'The Masked Singer' Live Updates: Winner Unmasked

The Masked Singer Season 5 is coming to a close, and we have blow-by-blow updates on the grand [...]

By Michael Hein

The Masked Singer Season 5 is coming to a close, and we have blow-by-blow updates on the grand finale. Season 5, Episode 13, "Finale" begins at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Scroll down for up-to-the-minute records on the clues, guesses and other fine details you might have missed.

piglet-masked-singer_Michael Becker:FOX
(Photo: Michael Becker/FOX)

9 p.m. ET - Season Winner

Finally, the panelists were faced with their first impression guesses about their season winner, Piglet. Scherzinger's had been Cody Simpson, but she changed to Backstreet Boys singer Brian Littrell. Thicke had guessed Goo Goo Dolls frontman John Rzeznik, which he now changed to Nick Lachey. Jeong's first impression guess was Adam Lambert, but he now changed it to actor Jeremy Renner. McCarthy then confidently faced her first impression guess, Nick Lachey, which she said she would stick with. Finally, Rimes joined in by guessing Nick Lachey as well.

With that, the champion pulled his mask off and revealed that he was indeed Nick Lachey. The panel went wild and the pyrotechnics matched, but it was the artist formerly known as Piglet who really sent the season off in style with one last performance. However, first Cannon made sure that the Golden Ear trophy was returned to McCarthy once again.

8:51 p.m. ET - Second Place

Without further ado, the contestants returned to the stage and Cannon announced that Piglet was the winner of the whole season. He handed over the Golden Mask trophy, which Piglet held aloft before heading off to the throne. With that, it was time to unmask the runner-up Black Swan.

The first impression guesses were even more scattered in this case. Thicke had guessed Rita Ora, which he thought was "not terrible," but he decided to change his final answer to Normani. McCarthy's first impression guess was Leighton Meester, but she shifted to Monica instead. Jeong guessed Jessie J early in the season, but he now felt more confident that it was Demi Lovato. Scherzinger had guessed Natasha Bedingfield but now felt completely confident that Black Swan is Jojo. Finally, Rimes agreed with Scherzinger and guessed Jojo.

With that, the unmasking began. After struggling out of the oversized mask, fans finally saw the face of JoJo. Cannon praised her and thanked her for lending her talent to the show. She faced the audience without a mask as she sang a few more verses of "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" one last time.

8:40 p.m. ET - Third Place

Without delay, Cannon announced the third-place finisher of the season: Chameleon. The other contestants clapped for Chameleon as he waved energetically and prepared to be unmasked. However, first Cannon called for the judge's first impression guesses to be reviewed.

At this point, Robin Thicke had 1 point, Jenny McCarthy had 2 points, Jeong had 2 points and Nicole Scherzinger had none. McCarthy's first impression guess about Chameleon had been Denzel Washington, but she opted not to stick with that one. Instead, she made a last-minute guess: rapper Gucci Mane. Thicke's first impression guess had been Red Foo, which he admitted was not based on much. Instead, he stuck with his frequent guess Wiz Khalifa.

Scherzinger's first guess had been Nick Cannon, back when Cannon was absent and Niecy Nash was the temporary fill-in host. Scherzinger sided with Thicke and guessed Wiz Khalifa for her final answer. Meanwhile, Jeong's first guess had been Dwight Howard, and he admitted he had considered many basketball players throughout the season. His final guess was 2 Chainz — a college basketball player who went on to become a rap star. Finally, guest panelist Rimes agreed with Jeong and guessed 2 Chainz.

With all the guesses in, Chameleon took off his mask at last and turned out to be Wiz Khalifa. The panel was in shambles as the star high-fived Cannon and accepted their praise in good humor. He finally fulfilled the panel's long-time requests to party with him, promising that he would see them again before launching into one last performance of "Gangsta's Paradise."

8:29 p.m. ET - Piglet

The third segment leaped right into Piglet's new clue package as well, with performance highlights from throughout the season. Piglet said: "Any time you put yourself out there, even if it is behind a mask, it's scary. I was one of the first people to open up my life to the public — it was before social media, and trust me, without the filters. The criticism was so much I had to become a pretty private person after that."

"But, being the Piglet was a freedom to just have fun. We all need to find our inner Piglet sometimes," he continued with a chuckle. "I think the one thing I've learned is, you know, you've got to challenge yourself. I think that's what this experience has meant to me. Like, all things I've tried to do in my career, I've tried to leave no stone unturned. I gave everything I possibly had to this. I've tried to work as hard as I possibly can. I want more than anything to bring home that trophy to my kids."

