The Masked Singer season 7 finale reveals Firefly, Ringmaster, Prince

SPOILERS ALERT: Don’t read any further if you haven’t watched Season 7, Episode 10 of The Masked Singer, Season Finale: I’m a Good Team, Thanks for Masking, which aired May 18 on Fox.

The season finale of The Masked Singer saw a battle of the good from which only one could emerge victorious: singer/actress/dancer Teyana Taylor.

The Masked Singer ended its seventh season with three finalists, all from Team Good, competing for the Golden Mask trophy. Behind the Firefly, The Goldbergs star Hayley Orrantia finished second as Ringmaster, while Call Me Kat star Cheyenne Jackson took bronze as Prince.

At Firefly, Robin Thicke and Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg were right about Taylor. Nicole Scherzinger thought it was Monica, and Ken Jeong guessed Alicia Keys.

As for Ringmasters, nobody guessed Orrantia. Thicke thought it was Maren Morris, Scherzinger went with Lucy Hale. McCarthy Wahlberg thought it was Hayden Panetierre and Jeong guessed another Hayley: Hailee Steinfeld.

And then Scherzinger did everything right as Prince by choosing Jackson. Jeong assumed Matt Bomer, Thicke thought it was Ricky Martin, McCarthy Wahlberg went with Ben Platt.

Taylor as Firefly (Round 1 winner) advertised: “Now comes the most important decision of your electoral life. Team Firefly or Team Firefly, it’s that simple. Entering this competition meant I had to face my fears and come out of retirement. I refused to leave. And being on stage has allowed me to shine brightly again. Never give up on Firefly and I will never give up on you.”

Taylor sang Usher’s “Bad Girl” as her last song. For her second track, in which she faced Ringmaster, Taylor performed Robin Thicke’s “Lost Without U.” Previous performances have included “Ain’t Nobody” by Chaka Khan [interrupted by coughing fit in first try]; “PYT (Pretty Young Thing)” by Michael Jackson; and “Attention” by Charlie Puth.

Final clues included a basketball net, a faded “M” and “5, 6, 7 (bold), 8”. Other names suggested for Firefly: Alicia Keys, Monica, Aisha Tyler, Keisha Cole, Lauryn Hill, Ciara, Keyshia Cole, and Brandy.

Meanwhile, second-round winner Orrantia finished her run as Ringmaster by performing “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles and then “Waking Up in Vegas” by Katy Perry. Previous songs have included Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb”; “Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj; and “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton.

Other previous ringmaster guesses by the panel included Olivia Rodrigo, Kacey Musgraves, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Alanis Morrissette, Zara Larson, Sarah Hyland, Noah Cyrus, Maren Morris, Hailee Steinfeld, Lucy Hale and Hayden Panetierre. Clues this time included a horse, a Disney-esque mouse, Simon Cowell, hail.

“I thought ‘Masked Singer’ would be a fun experience that would confuse audiences because not many people know I’m a musician,” Orrantia said Diversity. “However, music has always been my first love and I released music independently in between filming The Goldbergs.

Orrantia said she feels fortunate to have the Firefly costume, which is more flexible than some of this season’s other costumes. “At least I could move, but I wasn’t used to carrying the weight of the costume on me when I was performing,” she said. “It took some practice to get used to carrying all of that while concentrating on keeping my vocals as strong as possible. It was a little harder to catch my breath with the mask on, but since I had a pack of earbuds on, at least I could hear myself properly.”

Jackson as Prince (third round winner) said he found the show “was harder than I thought it would be. I wasn’t sure if it was live and I wasn’t expecting how hot and sweaty and difficult it is to actually sing with a big mask.”

Among the most difficult parts: “The weight of the mask, using your neck muscles to hold your head up when you should be relaxing them to sing,” he said. As for the conjectures of the panelists: “[they] drove me crazy every week. I thought at first they were going to go the athlete route at first because of my height and big legs, but then as they started to get the hang of it they started guessing at literally all of my peers. I was laughing in my froghead.”

For his final song, Jackson performed Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.” Other songs he sang were Ricky Martin’s “La Copa de la Vida”; “Lay Me Down” by Sam Smith; and “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder.

Prince’s references in the finale included a reference to “Glee” and that series’ creator, Ryan Murphy; as well as Broadway. Previous guesses for Prince have included Enrique Iglesias, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Enrique Iglesias, Niall Horan, Darren Criss, AJ McLean, JC Chasez, Ben Platt, Andrew Rannells and Ricky Martin.

Teyana Taylor as Firefly, Hayley Orrantia as Ringmaster and Cheyenne Jackson as Prince joined the roster of unmasked celebrities this season, which also includes En Vogue as Queen Cobra, Shaggy as Space Bunny, Kirstie Alley as Baby Mammoth, Rudy Giuliani as Jack in the Box, Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman as Armadillo, Jennifer Holliday as Miss Teddy, Penn and Teller as Hydra, Christie Brinkley as Lemur, Jorge Garcia as Cyclops, Jordan Mailata as Thingamabob, Duff Goldman as McTerrier and Joe Buck as Aries.

