Closest Vote Ever Before Shocking Elimination

Buffalos, Strawberry Shortcake, and Wasp have all belted out incredible performances all season long, leaving audiences breathless with heartfelt moments of vulnerability and window-shaking moments of pure power.

And yet, they somehow all managed to save their best performances yet for this semi-finals show. No matter the results, the stage was set for an incredible finale. And while Rita Ora missed the episode due to feeling under the weather, she will be back for the big finish!

Unfortunately, after the tightest voting margin in the history of the show — with Nick Cannon revealing there was less than one percentage point difference — one of these masks was going to fall just short.

Who gave it their all only to go home one week before the finale? And did anyone on our illustrious — ahem — panel of experts make the right guess? There’s only one way to find out!

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, and Ken Jeong first. We do this because we love … to torture you.

(“Some Nights,” Fun.) The night kicked off with a rollicking show piece from the remaining singers — and with five of them on the stage, it was a very full sound. Strawberry Shortcake held her own as the only female in a field of male voices, while Wasp proved more than capable as a solo male artist. Buffalos are already a powerhouse group with killer harmonies, but we saw that solo moment from one of them. And collectively, there was talent to spare, setting the stage for a night of stiff competition — and one heartbreaking reveal.

(“Lose You to Love Me,” Selena Gomez) Strawberry Shortcake may have had a slightly tilted mask tonight, but that performance was straight heart. It was palpable and heartfelt from the first note. We felt her emotions through each line of pitch-perfect note delivery. It’s not an easy song to cover because there’s nowhere to hide vocally, but Strawberry Shortcake was out in front of it proudly, boldly, and beautifully.

Clues & Guesses: Sometimes you have to step away from the dream to relearn how to appreciate it, because most dreams come with a lot of drag. That was Strawberry Shortcake’s experience in her semi-finals clue package, where she opened up about feeling disenchanted through pressure, rejection, and self-doubt. She said she was triggered by her early fame, leading to a long break. Now, she’s found the love and fun again.

When asked what she’s learned on this journey, she shared, “I have learned that I am resilient, strong, and I’m just so happy to be on the stage.” She thanked the panel for their kind words, saying this experience back in the spotlight showed her “this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Her on-stage Friendship Bracelet revealed a connection to Ken with the message “Press Tour.” She explained, “One of the highlights of my career was the press tour we did together. You made me laugh all day.”

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.”

With a new friendship bracelet, Ken speculated his press tour connection to Strawberry Shortcake could have been during a Hangover movie promotion tour where he met Joey King. Jenny, though, considered Sarah Hyland, who’s definitely showed off her singing chops before. Robin’s guess was Lucy Hale, which again connected to promotional tours for Ken’s Dr. Ken show, as did Hyland.

But none of those guesses align so well with all of the clues. You can tie both the mouse ears and the cow to the Disney Channel original film Cow Belles, which was the debut for Aly and her sister — and our favorite guess — AJ Michalka.

The kitten suggests both her Catra role on She-Ra and her role with Aly on Hellcats. Plus, AJ totally dated one of the JoBros (Joe, in fact), so that vibe also makes sense. Oh, and that Hannah Montana connection could be that she has said sister Aly was offered that role before Miley landed it, while she was offered the role of Lilly Truscott.

Plus, we’ve still got last week’s touting that she’s an aunt now, so we’d be remiss if we didn’t also note that Aly gave birth to her son on April 21 of this year, making AJ Michalka a new aunt!

(“Africa,” Toto) Buffalos took advantage of their number for some ad-libbing and runs through the chorus to elevate this performance. Always a crowd-pleaser, they definitely stayed true to the spirit of the original while injecting it with their incredible harmonies and powerful voices. There was definitely a lot of intelligence in how they built this performance to both highlight their talent, and build to a crescendo that leaves the audience both satisfied and wanting more.

Clues & Guesses: For the semi-finals, Buffalos paid tribute to their children, who they said sing even better than they do. Do they sing together, though, Robin wondered. They talked about doubters at the start of their careers, but how staying true to themselves helped them achieve their success and allow them to be that example for their children and the next generation.

As they’ve spoken about their bond together before, Nick asked what they’d say to one another. One Buffalo replied, “Well first I would say, never in a million years would I think I’d even be in a Buffalo mask. But I’m glad I’m doing it with my brothers and the best friends I’ve ever had.”

Their Friendship Bracelet connection was with Jenny, with the word “Donnie,” referring to her husband, Donnie Wahlberg. “We go way back with Donnie,” explained one Buffalo. “And we also go way back with you.”

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.

After getting her friendship bracelet, Jenny reminisced about the groups Donnie has toured with as part of New Kids on the Block, zeroing in on Boyz II Men for her guess. She noted that they were there when she and Donnie started dating, with Wanya Morris even on a secret date with them early on.

Ken said that while 99 percent of him wants to go with Jenny to Boyz II Men, “One percent of Ken Jeong is gonna with Color Me Badd and I’ll tell you why.” That one just about cleared the dais before Robin dug deeper into the Babyface archives to find his brothers’ trio After 7.

Jenny quickly pointed out she has no real connection to that group, though, while her actual guess is in line with what emerged as the best guess based on the clues (and their iconic, velvety voices).

