Singers Tori Kelly and Taylor Dayne and snowboarder Chloe Kim were revealed to be the Seahorse, Popcorn and Jellyfish on Wednesday’s episode of The Masked Singer.
Each of them lost a round to another performer as the show’s six remaining contestants competed in the semifinals for a spot in its finale in two weeks.
The competitors who advanced to the season four finale of the Fox show were the Sun, Mushroom and Crocodile.
Triple unmasking: Tori Kelly revealed that she was performing as the Seahorse on Wednesday during the semifinals of The Masked Singer in which three contestants were unmasked
The Sun was an early favorite and her cover of Billie Eilish’s When The Party’s Over brought Nicole Scherzinger, 42, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, 48, and guest panelist Craig Robinson, 49, to tears.
‘I just love you,’ Nicole told her, her voice choked with emotion. ‘It’s the reason why I love music so much—it transcends anything, and you have such a gift.’
For the episode, contestants performed in pairs from their original groups, which pitted Seahorse against Crocodile, Jellyfish against Mushroom and Popcorn against Sun.
Before they began, Craig showed up in a mask to sing and play piano on Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive before announcing that he was hosting Foxs new show, The Masked Dancer.
Fan favorite: Taylor Dayne also was unmasked after performing as Popcorn
Multiple talents: Chloe Kim impressed as Jellyfish and made it to the semis before unmasking
Guest panelist: Craig Robinson served as guest panelist on the hit Fox show
The Seahorse, aka Tori, 27, went first, singing the Bruno Mars hit That’s What I Like, which made Nicole say, ‘If this was the Olympics for vocal acrobatics, she would take the gold.’
In a pre-taped video, Seahorse explained that she’d always wanted to sing as a kid, but had been too shy; being on the show had really unleashed something in her.
She faced off against Crocodile, who wailed out a cover of Aerosmith’s 1998 ballad I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing, which he dedicated to his kids.
First up: The Seahorse, aka Tori, 27, went first, singing the Bruno Mars hit That’s What I Like
‘The only thing that matters to me now is them having the life and the love I didn’t have as a child,’ he said, praising the show for allowing him to sing in different genres.
His clues included the New York City pizza rat, and the fact that he’d once filmed with Craig.
The panel thought he was either singers Nick Lachey, 47; AJ McLean, 42; or Nick Carter, 40.
Crocodile rock: Crocodile wailed out a cover of Aerosmith’s 1998 ballad I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing, which he dedicated to his kids
Various guesses: The panel told host Nick Cannon that they thought he was either singers Nick Lachey, 47; AJ McLean, 42; or Nick Carter, 40
When Seahorse lost, both Nicole and Robin Thicke, 43, guessed who she was while the rest of the panel felt she could be Halsey, 26, or Christina Aguilera, 39.
‘I’m gutted because we thought that you could take the entire competition,’ Nicole told her. ‘You’re the best vocalist we’ve ever had on this show.’
Tori said the show had helped her find her sassy side as a singer.
Best vocalist: ‘I’m gutted because we thought that you could take the entire competition,’ Nicole Scherzinger told Tori. ‘You’re the best vocalist we’ve ever had on this show’
‘I was just so thrilled to hear all the nice things you guys said, and I just feel more like an entertainer now,’ she told the panel. ‘I’m excited for what this means for the rest of my career.’
Clues from her video packages included a clock with wings, which referred to Tori’s single Time Flies; a Christmas wreath, which nodded to her recent Christmas album; a double lasso for her two Grammy wins; a telescope for her Star Search appearance at age 10; and a rainbow frog, which celebrated the time she sang Rainbow Connection with Kermit the Frog.
In the next round, the Jellyfish, aka Chloe, 20, did a sultry cover of Rihanna’s Stay.
Career boost: ‘I was just so thrilled to hear all the nice things you guys said, and I just feel more like an entertainer now,’ Tori told the panel. ‘I’m excited for what this means for the rest of my career’
‘I felt like this was really you singing from your heart tonight,’ Robin told her.
Jellyfish said she was nervous when she first performed, but over time realized she might win.
She had tough competition in Mushroom, who wowed the panel with his take on Valerie by the late Amy Winehouse.
Tough pairing: Jellyfish had tough competition in Mushroom
Cool cover: Chloe, 20, as Jellyfish did a sultry cover of Rihanna’s Stay
Mushroom said he came on the show to share ‘a message of unity’ during the pandemic, which had taken one of his loved ones and taught him that life was short.
He had a special connection with Robin, he added, and his ‘super-clue’ was a clock set to six.
