The Masked Singer Quarter Finals Recap Season 12, Episode 10: Multi-Talented Athlete Unmasks

Buffalos, Wasp, and Strawberry Shortcake all defeated the rest and emerged as Group Champions, while Goo proved worthy of the Ding-Dong-Keep-It-On Bell, making him both the Wild Card and the underdog coming into this round. Can he rise above and emerge the winner of this whole thing?

Well, first he and the rest of the quarter finalists had to survive this night of competition that saw them taking on artists as varied as Alessia Cara, Sam & Dave, Shania Twain, Goo Goo Dolls, and Jungkook. Truly there was something for all musical tastes in this wild night filled with more clues, and touching calls for the masks from their loved ones.

Two masks survived unscathed to advance directly into next week’s semi finals, while the two with the lowest votes had to square off again in a Smackdown! It’s brutal and do-or-die … but it’s also a chance for us to hear them sing one more time. So it’s not all bad, right?

Tonight’s guesses included names like Usher, Katy Perry, and John Cena so the panel was on fire yet again! Actually, there were some solid guesses along the way, surprisingly enough. But did anyone guess tonight’s big reveal?

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.

(“Standing Next to You,” Jungkook) Wasp took us to his headlining show for this rollicking, high-energy performance. He’s definitely got the presence of a professional singer as he never lost breath or faltered with his voice while delivering a performance as physical as it was vocal. This whole energy was classic ’90s R&B vibe to us with effortless falsetto, smooth dance moves, and the pocket of his voice is just buttery, silky smooth all the way down.

Clues & Guesses: After talking about tough times in life and within his family, Wasp shifted his focus to love for the quarter finals … where he’s also struggled. While riding the blue motorcycle that kicked off his performance, he talked about not knowing what love was from any real-world examples, which may be why he flew fast and loose looking for that rom-com magic.

He said he failed more than once along the way, and even had a few U-turns he said should’ve been illegal, but he’s currently in love and hopeful that maybe he’s finally on the right track. His on-stage clue was a phone call from a loved one, which for Wasp was his cousin.

“Hey Wasp, it’s your best friend and cousin,” he said as Wasp got visibly emotional. “You never cease to amaze me. You’re capable of so many things it’s ridiculous, from putting out hits to live theater to starring in one of the biggest shows of the decade, you are a big star. I know you’ve got what it takes to win this thing.”

Last time we checked in with him, Wasp paid tribute to his mother, who passed away after facing her “darkest battle,” that he wasn’t equipped to help her overcome. He talked about her as his protector and his hero, sharing that she loved Halloween and playing dress-up — even saying she’d probably want to wear his wasp costume.

As he talked, we saw an old-timey (treasure?) map, a stethoscope, and a shot of a lava lamp next to a DNA strand behind him. His ’60s invention was the ATM, with a $1,000,000 withdrawal triggering bills to fly everywhere. “That’s an interesting bill,” Wasp said, showing Robin’s face on a million-dollar bill. “Just like this bill, I’ve also hit a million,” he added.

For his second performance, Wasp pulled back the curtain on his crowded upbringing, growing up with more than a dozen family members living under the same roof, with Wasp describing them all as “hustlers.” The only thing missing was his dad.

He said that when he finally stepped out and made it, though, he returned home to love and support from his whole family, including his father. His dad even expressed how proud of him he was. Clues in the package included a folding ladder, a theater marquee with his name, and a red crab.

His on-stage toy was a Barbie stage with two dolls standing on it, each with one arm raised, one on a bit of a pedestal. “Every minute I’m out there, I take my live performances to new heights,” Wasp explained.

The Wasp’s Masked Ambassador is Ne-Yo (a.k.a. Season 10 winner Cow), who said, “I think it’s about time for my boy the Wasp to enter this game. I’ve known him since he was fresh on the scene and he gained huge success by taking my words of wisdom. I think he’s got what it takes to snag the Golden Mask trophy, just like I did in Season 10.”

Wasp then opened up about growing up in a tough neighborhood, saying there’s no reason he would have made it out. “But I learned to dig deep and fight,” he said, sporting a pair of boxing gloves. He then said that his career blew up to the “biggest screens and stages in the world.” Ne-Yo said he had the ladies swarming.

Other visual clues included a shot of Mars and a lightbulb over Ne-Yo’s head while talking about his words of wisdom. For Sports Night, the singers brought an athletic shoe from home to represent their life. Wasp’s honeycomb themed basketball shoes left him saying, “Fresh kicks help me stay on my game.”

Rita took the live theater clue from Wasp’s cousin to Rent and landed right in the pocket with her Mario guess, as that’s what most of us have been thinking for quite a while now. The clues just keep lining up, with Mario fairly fresh into a new relationship with Kris Stephens after going IG official in January.

