Grammy Winning Hip-Hop Icon and Actor Unmasked

That’s not to say it was necessarily in the wheelhouses of Mad Scientist Monster, Nessy, or Stud Muffin, as the three remaining Group C guys appear to be from very different styles of music. Stud Muffin gives us hip-hop vibes, while Nessy has more of a pop rock sound, and Mad Scientist Monster is as country as they come!

Nevertheless, all four remaining masks took on the challenge, bringing to life songs from All-4-One, *NSYNC, Bell Biv DeVoe, and even Jenny’s favorite boy band of all time, New Kids on the Block. But who danced their way into next week’s Group C finals? And who had to say bye-bye-bye? You know the drill!

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.

(“Tearin’ Up My Heart,” *NSYNC) Nessy has pretty clearly established himself as a bona fide music star, but he went outside his usual sound with this one. We heard the range, the falsetto, and sounds he’s probably never had to make on his own music. But what really came through was a strong, rich, seasoned tone. This is a veteran who’s still got a great sound.

Clues & Guesses: For “Boy Band Night,” Nessy came out and shared that he had a pretty direct rivalry going with one boy band in particular, *NSYNC. Not only were they battling for record sales and on the charts, but for air time on MTV’s TRL. When Ken called *NSYNC his contemporaries, he quipped, “I’m pretty sure I dropped my AARP card in the bottom of this costume while I was dancing.”

Nessy then shared how he finally got to connect with the boys at a celebrity golf tournament, where they competed hard and he played “the worst game of my life.” Along the way, we saw Nessy fishing, *NSYNC on a stop sign, a cart with popcorn, gummy worms and (root?) beer bottles. He said that these days he misses the “friendly competition,” which is why he’s loving being on this show.

His concert merch clue came from the Nick Cannon T-Shirt Cannon, shot by *NSYNC’s Chris Kirkpatrick. Chris also shared his vibe was that Nessy was a country singer. The t-shirt itself was Nessy in a heart. “Just like the boy banders, I was also known for my love songs,” he explained.

In his first clue package, Nessy had us thinking of celebrities who live somewhere celebrities don’t live, with even his neighbors and mailman not necessarily knowing he’s the same guy who’s that other famous guy. Nessy called himself a “gentle giant” in this first clue package where he said he’s a “little mysterious” and intentionally “reclusive” on his acreage.

A radio with a star on it suggests either a musical artist — we can definitely hear that — or even a deejay with an amazing singing voice. He also polished a horseshoe, showed off a red card with white lip print, and his family rose from the waters behind him, hinting at a wife and three kids.

Nessy shared, “I took a lot of time off to be with my family. But then being able to come on here and be invited back into the limelight, that really feels good.”

Rita laughed off her own terrible Gene Simmons guess last week, upgrading it this time around to Dave Matthews. Jenny, though, tied the fishing clues to Hootie and the Blowfish’s Darius Rucker. Ken, though, considered Train’s Pat Monahan, who is an avid golfer.

Honestly, we still kind of like Ken’s Daryl guess from last week, as does much of the Twittersphere. He does live on 250 acres in a tiny community of less than 1,000 people in Millerton, New York, so it’s possible his neighbors and mailman don’t know who he is as a famous person. He even mentioned how private he was — a Hall & Oates Private Eyes reference?

As for *NSYNC, well, Hall and Oates had one of their biggest hits in 2002 with “Do It for Love,” which is the same year *NSYNC went on hiatus and released “Girlfriend.” Is that strong enough to be a rivalry like he talked about, though? Did they ever play golf together?

(“Poison,” Bell Biv DeVoe) Stud Muffin has better moves than a singing voice. He was able to maintain a melody and tune; he just has a very limited range and this song didn’t really suit his style. He was better on the rap breakdown, for sure, and he’s a fun performer on stage, but he’s definitely not an artist, per se.

Clues & Guesses: For his second clue package, Stud Muffin took it back to the original boy bands like The Temptations and The Four Tops, who then influenced their next generations, like New Edition, Boyz II Men, and Bel Biv DeVoe — the latter group once sent him a birthday card, thus him performing their first big hit.

He then talked about his own brotherhood, showing a picture of five stud muffins, who grew up and then “blew up” together. He said there was no limit to what they could do, but as with anyone at the top, there are then those who would try to poison their success. The five could definitely refer to an all-star basketball lineup, fitting with the athlete considerations.

Visual clues included a toy jet airplane and a pink wrapped package, before Omarion (Season 5’s Yeti) of B2K came out to shoot the t-shirt cannon. This shirt featured a list of ingredients: “Dash of sugar, “Sprinkle of flour,” and “A Grammy of gold.” Stud Muffin explained, “All the ingredients were there, Nick. I’m extra proud of this one.”

