The fourth season of the American television series ''

The Masked Singer ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' premiered on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

on September 23, 2020, following a sneak peek episode that aired on September 13, and concluded on December 16, 2020. The season was won by singer LeAnn Rimes as "Sun", with singer

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally by his stage name Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles " I Need a Dollar", " The Man", which topped the charts in t ...

finishing second as "Mushroom", and singer Nick Carter placing third as "Crocodile".

Panelists and host

Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American television host, actor, rapper, and comedian. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on ''All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', ''Wild 'n Out'', ''America's ...

, singer-songwriter

Robin Thicke Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 hit single " Blurred Lines", which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, h ...

, television and radio personality Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, actor and comedian

Ken Jeong Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...

, and recording artist

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the best-selling g ...

all returned for their fourth season as host and panelists. Following controversial statements made on his podcast, it was confirmed that Cannon would remain as host of the show, after Fox accepted his apology. Guest panelists included Joel McHale in the third and fourth episodes,

season two Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * ''2econd Season ''2econd Season'' is the second and most recent album by Atlanta-based rapper Unk. Release It was released on November 4, 2008. Guest Performers The album features gu ...

winner

Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...

in the sixth episode,

Niecy Nash Carol Denise Betts (née Ensley; born February 23, 1970), known professionally as Niecy Nash-Betts (), is an American actress, comedian and television host, best known for her performances on television. Nash hosted the Style Network show '' C ...

in the seventh episode,

Cheryl Hines Cheryl Ruth Hines (born September 21, 1965) is an American actress and director, best known for playing the role of Larry David's wife, Cheryl, on HBO's ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', for which she has been nominated for two Emmy Awards. She also s ...

in the eighth episode,

Jay Pharoah Jared Antonio Farrow (born October 14, 1987), better known by his stage name Jay Pharoah, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and impressionist. Pharoah was a cast member on NBC's sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2010 to 201 ...

in the ninth episode, and Craig Robinson in the tenth episode. The panelists also engaged in a competition for the Golden Ear in this season. After each masked singer performed for the first time along with an initial clue package, each panelist wrote their first impressions-based guess at the identity of the celebrity and kept in a safe until the

men in black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are purported men dressed in black suits who claim to be quasi- government agents, who harass, threaten, or sometimes even assassinate unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesse ...

are instructed to bring it out upon a contestant's elimination. Those guesses were revealed after each celebrity was unmasked, with panelist scoring a point for each celebrity they got correct from their initial first impression, with the panelist with the most correct answers winning the Golden Ear. Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg won the first Golden Ear for getting the most guesses correct.

Production

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, various industry-adopted safety protocols were implemented for production (as well as a change in location from

Television City Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and C ...

Red Studios Hollywood Red Studios Hollywood, formerly Desilu Cahuenga Studio and Ren-Mar Studios, is a rental studio located at 846 N. Cahuenga Blvd. in Hollywood, California, on premises that were formerly the home of Desilu Productions. Originally it was the site of M ...

), which included that the tapings to have a virtual audience, and that the judging panel would be 8 feet apart from each other. Fox Alternative Entertainment president Rob Wade said that the show would still "feel very much like" past seasons, having employed "various quarantining and various camera tricks" to preserve the visible presence of a studio audience. Executive producer

Craig Plestis Craig Plestis is the President and CEO of Smart Dog Media, a reality programming production company. Plestis is an executive producer of '' The Masked Singer'' and ''I Can See Your Voice''. Career NBC Plestis was the executive producer behind the ...

stated that a goal for season four's costumes was to "increase the bonkers level and keep the production values up". A "virtual audience" was incorporated into voting. To accommodate social distancing, many of the clue packages used animation by

Bento Box Entertainment Bento Box Entertainment (also known as Bento Box Animation) is an American animation studio located in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2009 by executive producers Scott Greenberg, Joel Kuwahara, and ...

, the studio behind ''

Bob's Burgers ''Bob's Burgers'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard that premiered on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox on January 9, 2011. The show centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob Belcher, Bob and Linda Belcher, Linda and t ...

'' as opposed to live-action filming typically used for their clue packaging.

Contestants

The season featured 16 contestants, including "Snow Owls" wearing the first duet costume with its own vehicle, the first costume to have animatronic parts ("Serpent"), and the first puppet costume ("Baby Alien"). The contestants in this season are reported to have a combined net worth over $398 million, 46

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominations, 23 platinum records, 10 Hall of Fame appearances, and one

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medal, to collectively have sold over 281 million records, appeared in over 5,475 episodes of television and 151 films, made five Super Bowl appearances, have four stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, hold three world records, one ''Time'' 100 honor, and one

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

nomination in a major category.

Episodes

Week 1 (September 23)

Week 2 (September 30)

Week 3 (October 7)

Guest panelist performance: " Blurred Lines" by

performed by Joel McHale as "The Robin"

Week 4 (October 14)

Week 5 (October 28)

Week 6 (November 4)

Guest panelist performance: "

Memories Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

" by

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

performed by

as "Mr. TV".

Week 7 (November 11)

Group performance: "

Raise Your Glass "Raise Your Glass" is a song by American singer Pink (singer), Pink from her first greatest hits album, greatest hits compilation ''Greatest Hits... So Far!!! (Pink album), Greatest Hits... So Far!!!'' (2010). The song was written by Pink, Max Ma ...

" by

P!nk Alecia Beth Moore Hart (born September 8, 1979), known professionally as Pink (stylized as P!nk), is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She was originally a member of the girl group Choice. In 1995, LaFace Records saw potential ...

Week 8 (November 18)

Week 9 (November 26)

Group performance: "

I Want You Back "I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Jackson 5. It was released by Motown on October 6, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on ...

" by

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

Week 10 (December 2)

Group performance: "

Take On Me "Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that same year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was p ...

" by A-ha Guest panelist performance: "

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 as the second single from her sixth album, '' Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. A top-selling song, it is a popular di ...

" by Gloria Gaynor performed by Craig Robinson

Week 11 (December 16) – Finale

Group performance: "

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is a pop song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 seasonal compilation album, ''A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector''. The song was written by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, and Phil S ...

" by

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...

Ratings

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masked Singer 2020 American television seasons The Masked Singer (American TV series)