Piglet sang "Faithfully" by Journey on a stage covered in colorful balloons and dim neon lights. The panel was close to tears by the time he was done, and as with the others, Cannon asked what this show has meant to Piglet and what winning it would mean. He said: "What this show has done for me is once again reminded me how much I love music, and how much we all need music right now as something that can lift our spirits. And I've just been honored to be a part of such an incredible journey as this one."

Before the break, Cannon reminded the audience of all the serious guesses about Piglet so far. They have been Adam Lambert, Adam Levine, Kevin Richardson, AJ McLean, Austin Mahone, Jonathan Knight, Brian Littrel, JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Nick Lachey and Zayn Malik.

8:20 p.m. ET - Black Swan

After the first break, the show jumped right into Black Swan's clue package. Again, there were not many new visual clues and a lot of recycled footage, so any new hints come from the singer's monologue.

"I honestly did not come in thinking about winning," she said. "Partly because of my stage fright, which may be surprising because I was known around the world before I got my driver's license. I just came in thinking about getting these chips off my shoulder, not taking myself so seriously, doing something that freaked me out and getting back to basics, which is singing great songs."

"I've accomplished my mission to put myself in an uncomfortable position and breakthrough," she went on. "I needed to learn things about myself, and I'm proud of myself after this. Now, I'm staring down the finals, and I want to win this for all you other rare birds out there."

Black Swan sang "How am I supposed to Live Without You" by Michael Bolton. The surprisingly heartfelt take on the melodramatic song seemed to catch the panelists off-guard. Afterward, Cannon asked her what winning would mean to her, and Black Swan answered: "It would mean that I conquered some fears. Like a lot of artists, I had to cancel my tour in 2020, and I got scared at some point! And now I'm like 'Okay, I'm back in it, I'm facing it in some kind of way.'"

Once again, Cannon asked the judges to save their guesses for later, but he reminded the viewers of all their serious guesses so far. They were Ashlee Simpson, Camila Cabello, Christina Milian, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Jojo, Kesha, Leona Lewis, Lindsay Lohan, Normani Kordei and Mandy Moore.

8:11 p.m. - Chameleon

The episode began with last season's winner LeAnn Rimes singing her own hit song "How Do I Live." She was joined by the current contestants Black Swan, Piglet and Yeti. The stirring performance gave way to introductions by the panelists and host Nick Cannon.

The show then launched right into the first performer of the night: Chameleon. The rapper narrated his own clue package, saying: "People think I'm too cool for The Masked Singer. I originally signed up for this for my kid, because it's one of our favorite shows to watch together. But it's turned out to be one of the coolest experiences of my life."

The clue package was made up almost entirely of reused footage from Chameleon's past performances. It showed a few clips of him dancing alone in a wilderness setting, and one shot of him trying to climb out through an old-fashioned TV screen. He also dropped some conspicuous clues himself at the end of his monologue.

"You wanted a game-changing season, so who better to bring in than me dressing up as a psychedelic chameleon and taking y'all on a wild tour of hip hop?" he said. "Singing Dead Prez, Warren G, Cam'ron and of course Snoop Dogg. It's fun representing hip hop on the show! It educates the kids, and not just 'oh, my mom keep trying to tell me about how good this song was,' it's like 'Nah, that song is actually fire.' Now, I want to make history as the first contestant who raps only to take home the Golden Mask. It'll mean a lot for me to win this for all my fans, my stunt, my sister's memory and of course, for me: your ever-changing but always himself Chameleon."

With that, Chameleon took the stage to perform "Gangsta's Paradise" by Coolio featuring L.V. The panel was on their feet at once, and as soon as the song was over Ken Jeong bowed with his hands out, saying: "we are not worthy!" The other panelists agreed, jostling to comment on the performance.

Cannon then asked Chameleon what it would mean to him to win the competition overall. He responded: "It would mean everything to me. Of course, I do this for my son and my family and all the hip hop heads out there, so it would mean the world to me." After that, Cannon asked them to leave the guessing for later on in the night, though the screen showed all the serious guesses the panel had ever made about the Chameleon's identity. They are 2 Chainz, Dwayne Wade, Waka Flocka Flame, Dwight Howard, Kyrie Irving, Machine Gun Kelly, Red Foo, Snoop Dogg, Young Thug and Wiz Khalifa.

The Masked Singer Season 5 has been a wild ride, and it is not too late to revisit it. The season is streaming now on Hulu, with a free trial available for new users here. Fox has already renewed the show for a sixth season, expected to air sometime in the spring. Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for all the latest updates!

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