Then, Season 2’s Fox, Wayne Brady, offered an additional duck-tastic clue, calling Stud Muffin his “travel buddy” and saying, “He has shared the screen with Ken!”

When he first got a look at it, Stud Muffin was loving his costume because he said he’s “had a muffin top the majority of his life.” He’s also always dreamed of being a mascot, as you get to hype people up while remaining anonymous. In his real life, though, he reps his team, helping them “sweep up the competition,” going from the bottom to the top.

He shared that he started off sweeping the floors, though, while showing a jar of jam. Other visual clues included tennis shoes (with a basketball graphic on them), a weight room, and those hundred dollar bills he was waving around before throwing them around.

When asked if this fulfilled his mascot dreams, Stud Muffin told Nick, “One of my teammates used to run with a mascot, and I thought it was so cool, but no. Love the idea, but Nick, love doesn’t cost a thing.”

Last week, Nick declared that he definitely knows who this is. Then Rita homed in on the vocals, hearing Method Man, while Robin agreed, saying he heard Method’ signature breathing sound. Add to that Omarion feeling pretty certain, too, and it’s becoming a consensus. Method did blow up with the Wu-Tang Clan, though there were way more than five of them.

This time around, Jenny threw out M.C. Hammer before Ken said “it’s pretty obvious” that this is 2 Chainz. Rita, though, was standing strong again on her guess from last week, aligning with Robin and Omarion for the legendary Method Man, himself.

Method did score Grammy gold for his single with Mary J. Blige, “I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By.” We can also tie some of the basketball hints — and that five-person team, perhaps — to his Space Jam sound track song “Hit ‘Em High,” which he recorded alongside LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, B-Real, and Coolio.

(“Step by Step” New Kids on the Block) Yorkie is a little through her nose on the vocals of this one, but it was a competent karaoke rendition of a stone-cold boy band classic. She has good pitch and can find her notes, but we weren’t hearing the same level of energy in her voice as we see when she is constantly giving body, like the performance takes precedence over the pipes.

Clues & Guesses: Yorkie told us she knows all about boy band scandals in her second package, as she said she was adored when she first hit the scene until a scandal left her paying for someone else’s choices. Someone she loved was dragged through the dirt in the news, gossip sites, and everywhere else.

As a result, she had to rebuild her own self “step by step” to come back stronger. Along the way, we saw a “peach?” pie, gingerbread house, and billboards. Then, Chris Kirkpatrick returned to the stage to shoot a t-shirt to Jenny, who read, “Touring Up My Heart,” wondering if Yorkie has been on a comedy tour. The panel was loving her antics.

“Well, my life has been a comedy, and a tragedy, but right now it’s real good. Yeah, I’ve been around,” Yorkie explained. “All around the world.”

Without giving much away at all in her first clue package, Yorkie shared that she’s fashion-forward, sassy, and — yes — popular! As we saw a mouse on what looked like a classic cardboard party hat, Yorkie talked about how she’s been through a lot of “crazy stuff” in her life.

“One minute you’re hot, the next it’s your time to go,” she said while holding an oversized diamond ring. Throughout it all, she said that she’s had music, which rescued her in her “darkest hours.” We also saw a stack of poker chips as she talked about having some bite to her, which has helped her catch rats.

When asked who the real Yorkie is, she replied, “Well, I was down bad, but then a lovely lady in Beverly Hills adopted me and now I’m wearing Chanel and eating caviar.”

Ken was still getting Real Housewives vibes this week, and got some enthusiasm from both Jenny and Rita with his Teresa Giudice guess, referencing the RHONJ star taking a lot of heat for her ex-husband Joe’s legal troubles. Rita said that she knows her Paris Hilton guess is crazy, but she’s standing by it. “No, it isn’t. It’s not crazy,” Yorkie assured her.

Jenny, meanwhile, was also feeling the Real Housewives possibility, but instead went with Erika Jayne. That was our best guess, too, with the internet even more confident than that. Erika has appeared on Lip Sync Battle and as Roxie Hart in Chicago. Could that be the kiss? Plus, there’s that being adopted by that “lovely lady in Beverly Hills” comment.

Vocally, this one feels more right, with her line, “the price of poker has completely changed” about her tenuous relationship with estranged husband PK, possibly tying to the poker chips, as does her recent documentary, Bet It All on Blonde.

