‘The Masked Singer’ Eliminated the Astronaut, and They’re a Country Superstar

Yet another masked celebrity got the boot on the latest episode of The Masked Singer. On Wednesday night’s episode, the final six competitors — Kitty, Rhino, Frog, Astronaut, Night Angel and Turtle went head-to-head. But, ultimately, it was the Astronaut who was eliminated. Following their elimination, the Astronaut was unmasked and revealed to be country superstar Hunter Hayes.

Prior to Astronaut’s elimination, the last episode of The Masked Singer saw a major rockstar leaving the competition. After weeks of exciting performances, the Banana was unmasked and revealed to have been Poison frontman Bret Michaels. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly following his elimination, Michaels opened up about his time on the FOX series. Considering that he’s an established performer, he had his own set of advice for other celebrities who wish to try their hand at The Masked Singer.

“Number one, go into it to have fun,” Michaels shared, before detailing exactly how he tried to throw viewers off with his Banana disguise. “Go into it knowing you’re going to lose about five pounds in body sweat. Most importantly, try to do anything you can to throw people off. I was doing everything, like the blue collar thing that comes from my Pittsburgh upbringing. But the color of the Banana outfit gave them a little hint as to my love of the Steelers and the Pirates and the Penguins.”

Michaels went on to share even more advice that he has for future Masked Singer contestants. The rockstar explained that you can have some fun with the competition while also trying your hardest. Additionally, he also shed some light on how his recent elimination tied back to an incredibly serious event in his life.

“Try to do the best you can, especially if you’re a vocalist. Try to pick song selections that are, at first, a little outside of your wheelhouse so you can throw your voice. I just tried to do my best to throw my voice,” the musician explained. “Ironically, [the April 22 episode] marked the 10-year anniversary of the survival of my brain hemorrhage. Not knowing that, my song selection was “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.” I had no clue when I was staying or going from the show. I could’ve went immediately. I could have stayed ’til the end. And my song selection was ‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door.’ It marked the anniversary of the night I was in the emergency room having my brain operated on. That is the universe lining up in a really surreal way.”