Ken, though, thought that those moves pointed to Usher, which got some surprise support in the audience. Even the panel and Nick had to admit it wasn’t a terrible guess. Jenny looked at the previous ladder and New Heights clue to find the song “Ascension” by Maxwell as her guess.

(“Iris,” Goo Goo Dolls) Goo wasn’t doing himself any favors with those opening lines, but quickly found that space where the sweet sincerity of his vocals could shine through. He even took a moment to randomly show off his falsetto. He doesn’t perform or even quite sing like a professional (spoiler alert!), but he’s got a very emotionally raw voice that resonates beautifully. This was so heartfelt and broken — ahem — it left us all feeling some kind of way.

Clues & Guesses: It was a shocker to the panel for sure when Goo revealed in his quarter finals clue package that he was not a professional singer. Instead, he shared that he’s always followed dual dreams, with the other passion the one he’s known for. It looks like he’s hopeful of maybe changing that through this journey, and showing the naysayers he can do both.

“Hi Goo, it’s your fiancée. I know you’re in there,” his on-stage phone call started. He’d said he loved having her by his side for this journey. “You melt my heart, Goo, and from the sound of it, you’ve melted America’s hearts, too. I haven’t been this proud of you since the day you got that call that changed your life forever. Good luck, I love you.”

Goo’s previous batch of clues featured Goo giving himself a year to meet his goal, and persevering. Nevertheless, he said that he’s only now starting to truly believe in himself. Throughout, he held gold coins, a conductor’s baton, and moved a rook chess piece.

We also saw the sheet music on the music stand that was also holding that baton, a bag of those gold coins, as well as cotton candy being slung behind him, and a blue rotary phone which he answered when he said he got that “rare call” which put him on the “rise.”

His on-stage clue was an “Inventions of the ’60s,” JELL-O. Inside was a large whistle, which got Goo singing, “O say can you see,” before adding, “That has a special meaning to me in more than one way.”

In his second week’s clue package, Goo headed to a theme park, where we learned about his fiancee and how she helped pull him out of being “frustrated and grumpy” in a happy place by asking him to dance. Visual clues in the story included a church robe with a cross on it, a golden ticket, and a bowl of fried ice cream … maybe an empanada?

His toy clue looked like the whole damned Malibu Barbie Dream House. “This right here is a dream house,” Goo explained, “which is pretty fitting for Robin, because I know he’s a fan.”

The first thing we noticed was how enormous Goo is, with his shoulders appearing to be at the very least even with Nick Cannon’s 6’0″ frame. That fits as his Masked Ambassador, Keenan Allen (a.k.a. Season 9’s gargantuan Gargoyle) talked about how, like his journey, this will show a softer side of Goo.

The mask himself then dropped a football hint right away while showing a fishing tackle box and talking about how he wanted to “tackle everything” that came his way while growing up. He admitted to being sensitive when he was younger about tough days at school that left him in tears, but found inspiration when his brother started playing guitar.

We saw a train pulling a car filled with disco balls, as well as a French horn while he talked about becoming a “music nerd” involved with an a cappella group and music lab, even winning awards for his efforts. On stage, we got to see music cleats, with Goo adding, “For me, you may want to focus on the sole of the shoes.”

Robin started considering Goo’s massive size, and previous clues like the tackle box and the sack of gold on his way to athletes like former Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, but do we know if he can sing? Jenny was along the same lines, but chose instead a different Rams defensive tackle, Kobie Turner.

The clues have been there all along, with Kobie being known as “The Conductor” in high school, where he ran not one, not two, but three a cappella singing groups. He’s even performed the national anthem — which is not an easy song — at Lakers and Kings games, so we know he can sang!

Rita, though, considered maybe Goo comes from the world of wrestling just so she could try to imagine Trainwreck star John Cena unmasking on this stage. Not gonna happen there, Rita. Not gonna happen. It would be amazing if Cena has those pipes, though! But for real, we’re pretty sure it’s Kobie.

(“Closer,” Tegan and Sara) Strawberry Shortcake continued to blow everyone away with so many variations in her vocal presentation wrapped up in one song. We heard pop diva, singer-songwriter, and even a softer alternative style. She’s an incredibly versatile and talented artist with a world-class voice she’s definitely taken the time to hone into an instrument of magic.

Clues & Guesses: In the quarterfinals, Strawberry Shortcake made it clear that she usually doesn’t do this sort of thing … alone. She’s proud of herself for taking time for herself, even if her family and friends being busy doing their things was part of her motivation for taking this chance. She said she’s been part of a “package bunch” her whole life, so this was all very exciting and new.

