‘The Masked Singer’: Turtle’s ‘Original’ Identity Revealed

The Masked Singer began with 18 contestants this season, one of which is the rock and roll-inspired Turtle. During the Backstreet Boys’ Tuesday appearance on Watch What Happens Live, band member Nick Carter inadvertently revealed that the costume was actually created for him to wear, but he had to turn down the show because “we were busy.”

Host Andy Cohen was asking AJ McLean if he was the Turtle, to which McLean replied in the negative. “Oh my God, this is still going on? No, because I’m here right now, so I’m clearly not the turtle,” he said.

When Cohen pointed out that The Masked Singer was not live, McLean responded, “But still… Even if I was, I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

It was at this point that Carter came forward with his truth, telling Cohen, “I have a confession. I don’t know if I can say this out loud, but the Turtle was created for me. I was possibly going to be on the show.”

Fox is not commenting on Carter’s statement.

TVLine is guessing that the Turtle is actually Jesse McCartney, as is Vulture. McCartney is also the top guess on the show’s Instagram account, but it remains to be seen whether the “Beautiful Soul” singer is in fact the person hiding under that spiked mohawk.

Clues for the Turtle include him saying that at the beginning of his career, he was “surrounded by hungry newcomers” and he has referenced tests and acting. Props included in his clips have included a surfboard, burgers on a grill, a can of pop and a cafeteria menu that included ginger snaps and beets, and he wrote “Don’t ever rave at my school — Turtle,” on a chalkboard.

McCartney got his start in the ’90s boyband Dream Street, which happens to be formed from the first letter of each sentence the Turtle wrote on the board. He also acted in the CW teen drama Summerland and played a surfer, his mom’s name is Ginger, he was a member of a band called Sugar Beets and he is known for singing pop music.

The Masked Singer airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox, so tune in to find out when the Turtle makes his big reveal, and whether the guesses are right.

Photo Credit: Michael Becker / FOX