The wild and wacky characters from Group A returned to “The Masked Singer” stage on Wednesday night, hoping to advance one step closer to the finals. After singing their hearts out, Cyclops and Thingamabob were declared safe. Firefly and Ram were left in the bottom two, forced to face off in a sudden death duel. Firefly was declared the victor, which meant Ram would have to unmask in front of America. The horned beast that belted out “Learn to Fly” by Foo Fighters earlier in the night was revealed to be Emmy-winning sports commentator Joe Buck.
SEE See all ‘The Masked Singer’ costumes and celebrity reveals through the years
Emmy-winning actor Eric Stonestreet joined panelists Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong and Nicole Scherzinger as a guest detective for the night. The former “Modern Family” star didn’t recognize Ram’s singing voice, but was familiar enough with his speaking voice to correctly reveal Ram’s identity. Buck is the announcer on Stonestreet’s new reality competition series, “Domino Masters.”
“When you pointed at me and then kicked it to me, I was like, clearly we know each other or something,” Stonestreet explained following Buck’s reveal. “Then I thought of ‘Domino Masters’ and how I kick it to you, you kick it to me. I don’t know if that’s what you meant, but that’s where I went.”
“I was just trying to look a little bit alive,” Buck responded during his unmasked interview with host Nick Cannon. “That’s all I could come up with!” When asked why he decided to perform on “The Masked Singer,” Buck gave a sentimental answer. “Honestly, 11 years ago I had a paralyzed vocal cord,” he admitted. “So to come out here 11 years later and throw my nerves to the wind and sing in front of this great audience, I was like, hey, why not?”
Prior to Buck’s reveal, the panelists each took a stab at identifying the singing Ram. Jenny thought it was actor Jason Biggs, Nicole guessed surfer Kelly Slater and Ken was adamant it was “Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis. Robin correctly named Buck, but only after piggy-backing off of Stonestreet.
SEE Everything to know about ‘The Masked Singer’ Season 7
Throughout the first two episodes of the season, there were various hints in the Ram’s clue packages that pointed to Buck. The “Hamlet x Macbeth” sign symbolized “play by play” and referred to his sportscasting job. The quarter going into the piggy bank hinted to his broadcast partner for 20 years on Fox, quarterback Troy Aikman. The horse was a nod to Buck’s early career calling horse races.The referee’s touchdown signal referred to Joe’s touchdown calls. And the antlers were a reference to Ram’s last name, Buck.
Buck was the second performer eliminated from Season 7. His exit was preceded by Duff Goldman as McTerrier. The contestants advancing from Group A are Cyclops, Firefly and Thingamabob. “The Masked Singer” will continue on Wednesday, March 23 with the Group A finals.
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