“Hey sis, you are absolutely crushing it, I’m so proud of you,” came her phone call clue. “It’s been so amazing to see you grow over the years and just get better and better all the time. And remember, I’m always with you, no matter what, so go out there and show the world you’re capable of anything, ’cause I know you are. And me and your nephew are rooting for you.”

Last week’s clue package was all about her connection with her mother, sharing that they used to sing at the tops of their lungs for the holidays while baking. Now, though, stage fright has stolen her mother’s voice, and it’s Strawberry Shortcake’s hope that this journey will inspire her mother to sing again.

She also mentioned having had an opportunity to appear in a Thanksgiving parade, while we saw a pen with musical notes on it, a cow in a ballet costume, and a stagecoach with horse. Her on-stage clue was novelty mouse ears, to which she explained, “Mouse ears were instrumental in how I got my start.” And of course, you can’t say “mouse ears” without thinking about Disney.

Last week’s package was all about her connections to Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus, including that they shared the same dreams, attacked them the same way, grew up in front of the world, and even shared a stage at one point. She said the duo even leaned on one another after hobnobbing with the same brothers, and breaking their hearts.

Visually, we got an apple, a “Banana Montana” clapperboard after she threw a script in the air from a director’s chair, and a shooting star. Her on-stage clue was a pair of red boxing gloves, one with a blonde wig and the other a marijuana leaf. “Miley has always been in my corner. She was even by my side when I made my debut,” Strawberry Shortcake explained.

Season 7’s Ringmaster, Haley Orrantia, introduced her friend as Strawberry Shortcake’s Masked Ambassador, calling her “a festival favorite.” She shared they’ve been together through some of Haley’s “biggest milestones,” too.

Speaking for herself, Strawberry Shortcake said that she’d always dreamed of performing in a big music festival as a headliner, but had to settle for sitting on the sidelines. That is, until she got the call to open “one of the most iconic ones.” She called that day both sweet and a “slow burn,” but worth the wait.

Visual clues throughout included sunny sunglasses, a kitten, rainbows, hearts, Instagram pictures, mushrooms, and an ice cream cone. On stage, her t-shirt read “Break a Leg,” to which she added, “My breakthrough role showed the world my potential.”

The latest clues had Ken knowing “exactly who this is,” which always means he does not. This time, he threw out Katy Perry, leading Robin to ask, “Do you have fireworks in your brain?” Ken’s argument was that Katy left Idol to return to her true passion, “dressing up like food.”

Jenny, though, looked back at all those Disney clues and the sister power to consider Hayley Duff, while Robin took the sisters one step — and one sister — further with his Haim guess that this could be Danielle Haim.

Those are all respectable guesses, but the strongest one is yet another pair of sisters, Aly & AJ Michalka. While all of the clues have lined up so far beautifully, we also have to note that Aly gave birth to her son on April 21 of this year, making AJ Michalka a new aunt!

(“You’re Still the One,” Shania Twain) Buffalos totally changed the energy of this piece, making it an anthem of their brotherhood and years together, despite the challenges they’ve faced. It was heartfelt and beautiful with not only stunning harmonies, as expected, but gorgeous solo moments for all three of them. This is a seasoned singing group who know how to not only do this, but do this together.

Clues & Guesses: Their quarter finals package was all about their bond of brotherhood, which had to overcome a huge obstacle when “something happened” to one of their number that “ruined their delicate blend.” All of their planned joint everythings were “called off.” But they were able to regroup and come back stronger than ever.

Their phone call was from Babyface — yes that Babyface! — who told them, “You guys are just killing it. I’ve never seen you look better or more ridiculous. So keep it up, bring home the trophy.” They revealed that after getting the chance to work with him, “It changed our lives.”

The trio chose The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” for their third performance because they connected with that bittersweet feeling. In their clue package, they opened up about losing a guiding light that inspired them as they were breaking through after they lost him suddenly.

They said that they sang together while laying him to rest and thought that might be it for them, but they know he’d want them to continue. Visual clues in the package included a Dead End sign, a ringing bell, and camouflage umbrella.

“We’ve been in this industry for a very long time,” one of them said on stage after their performance. “We’ve gained a lot and we’ve lost a lot. The beautiful thing is, we’re here right now sharing our story with you.” The other two circled around him in support as he got emotional.

The on-stage clue was a t-shirt that reads “Halftime Show,” with the explanation, “This halftime t-shirt has aged over time, like us, but we can tell you this performance was in front of one of the biggest audiences in the world.”

Their second clue package saw the trio describe themselves as rebels who found each other along the way never really cared what other people said about them. It emphasized that they’re funny — while suggesting some might think they take themselves too seriously — and that they’re rich. Like, way rich.