Riffing on last week’s clue about losing one of their own, 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. Oh, and Wanya has six children, four of whom also make up their own R&B group, WanMor, which hints at that next gen.

(“Beautiful Things,” Benson Boone) Wasp left it all on the dance floor with a tender beginning connecting directly with the panel before making his way to the stage and pouring himself into that powerful chorus. This was a tour de force performance that raised the bar on an already mind-blowing night of performances. His vocal range and control in different sounds and styles is unparalleled. Already a powerhouse contender for the trophy, he just upped his own game with this one.

Clues & Guesses: Competing on The Masked Singer has reignited that competitive drive in him that Wasp says was first awakened after his mother signed him up for a talent contest in hopes it might help him find his way out of the hood … and he won it! Even better, an “industry mogul” was in attendance, and the rest is history.

“I want you to remember your power,” he told his younger fans. “As you get older, never forget that child that you once were. Always keep dreaming and believe in yourself to the fullest no matter what, how dark it gets, how many times you fall. You can always get up and fly again.”

His friendship bracelet was for Robin, with Wasp adding, “I had a blast when we painted the town red in Nashville. We had such a good time, you remember?’ That left Robin scrambling to come up with who all he’s “painted the town red” with.

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.”

Thinking about what Wasp said about their time together in Nashville, Robin speculated about Anthony Ramos, though he didn’t remember partying with him and the only Nashville connection he could come up with was maybe Hamilton toured there. Yeah, it wasn’t great, with Robin admitting, “I don’t remember a lot.”

Jenny mused through artists like Maxwell and Jason Derulo, who has a “Heartbeat” song to tie to that clue, but Ken was feeling super confident that maybe, finally, just this once, he could be right and Usher would be on this show. At this point, we hope Usher does do the show so Ken can not guess him and still get it wrong! He did get a talent show connection as Usher appeared on Star Search.

As for intelligent guesses, though, we’re still leaning toward Mario. He was raised by his grandmother in west Baltimore while his single mother struggled with heroin addiction, and he’s previously talked about having 18 family members living in his house.

Ne-Yo wrote “Let Me Love You” for him, cementing that connection. He also starred in the TV adaptation of theatrical production Rent, giving us our marquee — and the ladder, too, while we’re at it, for its unique staging.

And while he can’t tout Star Search on his resume, Mario did compete at a talent show at Coppin State College at age eleven where he was discovered and signed by producer Troy Patterson, ultimately leading to a record deal with Clive Davis’ J Records in his early teens.

Before the first results, everyone got a bonus clue collectively from the three finalists with a friendship bracelet for Nick and a note that read, “From performing with you to attending your epic parties, all three of us have connections to you, the legendary Nick Cannon.”

As for the first results, the night just seemed to build from one great performance to the next, which is very bad news for Strawberry Shortcake. Jenny declared Buffalos the best performance of the season, but that was before Wasp brought down the house.

All of that means that Strawberry Shortcake’s passionate, heartfelt and gorgeous performance is further and further back in the memories of the audience and panel. Truthfully, all three acts were incredible tonight and gave performances worthy of advancing, but we’d definitely send Wasp straight through from here as he really was on another level.

After what was the closest margin in the history of The Masked Singer — by less than one percent, per Nick — the artist advancing automatically to the finale was Wasp. If the mask that was within a percentage point of them also advances, we could be one for one incredible (and incredibly close) finale!

Combining the Smackdown and Battle Royale format into something brand new, the Smack Royale sees the two masks competing by performing the same song back-and-forth at the same time, similar to the Battle Rounds on The Voice. Now, did they have to rehearse this in every possible combination, or are they just winging it?

(“Counting Stars”, OneRepublic) This was an interesting experiment that wasn’t completely successful in execution as you had to listen hard to hear if Strawberry Shortcake was part of harmony parts or if that was just Buffalos. It might have worked better in a true one-on-one. It also felt like the arrangement featured more of them singing together or on top of one another than in solo breakout moments. The end result was a round that felt a little more muddled than it should be and us more unsure than ever about who we wanted to see advance as everyone seemed to perform quite well. We will say that Buffalos appeared to put a lot more physicality and passion into their performances.

Another close second round continued to prove just how strong these semi-finalists are. It’s really hard to say definitively that either of them were in a different league than the other on the night, so we had to look back across the season.

The finale is a culmination of a season-long journey, so by that mark we would say that Buffalos gets the edge as they’ve offered unique, powerful and unique arrangements the whole way. In the end, the panel agreed, after calling the pairing a “Supergroup,” sending Buffalos into next week’s finale, and the end of this journey for Strawberry Shortcake.

• Robin Thicke: Kelsea Ballerini
• Jenny McCarthy: Sarah Hyland
• Ken Jeong: Joey King

The panel was moving in the right direction with Disney connections, but they seemed to forget some of the other clues, like that powerful sister connection, so they didn’t land on the right guess as it was indeed proud new aunt and sister to Aly, AJ Michalka under the mask.

Even though she was none of their guesses, AJ continued to touch everyone’s hearts with her farewell messages as Robin reiterated she was one of the best singers to ever grace the stage, while Ken recalled their connection while telling her how “incredible” she was on this show.

The Masked Singer reveals its Season 12 winner next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.