Multi-platinum singer-songwriter and actor Jesse McCartney was just shy of taking home the Golden Mask trophy on Wednesday’s finale of “The Masked Singer.” As the Turtle, he placed second behind the Night Angel (Kandi Burruss) but edged out the Frog (Bow Wow), who placed third. Panelists Jenny McCarthy and Nicole Scherzinger both correctly guessed his identity but Robin Thicke thought the Turtle was singer Adam Lambert while Ken Jeong was certain it was newlywed Nick Jonas. Watch the Turtle’s performance of “Before You Go” by Lewis Capaldi above.
“This has been a very, very long road,” McCartney told host Nick Cannon in his unmasked interview. “I knew there were so many talented competitors and honestly I’m just stunned that I’m even here. Hats off to Night Angel who crushed it. This is an experience I’ll never forget.”
Throughout his run on “The Masked Singer,” many clues were shared to hint at the Turtle’s true identity. The bloody heart in a jar was a clue to the hit song, “Bleeding Love,” which McCartney cow-wrote for Leona Lewis. The various comic book clues were hints to his role as the superhero, Robin, in the animated series, “Young Justice.” The Dover sole, map of Seoul and shoe sole in Turtle’s packages were clues to Jesse’s platinum album, “Beautiful Soul.”
SEE Here’s reality TV star Kandi Burruss singing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ on ‘Big Brother’ [WATCH]
McCartney achieved fame in the late 1990s playing JR Chandler on the soap opera “All My Children.” After joining the boy band Dream Street, McCartney branched off into a successful solo career and he’s released four studio albums to date. In 2005 he won Teen Choice Awards for Male Artist, Breakout Male Artist and Crossover Artist.
Throughout the season McCartney performed the following songs on his way to the finale: “Kiss From a Rose” by Seal, “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur, “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” by Shawn Mendes, “Higher Love” by Steve Winwood, “Let it Go” by James Bay, “Stay” by Alessia Cara, “Fix You” by Coldplay, “Jealous” by Nick Jonas and “Before You Go” by Lewis Capaldi.
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