(“I Swear,” All-4-One) Mad Scientist Monster was able to stay country with this one, as John Michael Montgomery made this one a hit even before All-4-One. Interestingly, after blowing us away last week with his strong country tone, he didn’t sound nearly as confident or comfortable on this one. His voice quavered a bit, and just seemed all out of sorts, like the tools were there, but the drawer wouldn’t come all the way open to let him access them until about halfway through the performance. At least he finished strong, and reminiscent of last week’s star.

Clues & Guesses: For “Boy Band Night,” Mad Scientist Monster — or MSM as we’re calling him — opened up about falling in love with his wife, from the moment they met passing a bowl of cranberry sauce at a friendsgiving celebration.

As he told the story of their love and eventual marriage, we saw a grandfather clock with seasons passing across its face and a thumbs up, a sand castle, and a massive cruise ship. He also tickled a pic of Piglet (Nick Lachey) backstage.

His Nick Cannon T-Shirt Cannon t-shirt read both “BTS” and “BSB.” MSM explained, “It’s an honor to have won the same award as both Backstreet Boys and BTS.”

In his first package, we learned MSM almost didn’t wind up in whatever field he’s in now, where he says he’s “changed the world.” Instead, he was on the way to being the best in a different field, getting scouted and nearly breaking out.

But it all fell apart when everyone was wanting to recruit him, leaving him sidelined and costing him his chance at glory. But he reacted to that setback with a pivot that showed him his purpose. Along the way, we saw “Fast” on a radar gun for clocking speed, and a fish tank, along with all his experiments in the lab.

“You know what?” he said on stage. “This is so important to me because it gives me an opportunity to reintroduce myself to fans in a way that they’ve never seen before.”

This time, Robin found himself wondering if maybe it was Alan Jackson, but Jenny got fired by him for not being able to dance, and she’s pretty sure this ain’t him. But, she loves a love story, wondering if it could be Tim McGraw, who fell in love with Faith Hill.

Rita was on a similar path, guessing Nicole Kidman’s beau from down under, who she worked with on that country’s The Voice, Keith Urban. Online guesses have ranged from Scotty McCreery to Brian Kelley, Chase Rice, and, yes, Blake Shelton. But the most popular names going so far are Scotty McCreery and Joe Nichols — with no love for our Brett Young guess last week, we guess!

The problem we see with Scotty and Joe being that Scotty met his wife in kindergarten, while Joe met his while singing at his father’s club. Brett, though, met his wife through friends while in college, and they had a 10-year on/off relationship over the years before finally tying the knot.  Plus, he’s been open about celebrating annual Friendsgiving traditions.

We’re not saying we’re right, but Brett Young fits a lot of the clues, including the fact that he’s won Billboard Music Awards, as have BSB and BTS. From last week’s package, the 6’6″ singer also started out with a very promising athletic career, before pivoting.

A baseball scholarship for pitching brought him to Ole Miss where he was scouted and actually turned down two pre-draft selections by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Minnesota Twins. He was well on his way to a career in baseball when an elbow injury effectively ended it all. Last week’s clue duck even solidified it for us with “curve ball” and “pitch” wordplay about him.

Here’s the deal. Both Nessy and Mad Scientist Monster have proven they’ve got great vocal abilities, know how to deliver a performance and really connect with the lyric, the music, and the crowd. Meanwhile, Stud Muffin and Yorkie are both highly entertaining, but neither of them are going to go down in history as great singers.

Unless something crazy happens, they’ll both go home before this Group is finished, but for tonight, we’d have to give the edge to Yorkie. First of all, she’s an absolute hoot of a personality. We’re not sure anyone out there is having as much fun being on this show as she is right now. Stud Muffin is entertaining in his own right, but her energy just drove us a little harder this week.

It must have translated the same way in the room, though, for as entertaining as he is as a stage performer, it wasn’t enough to keep him in the oven another week. The timer has dinged and it’s time for Stud Muffin to hit the cooling rack.

His Crack the Case Clue Case clue is a street sign: “Stud Muffin District.” He explained, they named a whole street after us, me and my crew. Whoever drives down that street, it’s proof that I existed.”

• Robin Thicke: Method Man
• Jenny McCarthy: M.C. Hammer
• Ken Jeong: 2 Chainz
• Rita Ora: Method Man

Not for nothing, New York City did rename the intersection of Targee Street and Vanderbilt Avenue to the Wu-Tang Clan District, so that’s still matching up with the top guess going. And you know Nick knows who it is!

Rita and Robin proved they were there for him and were all he needed to get that mask off, as Wu-Tang Clan founding member Method Man was revealed. Rita was both thrilled to be right, and thrilled to be in the same room with a legend, telling him, “You’re a real person!”

The Masked Singer continues next Wednesday with “Decades Night” for the Group C Finals at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.