The Tulip is one of the stand-out stars of season 1 of “The Masked Dancer.” She landed a spot in the Top 4 competing on February 10 with her sensational routine last week set to “My Boyfriend’s Back” by the Chiffons. That display of dance skill had the four judges (Paula Abdul, Brian Austin Green, Ken Jeong, Ashley Tisdale) singing her praises. However we are more convinced than ever that the four judges are on the wrong track about the Tulip being Charli D’Amelio, Ariana Grande or Heather Morris.
To solve the mystery of who is hiding inside the Tulip costume, we’ve gone back and watched all of her earlier appearances: “Fergalicious” by Fergie on December 27; “Fields of Gold” by Eva Cassidy on January 20; and “Thank U, Next” by Ariana Grande on January 27. And we’ve taken another look at all of the clues videos for Tulip.
Keep reading for all “The Masked Dancer” spoilers for season 1, including the real name of the Tulip.
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We absolutely certain that the Tulip is Mackenzie Ziegler, who came to fame on the Lifetime reality series “Dance Moms.” The word clue for Tulip on the February 3 episode was “Lifetime achievements.” And the Tulip revealed that dancing runs in the family; her sister Maddie Ziegler was also part of the drama of “Dance Moms.” Earlier in the season, the Tulip readily admitted to having a rivalry (as in sibling) with her “best bud.”
However, we’ve ruled out that Tulip is Maddie because of just how well the clues fit Mackenzie. She starred onstage in the musical version “The Wizard of Oz,” which was referenced by Tulip’s ruby shoes that she clicked three times Maddie is a sensation on TikTok, which was hinted at in the first two clues videos and at the end of one of her routines. And to top it all off, Mackenzie goes by the short form “Mack,” as in the dish of mac and cheese that we saw in the first clues video.
Tulip did a terrific job one week, which is one of the hardest dance steps to master. She is clearly a trained dancer. Mackenzie was featured on “Dance Moms,” the long-running reality TV series that kicked off in 2011; we saw the number “11” on a box in her first clues video and an alarm clock set at 11:00 in the third cludes video.
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We saw an eclipse in the second clues video: Mackenzie starred in the teen drama “Total Eclipse” for five seasons beginning in 2018. And there is reference to “day and night”; Ziegler recorded a song by that name in 2016 with Johnny Orlando.
Another of the visual clues was a ticket for travel from AL to DC. We first thought this referred to a trip from Alabama to the nation’s capital but now realize that those are the initials of the Abby Lee Dance Company, which was the studio in “Dance Moms.” And the image of the pyramid is well-known to fans of this reality show.
The words she has spoken certainly fit in with Mackenzie’s bio. She first said “triple” and we know that Mackenzie can dance, sing and act. Then she uttered “princess,” which got us thinking of the 2018 animated film “Ice Princess Lily,” in which she gave voice to the title character.
We will only find for sure that Tulip is Mackenzie Ziegler when she is unmasked. That will only happen if she loses a match-up or wins the show. Do you think we are correct about the real name of Tulip? Sound off in the comments section with your best guesses.
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