We had to wait till the end of episode 4 of “The Masked Singer” for the return of the Bee. She certainly had us buzzing after her first appearance in week 2 of this reality competition. Back then she stopped the show with her soaring version of “Chandelier” by Sia. Her powerful voice coupled with the clues that she gave had us fairly convinced that we knew the true identity of this hidden figure.
We are even more sure we know who the Bee is after even more clues and her amazing cover of “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars. After watching her sing this hit song in the video above, scroll down for a spoiler as to her true identity.
Forget that speculation by Nicole Scherzinger that it could be Dionne Warwick or Patti LaBelle. And you dismiss that guess by Ken Jeong that it is Diana Ross or one of the other Supremes.
We are all but certain that the Bee is Gladys Knight.
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Let’s break down the clues the Bee gave before singing:
She doesn’t know how many awards she has. Gladys has taken hom seven Grammy Awards and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
The Bee told us that we have to be willing to flip the script. While best-known as a singer, Gladys has acted in a handful of movies and TV shows.
In the background, we saw shots of peaches. Gladys is from Atlanta and one of her biggest hits was “Midnight Train to Georgia.”
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Back in week 2, the Bee revealed, “In my long career, I’ve flown to soaring heights. Both with her back-up group The Pips and as a solo artist, Gladys has had 11 number-one R&B singles, and six number-one R&B albums.
She declared, “being a worker bee keeps me young.” Gladys turns 75 on May 28.
And she conceded, “you can call me Queen Bee, but empress also suits me.” Gladys is known as the Empress of Soul.
Asked by the judges as to when she started singing, the Bee said it was in the 1950s. Gladys was only 7 when she won “Ted Mack’s The Original Amateur Hour” in 1952. Soon after that, she and her brother and sister Merald and Brenda, along with cousins William and Eleanor Guest formed the Pips.
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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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