The Black Swan was the last woman standing on Wednesday night’s Season 5 finale of “The Masked Singer.” Despite the feathered diva’s best efforts, her performance of “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” by Michael Bolton landed her in second place. The runner-up defeated the Chameleon, who was revealed to be rapper Wiz Khalifa, but was ultimately defeated by the Piglet. When it came time for the Black Swan to reveal herself, Grammy winning singer JoJo emerged from behind the mask.
SEE ‘The Masked Singer’ Winners List (Every Season)
“I really was missing being on stage,” JoJo admitted during her unmasked interview with host Nick Cannon. “And I was developing this stage fright. I was like, can I even sing anymore? Can I even perform? I was just all in my head and feeling way too anxious about things. This freaked me out so I said yes to it. I turned 30 in December and I jumped out of a plane. I was like, let’s just kick down the doors and enter into this new decade not being afraid.”
Nicole Scherzinger was the only panelist able to decipher the clues and recognize JoJo’s powerful pipes. Robin Thicke thought she was Fifth Harmony member Normani. Jenny McCarthy guessed R&B singer Monica and Ken Jeong was fairly certain the Black Swan was pop powerhouse Demi Lovato. None of the panelists wrote down JoJo’s name for their first impression guess so no points were scored towards the Golden Ear trophy.
SEE ‘The Masked Singer’ reveals for all seasons: Celebrities and costumes through the years
Throughout the season there were many clue packages dropping hints about the Black Swan’s true identity. The many leaves in Black Swan’s packages were a clue to JoJo’s breakout song, “Leave (Get Out).” Her fish tank and fish crackers were a hint to JoJo’s starring role in the teen mermaid film, “Aquamarine.” The Mariah Carey clue was a nod to JoJo breaking Mariah’s record for biggest jump into the top three on the Billboard charts.
There had been 11 acts eliminated leading up to “The Masked Singer” finale: Kermit the Frog as the Snail, Caitlyn Jenner as the Phoenix, Danny Trejo as the Raccoon, Logan Paul as Grandpa Monster, Nick Cannon as the Bulldog, Mark McGrath as the Orca, Bobby Brown as the Crab, Tamera Mowry-Housely as the Seashell, Tyrese Gibson as the Robopine, Hanson as the Russian Dolls and Omarion as the Yeti.
