'The Masked Singer': Robin Thicke Sings 'Growing Pains' Theme Song to Honor Late Dad Alan

Daniel S. Levine

10/05/2022 08:17 pm EDT

The Masked Singer paid tribute to television history with this week's episode, and it seemed only fair for Robin Thicke to embrace his roots as the son of a TV icon. The episode opened with Thicke performing "As Long As We Got Each Other," the theme song for Growing Pains, the beloved sitcom his father Alan Thicke starred on. Thicke's performance had the studio audience at their feet and viewers at home applauding.

During the tribute, The Masked Singer producers showed throwback photos of Thicke and the other panelists – Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, and Nicole Scherzinger – and host, Nick Cannon. They even used on-screen credits like a traditional sitcom. After Thicke's performance, McCarthy Wahlberg rushed to hug him. "Give it up for my man Robin Thicke one more time with an amazing tribute to America's dad and Robin's dad, the unforgettable Alan Thicke," Cannon said.

Alan starred as Dr. Jason Seaver on Growing Pains, which ran on ABC from 1985 to 1992. He defined the sitcom dad for a generation of television viewers. Thicke is the son of Alan and Alan's first wife, Days of Our Lives star Gloria Loring. In December 2016, Alan died of type-A aortic dissection in Burbank, California. He was 69. Bob Saget, who died in January, delivered a eulogy for Alan.

The Performance

Since his father's death, Thicke, 45, has found multiple ways to pay tribute to Alan. Last year, he released the song "That's What Love Can Do," which he wrote soon after Alan died. "It's about the passing of the torch of my father to me and the kind of man I want to be," Thicke told PEOPLE. "After my father's death, I remember a friend of his said, 'A big tree has fallen.' That's what my dad was: the big tree. Now here I am, this medium-size tree, and I've got to grow my branches and protect everybody. Every day I try to make him proud of me."

'What a beautiful tribute to his dad'

Thicke also told the magazine that he always thinks of his father when it comes to parenting his four children. He shares a son, Julian, with his ex-wife Paula Patton. Thicke and April Love Geary, to whom he proposed in 2018, share three children.

'This is very special for all kinds of reasons'

"Every time I speak to my son Julian, I feel him because I'm saying the same things he told me," Thicke told PEOPLE. "When I was young, I wanted to be a rebel because my dad was Mr. Good Guy. Now I just want to be as much like him as possible. In the end, all the advice he gave me was correct."

'I got all teary eyed'

New episodes of The Masked Singer air on Fox Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.

'That was such a cool start'

"That was such a cool start with Robin performing the theme song Growing Pains! One of my all-time favorite series," one fan tweeted.

'LOVING the Growing Pains tribute'

"OMG! I am LOVING the Growing Pains tribute," another fan wrote.

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