royale, but was eliminated.
- █ The contestant did not compete in the Battle Royale, and was eliminated.
- █ The contestant did not participate in the episode.
Episodes
| # | Image | Title | Prod. code | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
"Season 9 Premiere" | MS-901 | February 15, 2023 |
| Three celebrities perform. | ||||
| 2 | 
|
"ABBA Night" | MS-902 | February 22, 2023 |
| Two new characters enter the competition; two are unmasked. | ||||
| 3 | 
|
"New York Night" | MS-903 | March 1, 2023 |
| Contestants sing a collection of songs synonymous with the history of New York. | ||||
| 4 | 
|
"DC Superheroes Night" | MS-904 | March 8, 2023 |
| Three new singers enter the game and celebrate their favorite iconic DC superheroes in costume. | ||||
| 5 | 
|
"Sesame Street Night" | MS-905 | March 15, 2023 |
| Two singers are unmasked. | ||||
| 6 | 
|
"Country Night" | MS-906 | March 22, 2023 |
| Three celebrities perform their favorite country songs; two are unmasked. | ||||
| 7 | 
|
"'80s Night" | MS-907 | March 29, 2023 |
| Two singers are unmasked; one advances to the quarterfinals. | ||||
| 8 | 
|
"WB Movie Night" | MS-908 | April 5, 2023 |
| Costumed celebrities perform iconic songs from hit Warner Bros. films. | ||||
| 9 | 
|
"Masked Singer in Space" | MS-909 | April 12, 2023 |
| Two singers are unmasked; one goes to the quarterfinals. | ||||
| 10 | 
|
"Supreme Six" | MS-910 | April 19, 2023 |
| A recap of the journeys of the three remaining champions and the three remaining underdogs. | ||||
| 11 | 
|
"Battle of the Saved" | MS-911 | April 26, 2023 |
| Mantis, Gargoyle and Medusa compete for their spot in the quarterfinals. | ||||
| 12 | 
|
"Quarter Finals" | MS-912 | May 3, 2023 |
| The final four compete for a spot in the semifinals, performing British Invasion-themed songs. | ||||
| 13 | 
|
"Semi-Finals" | MS-913 | May 10, 2023 |
| The remaining three celebrity singers perform, but only two move on to compete in the season finale. | ||||
| 14 | 
|
"Finale" | MS-914 | May 17, 2023 |
| The final two contestants each perform two songs; one celebrity is crowned the Season 9 winner. | ||||
Trivia
- This is the first US season:
- Where a contestant sings a Disney song. (Dick Van Dyke as Gnome)
- Where a season opener was eliminated on the same episode. (Sara Evans as Mustang)
- To have a group mask with 5 members (Pentatonix as California Roll)
- To have a contestant that was on another version of the show before (Lele Pons as Jackalope)
- Where the group champions only have one performance going into the quarter finals.
- Where a finalist was correctly guessed by Ken. (David Archuleta as Macaw)
- To feature a international winner. (Bishop Briggs as Medusa)
- Where a contestant loses the Smackdown/Battle Royale and won the show. (Bishop Briggs as Medusa)
- Where the winner and runner-up see each other unmasked.
- To Feature a Flippino-Americian Contestant (Lou Diamond Phillips as Mantis)
- To not feature a male guest panelist.
- To feature only one guest panelist (Jennifer Nettles).
- Where a contestant sang a song that was written specifically for/about them (Grandmaster Flash as Polar Bear)
- This is the second US season:
- To feature a brand new stage and set
- To feature themed nights.
- To have an odd-numbered number of contestants, with 21. The first was season seven, with 15.
- Where only female contestants perform in a single episode.
- Where Joel McHale is not a guest panelist.
- Where Ken guesses three contestants correctly.
- To premiere while filming is still in production.
- This is the fourth US season:
- To not have a boy band member as a contestant.
- This is the fifth US season:
- To have a singer perform a song that has already been sung:
- Mustang and Medusa singing "Diamonds" sung by Kangaroo from season three
- Fairy and Jackalope singing "On Top of the World" sung by Rabbit, Alien, Lion, and Unicorn from season one
- Doll singing "Don't You (Forget About Me)" sung by McTerrier, Ram, Cyclops, Lemur, Hydra, Miss Teddy, Baby Mammoth, Space Bunny, and Queen Cobras from season seven
- Mantis singing "Old Time Rock and Roll" sung by Broccoli from season four
- California Roll singing “Total Eclipse of the Heart” sung by Tree from season two
- To have a singer perform a song that has already been sung:
Videos
Gallery
References
- ↑ FOX - YouTube (December 25, 2022)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Masked Singer Is Back with Season Nine, Premiering Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 8/7c on FOX!
- ↑ More S9 masks! - Reddit
- ↑ Preview: Masknificent New Costumes
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Masked Singer season 9 reveals new costumes, themes, and big elimination twist
- ↑ On Camera Audiences - The Masked Singer (January 17, 2023)
- ↑ On Camera Audiences - The Masked Singer (January 27, 2023)
- ↑ (MS-901) "Season 9 Premiere"
- ↑ Reality Club FOX on Twitter: "#TheMaskedSinger IS. BACK. FEBRUARY 15th. I'm not crying, you're crying. 🤩 👏"
- ↑ The Masked Singer's Night Owl reveals which famous friend she's calling first after her elimination
- ↑ The Masked Singer's Debbie Gibson Reveals Just How Wild It Was Joining The Show With Less Than 24 Hours Notice
- ↑ The Masked Singer Reveals Identities of Rock Lobster and Night Owl: Here's Who They Are