“The Masked Singer” finale on May 26 will be a battle between the three celebrities who are disguised as the Black Swan, Chameleon and Piglet. Of this trio of talent, the most entertaining is the contestant hidden inside the Chameleon costume. From the sound and style of his singing, the clues he gave in his videos and his conversations with the four judges (Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke) we are sure we know the real name of the Chameleon. Keep reading if you dare for all of “The Masked Singer” spoilers for the season 5 finale.
From his debut in Week 2, when the Chameleon ruled the stage with his electrifying cover of “Ride wit Me” by Nelly, we’ve been certain that he was a professional rapper. We became even more sure as the weeks went on and he nailed each successive appearance capped off by his show-stopping performance of “Oh Boy” by Cam’ron featuring Juelz Santana on the May 19 semifinal. We are now more convinced than ever that we know the real name of the Chameleon.
To test our theory, we;ve watched all of the Chameleon’s performances again, including “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See” by Busta Rhymes (Week 8), “Regulate” by Warren G featuring Nate Dogg (Week 7), “Hip Hop” by Dead Prez (Week 5) and “21 Questions” by 50 Cent featuring Dogg (Week 4). And we’ve taken another look at all of the clues videos as well.
The judges have come tantalizing close to nailing his name with their guesses of Snoop Dogg, G-Eazy, Waka Flocka Flame and Machine Gun Kelly. But we are certain that the Chameleon is the renowned rapper Wiz Khalifa.
In Week 10, the Chameleon told guest judge Darius Rucker, “We shared a stage and Phoenix was there. And the corndogs were delicious.” Wiz Khalifa and Rucker were both part of the line-up of performers at the 2014 Arizona State Fair, which is located in Phoenix and certainly sells corn dogs.
Wiz Khalifa is an old school rapper who hit it big in 2011 with his third album, “Rolling Papers.” That went double platinum while his two follow-up discs, “O.N.I.F.C.” and “Blacc Hollywood” each went platinum. As a whole, this season’s contestants have 25 gold and platinum discs.
Wiz has had even more success with his singles, which are often collaborations. In Week 2, the numbers 2 and 3 were shown on dice hanging off a motorcycle; Khalifa had a big hit in 2013 with the song “23” that he recorded with Miley Cyrus and Juicy J. And that number 7 suggests Wiz’s 2014 song “James Bong,” which made merry with the fictional spy James Bond, a.k.a. “007.” The French word “bonjour” in Week 4 is a reference to “French Inhale,” his 2011 collaboration with Snoop Dogg and Mike Posner. And when the Chameleon said he was proud to show his “true colors” we thought of his 2014 pairing with Nicki Minaj on a song of that name.
The Finals Spoilers
Black Swan | Chameleon | Piglet
Wiz Khalifa accounts for eight of the nine multi-platinum cuts by this season’s competitors on “The Masked Singer.” One of his biggest sellers was his collaboration with Charlie Puth on “See You Again” in 2016, which sold 11 million copies and was certified diamond. In Week 2, the Cluedle-Doo hinted at Chameleon’s connection to precious gemstones. And in Week 7, Cluedle-Doo told Chameleon that he’d been rooting for him to win at the Golden Globes. “See You Again,” which was featured in “Fast & Furious 7,” was nominated for Best Original Song.
It also earned three Grammy nominations bringing Wiz’s total number of bids for music’s highest honor to 10; as a group, this season’s “The Masked Singer” contestants have earned 26 nominations.
The clues also fit in with Wiz’s life story in many ways. In Week 2, we took the word “Camoflag” on the license plate to be a reference to Khalifa’s father, who served in the army for years. Chameleon revealed that his “pops taught him to keep up with the times”; Wiz always credits his dad’s guidance for his success. In Week 4, Chameleon spoke movingly about losing someone special in his life who had lifted him up until she ultimately learned to embrace what made her unique. Wiz’s sister Lala was transgender and died in 2017. That same week, there was a shot of peaches; his mother Katie goes by the nickname Peachie.
And Wiz’s hometown, Pittsburgh, has been referenced on the show three times: in Week 2 with a sign that read “Beware of Pit”; in Week 4 with the graduation cap in the colors of the University of Pittsburgh (he sang at the college’s homecoming in 2019); and in Week 5 with a photo of hot wings.
In Week 2 Chameleon revealed that when his singing career stalled, he turned to his tech-savvy skills to change the game; Wiz created one of the all-time best-selling phone apps, “Weed Farm.” And in his Week 5 clues package, the Chameleon revealed his love of martial arts. Khalifa is an expert at both Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Thai boxing.
Do you think we guessed the true identity of Chameleon? Sound off in the comments section with your best guesses.
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