The Masked Singer entered its seventh season with 15 contestants divided into The Good, The Bad, and The Cuddly. This season’s costumes included THE GOOD: Ringmaster, Armadillo, McTerrier, Firefly, Frog Prince; THE BAD: Hydra, Ram, Jack in the Box, Cyclops, Queen Cobra; THE CUDDLY: Baby Mammoth, Thingamabob, Lemur, Space Bunny, Miss Teddy.

Season 7 contestants have a total of 112 film appearances, 15 Grammy nominations, eight Emmy nominations, seven Super Bowl appearances, two Hollywood Walk of Fame stars, two world records, and an attempt to destroy democracy by they plotted a coup and undermined the duly elected President from the United States.

As another change, this time the show’s panelists weren’t competing for a “Golden Ear” trophy based on their first impressions of each masked cast member (which McCarthy won twice, but Scherzinger won last season).

Here was the breakdown for the three finalists:

3rd PLACE: The Prince (“Team Good”)

Song: “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay
Voiceover this week: “My loyal fans. A vote for me is a vote for love. Finding the love of my life has taught me to put my past hard times behind me and put my heart and soul into everything I do. A quality I would like to pass on to my children. I want to win this for my family. And believe me when I say that golden crown means nothing without that golden mask. So choose me, the prince, and I will lead you to love.”
Previous voiceover: “Long ago I was a young toad who dreamed of escaping my little pond. I knew I had something special to share with the world, but it felt like nobody was listening. So I set out to make my little voice heard. But people only judged me by what they saw from the outside. Why couldn’t they really see the prince that I really was inside them? I’ve traveled to scary places and at one point felt like turning around and hopping home. But I knew I had to wipe my tears and move on. After years of struggle, people finally started to recognize my true talent. I had finally become the king I always thought I was. And now I stand before you, prince of the stage, king of my castle and future winner of Team Good.”
Previous Notes: “A long time ago”; Carnegie Hall; write notes; Pencil; Airplane; bats; Time; Give me five.
Previous interview: “I did this show because I’m from a tiny, small town where I wasn’t always understood. And music was my first love. Over the years I’ve become known for things other than music. But I wanted to come to a place where I can regain that original joy.”
Previous songs: “La Copa de la Vida” by Ricky Martin; “Lay Me Down” by Sam Smith; Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder
Previous panel guesses: Enrique Iglesias, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Enrique Iglesias, Niall Horan, Darren Criss, AJ McLean, JC Chasez, Ben Platt, Andrew Rannells, Ricky Martin

SECOND PLACE: Ringmaster (“Team Good”)

Songs: “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles; Waking up in Vegas by Katy Perry
Voiceover this week: “Ladies and gentlemen, step forward to vote for the sole ringmaster,” her voiceover began. “As a young ringmaster, my only passion in life was music. But as the years went by, the music fell silent and my life took a different path. But the Masked Singer stage gave me my voice back. It’s time to bring you the greatest show on earth and win this competition.”
Previous voiceover: “Looking back on the silver screen of my life, I remember my first day at a prestigious school when I was just a little treat. I was surrounded by some of the best of the best and I wondered if I would ever be good enough. And that made me work even harder. I’ve always done my own thing and my mentors wanted me to join the in-crowd. So I did. I’ve never been part of a group. And we tried our best to make it work, but I knew I wanted more. So I dared to do something completely different. And that has paid off over the past ten years. There are no clowns tonight. This ringmaster will be the center of attention in the final.”
Previous Notes: NASA, Hula Hoops, Laughing Emoji, “Welcome to Nashville”, Juggling, “B-“, “No” Sign Above Christmas Elf Doll, “A++”
Previous songs: “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus; “Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj; “I’ll Always Love You” by Dolly Parton
Previous panel guesses: Olivia Rodrigo, Kacey Musgraves, Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift, Alanis Morrissette, Zara Larson, Sarah Hyland, Noah Cyrus, Maren Morris

WINNER: Firefly (“Team Good”)

Songs: Bad Girl by Usher; Lost Without U by Robin Thicke.
Previous voiceover: “I’ve never been one to shy away from the limelight. Even as a young firefly, I loved dressing up in my mother’s clothes and entertaining my imaginary audience. Then one day, my mother encouraged me to come out in front of a real crowd: my neighbors. I even charged them to watch my show. And believe it or not, it was one of those neighbors that got me my first real gig. I’ve always been a shining star. I’m not just fire, I’m fly. Showdown or not, I’ll light the stage and let my voice shine, baby!”
Previous songs: “Ain’t Nobody” by Chaka Khan [interrupted by coughing fit in first try]; “PYT (Pretty Young Thing)” by Michael Jackson; “Warning” by Charlie Puth
Previous panel guesses: Alicia Keys, Monica, Aisha Tyler, Keisha Cole, Lauryn Hill, Ciara, Keyshia Cole