Now in its ninth season, Fox’s wild and wacky reality TV show “The Masked Singer” has seen over 100 celebrities “take it off” on the big stage. While some of the unmaskings set the water cooler on fire with how famous the contestant turned out to be, others — let’s be honest — had much of the audience whispering, “Who’s that?” In our gallery above, we rank “The Masked Singer’s” most famous celebrities of all time (click here for direct access). If you didn’t know any of these Top 16 personalities before the show aired, it’s safe to say you’ve been living under a rock your whole life.
“The Masked Singer” airs Wednesday nights on Fox at 8/7c. Host Nick Cannon emcees the show as famous faces hide inside outrageous costumes and perform for judges Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong and Nicole Scherzinger. Season 9 features a storybook theme and introduces a new twist known as the “Ding Dong Keep It On” Bell in which the panelists can stop a celebrity from unmasking.
SEE ‘The Masked Singer’ Season 7 costumes, judges and host
16. Kirstie Alley as Baby Mammoth — The former “Cheers” star proclaimed, “I’ve done a lot of things in my career, but I’ve never gotten to be in the circus.” Kirstie Alley had the entire panel laughing all season thanks to her wild and fun personality, and even created a “Baby Mammoth” chant for the audience to sing. Sadly, the actress passed away on December 5, 2022.
15. Sarah Palin as Bear — “This is something our country needs right now,” Palin expressed after removing her Bear mask and hearing a collective gasp from the studio audience. The judges were absolutely gobsmacked when the former governor of Alaska and Republican Vice Presidential candidate revealed herself to be the zany creature singing “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-a-Lot. Palin admitted it’s the weirdest thing she’s ever done.
14. Donny Osmond as Peacock — This American icon and former teen idol wasn’t afraid to “Shake a Tail Feather” as he rocked the house to the hit song. Osmond managed to sing his way to second place in the first season of “The Masked Singer” while befuddling all but one judge (Jenny). His rendition of “The Greatest Show” on the series pilot remains one of the best performances in “TMS” history.
13. Jewel as Queen of Hearts — “It really is an honor to be in the hall of costumes and with the other amazing winners,” Jewel confessed after claiming the Golden Mask for Season 6. “Everybody was so talented on this show. It’s the privilege of a lifetime to get to be yourself. This show, oddly, really gets at your essence and I find that really special.”
12. Busta Rhymes as Dragon — Despite the rapper having an identifiably gravelly voice, he fooled half of the panelists in the Season 5 premiere, with only Robin and Nicole guessing correctly. “I felt like I was in an oxygen tank without oxygen,” Busta declared in his post-show interview after belting out “Mama Said Knock You Out.”
11. Patti LaBelle as Flower — This powerhouse diva was instantly recognized for her unique, legendary tone. The Grammy-winning singer fooled almost no one, but Ken remained adamant Bjork was under the Flower mask, even after LaBelle’s final performance of “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor.
10. Drew Carey as Llama — This actor, comedian and game show host had everyone guessing as he pranced around crooning “It’s Not Unusual” in a llama suit. The panel couldn’t believe the host of “The Price is Right” was behind the mask, with Carey admitting he wanted to do the show “for a laugh.”
9. LeAnn Rimes as Sun — How fitting that Sun won the Golden Mask. The shining star was the first contestant to perform on the fourth season and set the bar extremely high with her “Cuz I Love You” cover. Throughout the competition the panelists threw out all kinds of guesses, but in the end both Jenny and Nicole guessed Sun was the Grammy-winning former child star.
8. Lil Wayne as Robot — This five-time Grammy-winning rapper left jaws on the floor when he was unmasked as the Robot during the Season 3 premiere. Rather than rap, Wayne showed a lesser known side of himself, rocking out to “Are You Gonna Go My Way.” The panel had no clue Wayne was behind the mask and called it the most shocking reveal to date. In the years since, many rappers credited Wayne with being the reason they wanted to do the show.
7. Caitlyn Jenner as Phoenix — “My kids have always known dad’s a little crazy,” Caitlyn said after being unmasked as the fiery bird. Both Ken and Jenny picked the Olympic gold medalist and reality TV star as their first impression, but Ken chickened out at the last second and switched his final guess to RuPaul, prompting Caitlyn to call him an “idiot.”
6. Bob Saget as Squiggly Monster — The comedian and TV star of “Full House” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” was almost unanimously chosen by the panel as the Squiggly Monster, with Nicole being the only holdout as she thought it was “Veep” star Gary Cole instead. Sadly, Saget passed away in January 2022 at age 65 due to head trauma, with much of the country referring to him as “America’s Dad.”
5. William Shatner as Knight — “It was horrible,” the legendary actor, age 91, told host Nick Cannon during his unmasked interview. “I can’t tell you how horrible it was. I couldn’t see anything. I can’t walk. The noise was deafening. The mask was obliterating. Oh, was that fun!” Shatner is most known for his role as Captain Kirk on “Star Trek,” and he later won two Emmy Awards for playing lawyer Denny Crane on “The Practice” and “Boston Legal.”
4. Gladys Knight as Bee — This legendary soul diva belted her way into the Season 1 finale and relished the ability to put her spin on modern classics like “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus. For Knight’s final performance she sang “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt and by that point her unmistakable tone was just too obvious to fool the judges (well, except Ken who guessed she was Anita Baker).
3. Rudy Giuliani as Jack in the Box — Months before he was officially unmasked in the April 20, 2022 episode, the former New York Mayor had been widely reported as being one of the exiting celebrities on Fox’s reality TV show. His rendition of “Bad to the Bone” was fitting considering what a controversial figure he became during Donald Trump‘s presidency. Giuliani’s unmasking even prompted Ken to declare, “I’m done,” and walk off the stage.
2. Dick Van Dyke as Gnome — “It was real dark in there,” the 97-year old entertainer revealed during his unmasked interview. “I just loved it that they thought I was Robert De Niro! I didn’t know Robert De Niro could sing.” The judges were gobsmacked at seeing the “Mary Poppins” star standing before them, with Nicole openly blubbering when she declared, “I love you so much. The whole world loves you so much.”
1. Kermit the Frog as Snail — The fifth season of “TMS” promised to be a “game-changer” and it did not disappoint. Nobody could have predicted the infamous green Muppet was hiding inside the Snail costume, which led to the most shocking reveal in the show’s history. “I’m never gonna hear the end of this from Miss Piggy,” Kermit the Frog joked in his unmasked interview.
