A Very 'Masked Singer' Xmas, or the most bonkers holiday special since 'Star Wars'

Lyndsey Parker
·Editor in Chief, Yahoo Music
Updated ·3 min read

‘Twas several nights before “Christmask,” and on Wednesday’s Masked Singer Holiday Sing-a-Long special, plenty of creatures were stirring — most joyously the Seahorse, whose vocal talent is the gift that keeps on giving this season.

Last week, when the serene marine diva was revealed to be none other than Tori Kelly, the judges were shocked, with Nicole Scherzinger even telling the two-time Grammy winner and five-time Grammy nominee, “I’m not going to lie, I’m gutted that you’re going home, because we thought that you could take the entire competition. ... You’re the best vocalist we’ve ever had on the show!” But Tori was back this week to prove Nicole right and practically prompt a recount, as she slayed — or is that “sleighed”? — the traditional carol “Sleigh Ride.” (Totally coincidentally, I’m sure, the artist formerly known as the Seahorse just released a holiday album, A Tori Kelly Christmas.)

The Seahorse won’t compete on Dec. 16’s Masked Singer finale, sadly. But Season 4’s final three merrymakers, one of which will soon win the Golden Mask trophy, were all dressed up in their holiday best this Wednesday to keep the holiday hit parade going. We had the Mushroom, who might be Pharrell Williams, crooning Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song”; the Crocodile, who is probably the Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter, rocking his scaly pink body right on “Silent Night”; and the ornament-like Sun, who is most definitely LeAnn Rimes (and most likely next week’s champion, unless Tori gets summoned back to the show again), rockin’ around the Christmas tree.

A few ghosts of Masked Singer episodes past — like Wendy “The Lips” Williams, Mickey “The Gremlin” Rourke, Bob “The Squiggly Monster” Saget, and the season-appropriate Snow Owls (a.k.a. Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black) — also joined in the freaky festivities, along with some backup-dancing bipedal Christmas trees (Anna Gasteyer, is that you?), prismatic polar bears, and candy/pimp-cane-wielding gingerbread-men. Viewers may not have had visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads, but this episode was so weird, they might’ve thought that the Mushroom’s psilocybic properties had sifted straight through the TV screen.

It was “the most joyful night in Masked Singer history” according to host “Saint Nick” Cannon, and probably the most bonkers holiday programming since the Star Wars Christmas special of 1978 — or at least since the Flaming Lips’ Christmas on Mars cult movie of 2008. And speaking of bonkers, Wednesday’s sing-a-long ended with the hardest-working man on Fox — current Masked Singer judge, future Masked Dancer judge, and I Can See Your Voice game show host Ken Jeong — suiting up in his own elfin costume, albeit a maskless one, for his somewhat arhythmic drum-majorette performance of “The Little Drummer Boy.” And while his vocals were nowhere near a Seahorse level, Ken sang from the heart. And isn’t that what Christmask is all about?

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