The buzz about the true identity of the Bee on the “The Masked Singer” is becoming deafening as we reach the quarter-final stage of the competition. We thought we knew the name of the celebrity who took to the stage in this elaborate costume to belt out some of the biggest hits of the last decade. Her powerful voice and the clues that she has given tell us the true identity of this hidden figure. Spoilers ahead.
The Bee is Gladys Knight. Forget those suggestions by Nicole Scherzinger that it is Dionne Warwick or Patti LaBelle. And please disregard that idea floated by Ken Jeong that it is Diana Ross or one of the other Supremes.
Over her first three appearances on “The Masked Singer,” the Bee showed off her pipes with her covers of including “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus, “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars and “Chandelier” by Sia. Knight just sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl and sounded just like the Bee.
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Asked by the judges as to when she started singing, the Bee admitted it was in the 1950s. Gladys won “Ted Mack’s The Original Amateur Hour” in 1952. She and her brother and sister Merald and Brenda, along with cousins William and Eleanor Guest, soon formed the Pips.
As she said so sassily, “you can call me Queen Bee, but empress also suits me.” Gladys is known as the Empress of Soul. And, as the Bee revealed, “In my long career, I’ve flown to soaring heights.” As both a solo artist and with back-up group, Gladys has had six number-one R&B albums and 11 number-one R&B singles.
In the last clues video, we saw kitchenware. Gladys is as famed for her cooking as she is for her singing. In the background, there were shots of peaches. Gladys hails from Atlanta and one of her biggest hits was “Midnight Train to Georgia.”
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We won’t find out for sure if Gladys is the Bee till she is unmasked. That will only happen if she loses a match-up or wins the show. Do you think we are right about the true identity of the Bee? Sound off in the comments section with your best guesses.
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