The panel thought he could be Jaden Smith, 22; Keegan-Michael Key, 49; Jordan Fisher, 26, or Leslie Odom, Jr., 39.
Unity message: Mushroom said he came on the show to share ‘a message of unity’ during the pandemic, which had taken one of his loved ones and taught him that life was short
After she lost as the Jellyfish, Chloe explained that she’d never performed in front of anyone before, which wowed Ken Jeong, 51, who called her ‘a huge name in our household.’
Earlier, Chloe said she had a connection to Ken, who correctly guessed her identity, and revealed that she’d DM’d him two years before, but he never read it.
Other panelists thought she was the singer Grimes, 30, or gymnast Gabby Douglas, or McKayla Maroney, both 24.
Huge name: After she lost as the Jellyfish, Chloe explained that she’d never performed in front of anyone before, which wowed Ken Jeong, 51, who called her ‘a huge name in our household’
Never read: Earlier, Chloe said she had a connection to Ken, who correctly guessed her identity, and revealed that she’d DM’d him two years before, but he never read it
In Chloe’s video package, the letter ‘X’ referred to her X Games gold medals; a gold throne with gold pipes alluded to her gold medal in the half-pipe; and an angelfish nodded to her cameo in the 2019 Charlie’s Angels remake.
Her ‘super-clue’ was an Eiffel Tower statue, which led her to say, ‘Bonjour from Paris! Au revoir!’ in reference to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Last up was Popcorn, aka Taylor, 58, with a saucy cover of Tina Turner’s Better Be Good To Me.
Multiple clues: In Chloe’s video package, the letter ‘X’ referred to her X Games gold medals; a gold throne with gold pipes alluded to her gold medal in the half-pipe; and an angelfish nodded to her cameo in the 2019 Charlie’s Angels remake
‘She brought out the spirit,’ raved Robin, who danced around the panelists’ table as she sang. ‘I was in the zone!’
Popcorn said she loved being on the show because it allowed her to bring positivity to the world, and that sometimes the judges’ praise made her cry under her mask.
She faced a tough rival in the Sun, whose stark cover of When The Party’s Over earned her a standing ovation and left everyone crying.
Getting emotional: Popcorn said she loved being on the show because it allowed her to bring positivity to the world, and that sometimes the judges’ praise made her cry under her mask
Into it: ‘She brought out the spirit,’ raved Robin Thicke, who danced around the panelists’ table as she sang. ‘I was in the zone!’
‘Jenny is standing on her chair, Craig is emotional, Nicole is in tears,’ marveled show host Nick Cannon, 40.
‘I could listen to you forever,’ Nicole told the Sun. ‘You have a voice of the heavens. That was flawless. You are flawless.’
Craig, who put his head in his hands after listening to her sing, was equally moved.
Standing ovation: Sun performed a stark cover of When The Party’s Over that earned her a standing ovation and left everyone crying
‘All my life, I have felt the heat of the sun,’ he said, his voice breaking. ‘I have never heard the voice of the sun until now.’
The Sun said that doing the show made her feel like she was five years old again, dancing in competitions where she could just ‘move and be free.’
It had awakened a competitive hunger in her, she added, after breathing fire as her ‘super-clue.’
Sun voice: ‘All my life, I have felt the heat of the sun,’ Craig said, his voice breaking. ‘I have never heard the voice of the sun until now’
The Sun had once met Nicole in a bathroom, which led the panelist to guess she was Leann Rimes, 38; or Brandi Carlile, 39; actresses Kate Hudson, 41, or Emilia Clarke, 34, were also mentioned.
Taylor lost but took it all in stride, praising the show’s creativity and heart.
Turning to Nick onstage, she then made reference to his ex-wife Mariah Carey, 50, saying, ‘I really do, I love you. Can you handle two Long Island girls?’
Good times: Taylor lost but took it all in stride, praising the show’s creativity and heart
Half of the panel had known it was Taylor, including Jenny, the panelist with whom she’d said she had a connection, as Jenny had previously interviewed her for her talk show.
Everyone else thought she was Tina Turner, 81.
Taylor’s video clues included a heart monitor, which nodded to her hit With Every Beat Of My Heart; cats, a reference to her role in the musical Cats; and matzo ball soup with bunny ears, which alluded to dishes she’d cooked on the show Celebrity Cook-Off.
The Masked Singer returns with a holiday singalong next week on Fox and the finale will air in two weeks on December 16.
Knew it: Half of the panel had known it was Taylor, including Jenny, the panelist with whom she’d said she had a connection, as Jenny had previously interviewed her for her talk show