After spending weeks dissecting the clues and hearing performers sing their masked hearts out, The Masked Singer (watch all of season 4 on CTV.ca and the CTV app now) came to its anticipated conclusion on Wednesday night. And despite the Christmas theme in the two-hour event, it was anything but a silent night as The Sun was named this year’s Masked Trophy winner.

There was not a dry eye in the house after Sun performed her final song, “The Story” by Brandi Carlile. And that included the performer herself. She tearfully noted that for the first time in her life it felt like people were finally seeing and hearing her for who she really is. It was a clue that made complete sense when she was eventually unmasked, proving Nicole Scherzinger, Jenny McCarthy, and basically the entire internet right when LeAnn Rimes surfaced. “This has been an overwhelming experience and I didn’t expect this to be this much work,” she laughed afterwards to host Nick Cannon. “It was a blast.”

Our winner @leannrimes brought the heat! 🔥

Check out #TheMaskedSinger Facebook page for her full interview: https://t.co/3xa8txi2tl pic.twitter.com/6PvJjPg4fS

— The Masked Singer (@MaskedSingerFOX) December 17, 2020

Was the entire world happy for her? It seems so. Even former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville (who feuded with LeAnn and her husband Eddie Cibrian for years) revealed that she hoped her kids’ “bonus mom” won in a tweet. With a voice like that though, how could LeAnn not win? As Ken Jeong pointed out, every song she performed took viewers on a journey. And in a finale that showcased the strongest power vocalists of all time, that’s definitely saying something. 

And the runner-up is…

That’s not to say there wasn’t some question as to whether Mushroom could sprout over Sun and catapult himself to a win. With his final performance, he laid out the ultimate clue: that he has a daughter and most of his costume and swagger was inspired by her. So much so that he sang his daughter’s favourite song, “I Wish” by Stevie Wonder, for his last time on stage. By the time the confetti cannons were done and the stage was littered with the colourful pieces of paper, it was clear that our previous guess of Jaden Smith was null and void.

Thank you to #TheMaskedSinger family for having me! It was a joy to be your Mushroom. 🍄 pic.twitter.com/RCGTJJyH61

— Aloe Blacc (@aloeblacc) December 17, 2020

Luckily “Nicole Sherlock Scherzy” and Robin Thicke (the biggest Jaden-backer of all heading into the finale) stepped it up with their guess of Aloe Blacc. And that guess wound up being 100 per cent correct when the “Wake Me Up” singer and Hamilton Mix Tape performer emerged. “Music is truly the language that connects us all and I got a chance to experience that and do just that here on this stage,” he said before performing one final time.

And then there was the Croc that rocked

Last but not least, let’s not forget Crocodile, the reptile that rocked the stage for weeks with his glittery pink swagger. He capped the season in third place, which is far from shabby. His final clues included the tidbit that he mowed lawns as a kid to buy his first album, Journey’s Frontiers. So it made total sense that for his last ditty he sang “Open Arms” in a way that’s maybe never been done before, bringing the whole audience to their feet. It was, as Robin noted, like he’s been waiting his whole life to publicly perform that song.

What a ride! #TheMaskedSinger #CrocodileMask 🐊 pic.twitter.com/fe7E5WA0UZ

— Nick Carter (@nickcarter) December 17, 2020

So what did the panelists have to say about his identity? It was clear Croc was a boy bander from the start, but which one had the panelists confused. However, it was Jenny (this year’s Golden Ear winner with four correct first-impression guesses), who nailed it: Nick Carter. Of course the internet knew it all along, but when the Backstreet Boy emerged it was still pretty exciting for fans everywhere. Especially because the singer was supposed to be on the show last season as The Turtle, but he had to pull out at the last minute because of a scheduling conflict. “I had to pull every trick out of the bag that I had,” Nick told Nick after the unmasking. “There are some talented artists on this show and I’m just grateful to be here.” So are we, Nick.

So are we. And with that, The Masked Singer season four is in the bag. But there’s good news in store. After a brief hiatus, the show’s spinoff, The Masked Dancer, kicks off its nine-episode, limited-event run December 27 on CTV. Then, this singing competition is scheduled to return for season five sometime in early 2021. Expect all four panelists and host Nick Carter to return as another batch of larger-than-life costumed singers make their debuts. 

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