Reality TV Villain Recently Overhshadowed Unmasks

Don’t get us wrong, it wasn’t all bad. In fact, in a few instances it was very good and surprising in the best possible ways. But when it was bad, it was very, very bad.

Thanks to Saturday Night Live’s recent Domingo sketches that are all about bad singing, let’s just say we were more than prepared to enjoy the camp of some of this week’s “artists.”

There were a plethora of them, too, with Bat, Boogie Woogie, Griffin, Pearl, and Space Ranger kicking off Group B with Greek God inspiration and some pretty wild clues that suggest these stars have lived through some pretty interesting — and at times disturbing — things!

Before this round is over, we’ll be down to just two of these masks left. One of them was one-and-done tonight, so which one fell wa-a-ay short of the Season 13 Golden Mask Trophy? You know what we’ve gotta do.

Let’s jump right in with this week’s mask. And don’t worry, before we get to the shocking unmasking(s), we’re going to make you power through the terrible (and occasionally good) guesses made by our illustrious panel of Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong, and Rita Ora first. We do this because we love … to torture you.

(“I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” The Darkness) Boogie Woogie took on an impressive vocal challenge with a song that’s as much about personality as it is range. That said, he showed that he’s got great control of his falsetto, slipping in and out of it effortlessly. This whole persona is silliness, and he definitely embraced that with a feel-good performance that also delivered vocally.

Clues & Guesses: BW — can we call you BW? — came out with so much pump and swag, slamming into Nick and clearly having a blast looking like an oversized disco Muppet. As he owned this disco stage his clue package revealed that he spent his childhood wanting to be the center of attention.

As he tried to shift into entertainment, he found mixed success, though. He said he had dreams of being a clown, teaching himself to juggle, and a magician. He even entered a talent show and won, but when he shifted to trying to make it for real, he wound up struggling to make ends meet as a busker.

Visual clues included four quarters from 1972 in his busker’s magician’s hat, a Boogie Woogie Magazine, and the red, yellow, and blue balls he juggled. On stage, he said, “My main magic trick for this whole situation is to make the other monsters and singers disappear.”

Ken went with his gut — which was clearly listening to someone else — with his Adam Lambert guess. Robin, though, thinks he’s close, but was picking up comedian vibes. He thought of the “clown prince” who’s played a magician on SNL, Andy Samberg. Rita, however, thought it could be a legit rock star with that range, Mika, or perhaps magician Criss Angel.

Our wild guess — because we can play, too — is comedian and ventriloquist Paul Zerdin, who worked in a magic shop, and won both The Big Talent Show in 1996 and America’s Got Talent in 2015. He was also born in ’72, which could explain the dates on those quarters, and has been known to incorporate singing into his act.

(“Bad Blood,” Taylor Swift) Space Ranger is not a singer, but is fearless to come out here and just put it all out there anyway. Vocally, this was not great by any stretch, but he was able to hold that note, showing strong lungs, and his pitch wasn’t the worst we’ve had on the show. Most importantly, he was entertaining, which is kind of the point.

Clues & Guesses: Nick not only was confident he knows who this is, but he was shocked that Ken did not. In his clue package, the Space Ranger — who is notably shorter than Nick — said TMS has been on his bucket list for years. He talked about winning gold and scoring hardware to wear around his neck, while showing a report card with an A+ for PE.

We also saw a house of cards and a pink box of chocolates as the man who claimed to be Taylor Swift’s besties described himself as futuristic and living on his own planet, just like his character. He also conceded he’s not everyone’s cup of tea. “Taylor Swift is my homie,” Space Ranger told Nick. “We go way back. She’s one of my besties.”

Jenny took a leap by connecting the PE grade to Tracy Morgan’s movie Fist Fight. Robin, too, said that was his guess as he heard Tracy’s unique vocal cadence in this delivery. Ken, though, wondered if maybe it was Floyd Mayweather “just having fun.”

Rita wondered about the house of cards tying to the house of Wayans for a Marlon guess, while she again asked Nick to tell her about clues on his costume. Nick noted his belt buckle, which looks kind of like a vintage protractor compass or even a stylized clock face, would practically give his identity away.

(“Rewrite the Stars,” Zac Efron & Zendaya [from The Greatest Showman]) Griffin surprised us with a beautifully rich quality to his voice. He really took ownership of this song with a lyric that seemed to touch him personally. There did seem to be some vocal strain at the higher end of his register, suggesting that he’s not as trained as he is talented, but he really does have a nice tone for singing.

Clues & Guesses: An overnight success, according to his first clue package, Griffin shared that he wasn’t prepared for the massive heights of his fandom, saying that his “first hit immortalized” him. At this moment, he got hit in the head with a “School’s Out” bell, suggesting he’s got a teen star background — maybe on a school-themed show?

Talking about his fame, he recalled the time a woman told him she would take dirt off of his car to take home to her children, suggesting the age of his fanbase at the height of his fame. We also saw a 6-pointed “star” that looked like a sheriff’s badge and a VHS tape with a Jack-O-Lantern on it as he talked about how he learned he’s “only human” lately, as his future was rewritten and he learned that this life is precious.

Now, he’s ready to take every opportunity that comes his way, like this one. When asked what being on the show means, Griffin said, “The stage is my happy place. I love it here. I feel so lucky.”

