On “The Masked Singer” finale on May 26, the last three celebrities in the competition will perform one more time as the Black Swan, Chameleon and Piglet. At the end of the hour, one of them will be named the winner of season 5 of this hit reality series. We’ve rewatched every one of the 10 episodes that led up to this final one and are absolutely convinced that we know who is hiding inside these costumes. Keep reading if you dare for all of “The Masked Singer” spoilers for the season 5 finale, including the real name of the Piglet
Of the three finalists, the Piglet is the best all-around performer. He made it to the final three after wowing the four judges (Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke) with his cover of “Bruises” by Lewis Capaldi on the May 19 semi-final. That wasn’t a surprise given how well he had done in his previous appearances. The Piglet has tackled a variety of genres and always impressed us with both his singing and dancing abilities.
The Piglet had a strong debut in Week 2 with his version of the Dan + Shay hit “Speechless.” He followed that success up with sensational covers of “Good to Be Alive (Hallelujah)” by Andy Grammer in Week 4, “7 Years” by Lukas Graham in Week 6, “The Pretender” by Foo Fighters in Week 7, “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now”) by Phil Collins in Week 8 and a bit of opera and then “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder in Week 9. We’ve watched all of those performances again and taken another look at his clues packages.
We are certain that the Piglet is Nick Lachey, who came to fame as part of the boy band 98 Degrees.
In Week 10, Piglet gave Jenny a poker chip and declared, “I’ll always go all in for you, especially for charity.” McCarthy and Lachey competed against in each other in several poker tournaments that were fundraisers for good causes. That same episode also included a shot of a llama in the clue package. Remember, Drew Carey competed in season 3 disguised as that pack animal and Nick has a brother named Drew.
The Finals Spoilers
Black Swan | Chameleon | Piglet
The brothers Lachey were both in 98 Degrees, which hit it big in the late 1990s. In just five years, this quartet released four albums that moved more than 10 million copies. The group’s self-titled debut went gold while each of their next three releases sold more than a million copies apiece and were certified platinum. Collectively, this season’s contestants have albums sales of 55 million that resulted in 25 gold and platinum records.
There are four members of 98 Degrees and that number featured prominently in the Week 8 clues package, which also included a shot of four gold bars. In Week 2, Cluedle-Doo told us, “Piglet knows how to stay cool, even in the heat”; 98 is certainly hot weather-wise. In Week 7, the Piglet told us that his favorite food was cotton candy, a big treat at fun fairs. Nick and his pal Justin Jeffre performed in a barbershop quartet at the Kings Island amusement park before forming 98 Degrees with Drew and Jeff Timmon.
In Week 10, the Piglet admitted to being a huge fan of Bruce Willis. Nick has been talking about his admiration of this one-time star of “Moonlighting” since 2004, when he took a role in “Charmed” because it was likened to that classic TV show.
Back then, Nick was still married to Jessica Simpson. They had a very public split in 2005; in Week 5, we saw a shot of Hawaii, which is where Nick proposed to Jessica. And just like the Piglet, Nick told his second wife, Vanessa Minnillo, that he loved her on their second date. The pair met when this beauty queen turned TV reporter appeared in his 2006 video “What’s Left of Me.” Piglet’s Week 2 clues package was themed to “The Bachelor”; Nick and Vanessa host the Netflix reality dating competition series “Love is Blind.”
The Week 4 clues package had a sports theme, with a scoreboard that read 11 to 3. Nick and Vanessa got married in 2011 and they have three children. The Piglet’s football helmet had a mustang logo; Nick is from Kentucky, a state renowned for horse racing including the annual Derby at Churchill Downs. He was raised in the suburbs of Cincinnati, home to the Flying Pig marathon. Another of Nick’s favorite sports, baseball, was also referenced in Week 4; he owns a stake in the Tacoma Rainiers, the farm team for the Seattle Mariners.
In Week 8, Cluedle-Doo told us that the Piglet caught touchdowns from Dan Marino. The NFL all-star and Lachey, who was a high school football all-star, played together in the 2004 MTV special “Rock N Jock Super Bowl” (as did “The Masked Singer” host Nick Cannon). And in Week 9, we saw a set of fangs; Nick did a cameo in the 2007 vampire flick “Rise: Blood Hunter.”
Do you think we nailed the true identity of Piglet? Sound off in the comments section with your best guesses.
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