10 Times Masked Singer Judges Guessed a Contestant CORRECTLY

#10: Caitlyn Jenner as Phoenix

Season 5
Caitlyn Jenner has a long and impressive resume, but we don’t think she’ll be adding singing to her special skills anytime soon. Some of the clues really fanned the flames until the answer was burning bright. Then there was the voice. Come on, Caitlyn, were you even trying to disguise it? Anyway, you know something or someone is a dead giveaway when even Ken Jeong guesses it correctly. Together with Jenny McCarthy, he guessed the former Olympian as his first impression guess. By the unmasking, it was only Jenny who stayed with her initial inkling, with Ken switching to RuPaul— well, just a few moments later, karma would sashay his way.

#9: Katharine McPhee & David Foster as Banana Split

Season 6
It’s hard enough for the judges to decipher one voice, but here they had to (banana) split their attention between two. Well, kind of. Most weeks, they had just one voice to scoop out their guesses, since banana usually accompanied ice cream on the piano. Even so, after their first performance, everyone except Robin guessed musical powerhouse couple David Foster and Katharine McPhee. It wasn’t the first time McPhee’s had been guessed on the show—Robin and Nicole thought she was the Sun in Season 4. Anyway, they were unmasked in the semi-finals, with everyone sticking to their guesses except Robin, who changed his… and was still wrong.

#8: Tori Spelling as Unicorn

Season 1
Let’s cast our minds all the way back to season 1, where we were still getting used to the sight of an elegant unicorn singing pop on our televisions. The panel was still warming up, so their first guesses included Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Ireland Baldwin. No one guessed the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star. Well, not yet. This unicorn had the panel chasing rainbows and coming up empty until week 5. After singing “I Love It” by Icona Pop featuring Charli XCX, it was time for the judges to make their final guesses. Robin went with Gabby Douglas, Jenny guessed Lauren Conrad, Nicole thought it might be Denise Richards, and Ken guessed…[unmasking here]

#7: Macy Gray as Sea Queen

Season 10
The Sea Queen made her debut in week 5 as a wild card addition. We’d say it’s a huge compliment when your voice is so iconic that viewers recognize it instantly. Unfortunately, that doesn’t exactly serve many singers well in this competition. Still, the panel’s first impression guesses showed that they were way out of their depths. Meanwhile, Sea Queen sailed through to fourth place, blowing away the panel and audience with hit after hit. Still, by her elimination, the judges were all in agreement on who was under the mask. Gray also competed in the UK version, where her easily distinct voice led to an early elimination.

#6: LeAnn Rimes as Sun

Season 4
Season 4 was a bright spot for the panel, with them shining on correct guesses all over the place. For instance, Nicole correctly guessed Snow Owls while Jenny guessed Gremlin from the off. However, Sun kept them in the shade for a while, with the panel guessing the likes of Natasha Bedingfield, Demi Lovato, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Just before the season four winner was unmasked, the panel made their final guesses. Robin thought it might be Katharine McPhee, while Ken guessed Mandy Moore. However, Nicole and Golden Ear’d Jenny had pieced together some clues that shed some light on who was under the mask; the one and only LeAnn Rimes.

#5: Malin Akerman as Squirrel

Season 9
This masked singer managed to squirrel away her identity for just two episodes before getting eliminated. She wasn’t the only one sent packing that night, nor the only one the panel correctly guessed. Yes, even on the wholesome “Sesame Street Night,” Jackalope and Squirrel got the boot. Before Squirrel’s unmasking, the panel threw out some nutty guesses like Heather Graham, Anne Hathaway, Katherine Heigl, and Kate Hudson. By the final round, only Jenny cracked the right answer. It was a bit embarrassing for Ken, who’d missed a clue about “Couples Retreat”—a film they both appeared in. Ol’ Golden Ear struck again with Night Owl that very same season.

#4: Penn & Teller as Hydra

Season 7
Penn and Teller are masters of illusion, and their time on “The Masked Singer” was no exception. For starters, the three-headed creature was enough to throw anyone off their game. Since Teller is usually the silent one in their magic act, they pulled off a sleight of hand by giving him the majority of the vocals. Even then, Teller manipulated his voice to keep the panel guessing. They threw out guesses ranging from Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, and Steve Buscemi to Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Chevy Chase—and even Bert and Ernie. Only one person managed to break the duo’s spell, and she wasn’t even a regular panelist.

#3: Vanessa Hudgens as Goldfish

Season 11
As Robin and Nicole will tell you, some leopards can’t change their spots. But Goldfish was a little harder to reel in. The panel was sure this was someone who’d grown up in the spotlight, throwing out guesses like Hilary Duff, Sarah Hyland, Selena Gomez, and Lea Michele. But it was Rita Ora who hooked the right answer before Goldfish’s unmasking. Known for her eye-roll-inducing guesses on the UK version, Rita proved she had her “Head in the Game” this time. She realized Goldfish was someone she had a close personal connection to, and Jenny agreed with her guess. It turned out that they had been swimming in the right direction.

#2: Dionne Warwick as Mouse

Season 3
This season had some solid guesses, with Jenny and Ken correctly identifying Rhino and nearly everyone guessing T-Rex’s identity. But as we’ve seen before, some legends are just too big to hide their voices. The only thing that might throw the judges off is thinking, there’s no way someone like Dionne Warwick would do this show. Maybe it was wishful thinking, or perhaps her voice was just too unmistakable to be anyone else, but by the time Mouse was unmasked, everyone except Ken, who guessed Tina Turner, knew exactly who it was. Warwick created quite the storm on the UK version of “The Masked Singer,” too.

#1: Chaka Khan as Miss Monster

Season 3
Warwick wasn’t the only legend unmasked this season—though Nicole and guest panelist Jamie Foxx actually guessed Warwick for this one. They weren’t the only ones guessing musical royalty, with Jenny guessing Mary J. Blige and Ken suggesting Dolly Parton. Miss Monster was eliminated in week two; by then, everyone had changed their guesses. Jenny went with Queen Latifah, Ken guessed Reba McEntire, and guest judge Leah Remini picked Mary Wilson. But Robin and Nicole connected the clues to the voice for a guess that was more marvelous than monstrous—and they didn’t miss. Nick Cannon, however, claimed he knew from day one and was just waiting for everyone else to catch up.


Did you guess any of these celebs? Let us know in the comments