Rita was torn between Matthew Lillard and Freddie Prinze Jr., who both have spooky pedigrees to tie into the Halloween-themed video tape. Ken, though, shifted to perhaps David Arquette, due to the badge, in Scream, which even Jenny had to concede was “not bad,” agreeing with Jenny. “I’ll take all of those.” Griffin said.

The immediate gut reaction we had to the clue about life giving him a bit of a reality check was Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek, though we’re not sure Griffin is tall enough. The show was monumentally huge when he was younger, and he revealed in November 2024 that he’s been battling colorectal cancer.

(“Espresso,” Sabrina Carpenter) Bat seemed to be channeling the Domingo SNL parodies more than Sabrina’s take with a very pitchy and awkward vocal performance. She’s not a singer at all, but she’s got a lot of sass and personality. Performing on the stage didn’t appear to be completely in her wheelhouse, based on her moves, but she’s definitely confident in the spotlight.

Clues & Guesses: After she threw up a high kick in her entrance, Jenny quipped to Robin, “She looks like she’d be a good time.” She then all but confirmed that, suggesting she’s a “misunderstood” party girl, a “creature of the night,” and “a bit of a bat-ass.”

Mostly, though, she talked about being perceived as a villain — which she and her real friends totally know isn’t true — because she’s been surrounded by a “bunch of lunatics.” That screams reality star who hangs with people for the show, a la most of the Bravo-verse, and is a bona fide villain (too many to name, honestly). A “24/7” sign only further suggested reality TV.

She said she’s “forever villainized” and portrayed as a “blood-sucking backstabber,” to which she tells all her haters to “get over it.” So, she kind of enjoys the negative attention, we’re guessing, that she gets in that sphere. We also saw a “Bat at Business” card, a grizzly bear, and a bunch of stuff on her desk just disappearing after it got stabbed with a knife.

After her performance, she said, “It’s been a minute since I’ve seen you, Jenny,” Bat said. When Nick marveled she was giving out clues already, she added, “You too, Nick. We actually spent a holiday together this year.” That got a big reaction from the host, who does not know who this is.

Jenny, too, was picking up Housewives vibes, while she always connects a Bear to Chicago. As such, her guess was Larsa Pippen. Ken considered Lisa Rinna, admitting he doesn’t know much in the reality TV world, while Rita was instead considering Kristin Cavallari and Bethenny Frankel, who Nick admitted “is my homie.”

But is she Bat? There are too many possibilities and too few clues for us to even weigh in on this one.

(“Saving All My Love for You,” Whitney Houston) Pearl has a bit of gravel in her voice, but she needn’t have worried about taking one of the voices of the modern era as she did Whitney and herself very proud. This was a commanding performance with an incredible sound. Pearl did everything she had to do and may have already secured a spot in the next round with this performance.

Clues & Guesses: The main thrust of Pearl’s backstory in her first clue package was that, like a Pearl, she is the treasure within a tough exterior. She’s always loved performing and sees herself as a softy at heart, but no one else really sees her like that because she finds it hard to shake that hard edge.

She said that “people like me aren’t promised a chance at a big break,” so she took any gig she could get until she finally made it. Along the way, we saw a beach, a boat marina, a seaside bar, where she picked from a bowl of cherries, an umbrella, and a baseball.

When asked how this takes her outside of her comfort zone, Pearl told Nick, “I can tell you that I’ve dressed this fancy before. Usually when I’m on the red carpet and they ask me what I’m wearing, I just say, I got it on sale.”

Robin said he was getting Regina King vibes while Jenny recalled a karaoke queen that surprised her on a tour, Shania Twain. Rita, though, things this is a big punk or rock singer. She tied “Cherry Bomb” to the bowl and Joan Jett, but are any of those women this diva?

An eclectic group of masks for sure, with some fun surprises along the way. Boogie Woogie and Griffin really surprised us, while Pearl appears to be this season’s most legendary diva — or she just carries herself and sings like one! Okay, girl!

That leaves Bat and Space Ranger in contention for us to be the first unmasked, as clearly neither of them are singers, and neither of them were particularly stellar tonight. Space Ranger had a little more vocal charisma on the stage, as well as great stage personality.

He was definitely giving off more performer vibes than Bat’s stilted performance, so we’d have to give the edge to him this week… and then probably be ready to see him go next week. It turned out this audience agreed, grounding the Bat for good.

Her Crack the Case Clue Case was gold earrings, to which Bat added, “Gold is just a part of every major life event I’ve had, including the debut of my first single.” Reality stars with musical aspirations are certainly nothing new … but after that performance, it’s a bit of a swerve here. Even Robin’s face didn’t seem able to compute her words.

• Robin Thicke: Bethenny Frankel
• Jenny McCarthy: Larsa Pippen
• Ken Jeong: Lisa Rinna
• Rita Ora: Heidi Montag … until Jenny said she never met her … then, she jumped on Robin’s guess, Bethenny Frankel

Rita might have been all over the place with her guess, but none of those places were the right place. Maybe it’s because she wasn’t anywhere close to being the biggest villain to emerge from her show, but no one was even sniffing around Vanderpump Rules as Scheana Shay was revealed.

That last clue she revealed pointed to one her biggest singles, “Good as Gold,” with the reality star having released multiple tracks, including “Apples” and “Sweet & Sour.”

The Masked Singer continues next Wednesday with “Ghostbusters Night” at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.