Their bar-set package included an emphasis on three beer mugs, a game of poker, and a black “poison” bottle. Their clue came out as a mini-“Motown” tractor. “We’re a little tired right now because we’re busy using this tractor to mow lawns all around town,” they explained.

Season 5 winner Piglet (a.k.a. Nick Lachey) shared a seemingly singular Buffalo’s story in his first clue package, talking about his rough upbringing in “roach-filled beds at night.” During the day, he practiced at a bus stop. When Buffalo talked about catching his big break at a cattle call, we saw images of Betty White and Vanna White.

From that auspicious beginning, Buffalo went on to travel the world and star in two of the biggest sitcoms of all time. Nick came back to call Buffalo a “national treasure,” as well as the center of attention at his Super Bowl parties. Additional images included a poster of a football player at that bus stop and Buffalo holding up a film reel.

Buffalo’s closing line was, “Just you wait,” which evokes Hamilton. Their-on-stage clue the first week was a crown.

Robin thought of the Motown and Super Bowl clues and tied them together with their comment tonight about setting the stage for the next generation to take it all the way back to The Temptations.

Ken, though, was rocking that ’80s/’90s R&B vibe with his Tony! Toni! Toné! guess, but was met with nothing but laughter. He asked Nick to back him up and got a simple, “No.” Rita threw out Blackstreet, but we don’t think any of them were thinking big enough.

After nearly two decades of success as a quartet, Boyz II Men was rocked when Michael “Mike Bass” McCary had to leave due to chronic back problems ultimately diagnosed as multiple sclerosis. As he kept the condition secret before his departure, the band members felt he wasn’t giving his all, leading to a rift.

Oh, and as for Babyface, he only co-wrote and produced “End of the Road,” one of the biggest hits of the ’90s, which catapulted them to the next level in their career.

The first step into the Semi Finals happened right here, with two of the remaining four advancing straight away by the audience and panel vote. In looking at the four competitors, one of those seems fairly obvious. Goo had a ton of heart in his performance, but we weren’t seeing that extra polish from him that everyone else had.

The other one his much trickier as the other three masks are all at the top of their games. We’d personally give the edge to Buffalos and Strawberry Shortcake, but we know there’s a lot of love for Wasp.

While he’s shown a lot of range and heart throughout his run, we don’t think he did quite as much tonight with his performance to connect and make the audience feel something. In a very, very tight race, that would have been our deciding factor.

Nick revealed it was “very, very, very close” before sharing the good news with Wasp and Buffalos. It looks like Wasp got through with that multi-faceted performance, after all, leaving Strawberry Shortcake to fight and scrap a battle she should have an edge in — though this also marks her second time having to sing for her life, which could be a sign of a massive disconnect.

(“Hold On, I’m Comin'”, Sam & Dave) Goo definitely felt very comfortable vocally with this classic R&B track which gave him a chance to wail and really have a powerhouse moment. The natural texture of his voice is just beautiful, with a bit of a gritty edge to it that punctures your attention and demands to be noticed.

(“Scars to Your Beautiful”, Alessia Cara) Strawberry Shortcake didn’t really do much to this song but deliver it, but she did so with a beautiful delicacy in the opening that was so heartfelt, you could believe that the lyrics were her own. The track has such a unique cadence and energy that she was able to pick up effortlessly.

This battle was closer than we expected, with a lot of greatness coming from each of the singers. Neither of them messed with their original tracks that much, but when it comes down to that, Strawberry Shortcake made a song choice that had more to say about perhaps her own life and experiences.

While this has not been her strongest night, that might have as much to do with her incredible competition. She’s been one of the season’s bright spots and Strawberry Shortcake definitely did enough here to advance.

Luckily, the panel agreed and it was good news for girl power as there’ll be at least one in the semi finals. The news was not so good for Goo, though he should be very proud to have made it this far against people who do do this for a living!

• Robin Thicke: Aaron Donald
• Jenny McCarthy: Kobie Turner
• Ken Jeong: Shaquille O’Neal
• Rita Ora: John Cena

We don’t even know what to say about Rita or Ken’s guesses, but luckily we don’t have to as they’re both so obviously wrong.

We did love Jenny taking the time before the unmasking to tell Goo he is “one of the most incredible singers we’ve ever had on this show.” Considering this is not his career, but a genuine love of his, hearing how well he’s been received probably means the world.

Robin was close, as in he had the right position and the right team. He was just in the wrong era as Jenny took this one home as Kobie Turner was unmasked and got even more praise from the panel for being this NFL superstar who could bring such singing talent to the front.

This experience hopefully will serve as any (and all) of the validation he needs that he’s got a home in music. And he belongs there!

The Masked Singer heads into the Quarterfinals and moves back to its regular night next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.