Singers Jones and Williams knocked out
THE Masked Singer turned into Songs of Praise last night as Traffic Cone was revealed to be Aled Jones.
Also told to hop it was singer Michelle Williams – aka Rockhopper.
Their exits leave Panda, Mushroom and Robobunny to go through to next Saturday’s final.
Classical singer and TV presenter Aled, 51, was the first to be knocked out of the semi-final after his version of Escape (Pina Colada Song) failed to whet the audience’s appetite.
The Walking in the Air legend told the shocked panel he had “loved” being on the show, but quipped: “Can I go back to classical and choral now?”
Asked why he wanted to take part, Aled said: “It’s so uplifting and when will I ever sing Rick Astley and the Pina Colada song again? When will I ever dress as a cone again?”
Aled described the show as “bonkers and fun”, adding: “My phone has been buzzing non-stop but I managed to throw people off the scent.”
Destiny’s Child star Michelle was bookies’ favourite to be behind Rockhopper after fans were given clues to the group’s 2013 Superbowl performance. But the panel were visibly shocked when Michelle’s identity was revealed after they guessed Rockhopper was either Fergie, Jamelia or Nicole Scherzinger.
American superstar Michelle said: “There were so many clues you guys were missing, I was under my mask cracking up, thinking, ‘Please don’t guess me, please don’t guess me!’”
Judge Rita Ora declared: “You did so good, you confused the hell out of us… I have been listening to you guys since I remember.”
And fellow judge Mo
Gilligan revealed he’d come to work with Destiny’s
Child playing in his car.
Afterwards Michelle,
42, said she loved being able to cover some of her favourite songs without judgment and told how the show had boosted her confidence
“1,000%”.
She also said it had been horrible lying to her family about where she had been going and she was nervous at first in case her voice wasn’t disguised enough.
Michelle confessed she would love to wear her elaborate costume to “the Met Gala and Buckingham Palace for tea with the Queen!”
Last night’s show introduced a new way of announcing clues – with ITV newsreaders roped in to deliver them.
There was also a sprinkling of stardust when Dynasty legend Dame Joan Collins, 88, joined judges Mo, Rita, Jonathan Ross and Davina Mccall.
Earlier, Mo said the contestants were making things harder by changing their accents more often than before. He said: “They are changing
the way they sing now. People are really upping their game to not be sussed
out so soon.”
And Davina added: “The difficulty level is off the charts. It’s much harder this year than it has been before.
“The clues are much harder but I think they want to make it harder because it’s entertaining.”
Last Saturday’s episode saw Firework unmasked as actress Jaime Winstone and Doughnuts revealed as ex-england footballer Michael Owen.
Other celebs unveiled so far this series are Heather Small as Chandelier, Gloria Hunniford as Snow Leopard, Will Young as Lionfish, Pat Cash as Bagpipes and Tom Chaplin as Poodle.
Betfair reckon Charlotte Church is favourite to be Mushroom and make Amanda Holden 10/11 to be Panda.
The Masked Singer, which is now on its third series, has been another ratings winner for ITV, pulling in more than six million viewers. Last year’s final attracted a record 8.6 million.
The judges are thought to earn between £186,000 and £372,000 for the show – but many of the celebs are said to just do it for laughs.
The Masked Singer 2022 final is on ITV next Saturday at 7pm