‘The Masked Singer’ surprises with new format, reveals Goo as NFL star

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Masked Singer season 12, episode 10, “Quarter Finals: Merging of the Masks.”

To open this week’s episode of The Masked Singer, host Nick Cannon promised everything would be “straight fire” — and he wasn’t wrong.

It was, after all, the quarterfinals, and each of the remaining contestants — Strawberry Shortcake, Buffalo, Goo, and Wasp — could almost taste the Golden Mask Trophy, which was reflected in their performances. But, the episode also brought a twist: instead of the Battle Royale format the season had been using to decide eliminations between two masks, a new smackdown format would be used.

Basically, after everyone performed, the first vote would occur, with the top two masks immediately going to next week’s semifinals. The bottom two would then go to the “epic smackdown” — but instead of them both performing a different take on the same song, they each got to sing their own unique song.

But, first things first — Wasp kicked off the regular performances this week by dancing and singing his stinger off to “Standing Next to You” by Jungkook. While the other quarterfinalists couldn’t quite get down like he could, they each brought beautiful vocals to their songs, with Goo singing “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls, Strawberry Shortcake performing “Closer” by Tegan and Sara, and Buffalo closing things out with “You’re Still the One” by Shania Twain.

The episode also got surprisingly sentimental during the contestants’ onstage clues, because The Masked Singer brought back the special phone calls from loved ones, which both served to help the audience and panel figure out who everyone is, but also made some of the disguised celebrities extra emotional.

But leave it to panelist Ken Jeong to give the night its most unserious moment. While guessing Strawberry Shortcake after her performance, he put his glasses on — seemingly meaning business — only to ruin it all by guessing the contestant was Katy Perry, because she “sounds exactly like Katy,” who, according to Jeong, left American Idol “so she can go back to her true passion… dressing up like food.” Never change, Ken.

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Unfortunately, someone had to eventually go home, and after the first vote, the two masks with the most support were revealed to be Wasp and Buffalo, who automatically head to next week’s semifinals. This, of course, meant Goo and Strawberry Shortcake were left to battle it out in the new smackdown format.

Goo went first, and sang “Hold On, I’m Comin’” by Sam & Dave, which was followed by Strawberry Shortcake singing “Scars to Your Beautiful” by Alessia Cara. The new format allowed both contestants to really play to their strengths vocally, and it’s clear the panel enjoyed both. But in the end, there could only be one more semifinalist, and after the final vote, that person was revealed to be Strawberry Shortcake.

Final guesses for Goo were very sports heavy, with Rita Ora guessing wrestler John Cena, Jeong picking former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, Robin Thicke choosing former NFL star Aaron Donald, and Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg going with Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner.

In the end, McCarthy-Wahlberg was the only one correct — Goo was indeed Turner, who in addition to his NFL career, famously ran three a cappella groups while in high school, earning him the nickname “The Conductor.” He’s also performed the national anthem at Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings games (and should definitely look into a post-football career in music).

While we’ll miss the giant ball of radioactive slime, congrats are in order for Strawberry Shortcake, Buffalo, and Wasp, this season’s semifinalists. They get to battle it out in next week’s episode, with season 12 officially ending with the finals on Dec. 18.

The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.