‘The Masked Singer’ Season 12 finale recap: Who won the Golden Mask Trophy, Buffalo or Wasp?
Two icons were unmasked on the Season 12 finale of “The Masked Singer” Wednesday night, but only one could take home the Golden Mask Trophy.
The highly anticipated showdown featured Buffalo taking on Wasp in a vocal smackdown for the ages. Each sang two show-stopping numbers before host Nick Cannon revealed the winner.
Season 5 champion Piglet (Nick Lachey) helped ring in the holiday season with a performance of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” before panelists Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, and Rita Ora sat down to play detective one last time. But could they figure out which celebrities were behind the masks? And who who was crowned the winner?
Wasp kicked off the competition with a heartbreaking performance of “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars. Jenny said he “pulled on their heartstrings” and she has no doubt that Wasp’s mother is “so proud” of him. For his next performance he turned up the energy with Whitney Houston‘s “I’m Your Baby Tonight,” showing off those slick dance moves he’s become known for. Jenny called him a “true master.” When asked what advice he’d give to young Wasp, he responded, “Wings are like your intuition. Trust them. Trust your intuition. Believe in yourself.”
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Buffalo sang “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye for their opening number. Rita was amazed by “the notes that were being hit” and added, “That’s not an easy song to sing!” In their second round they belted out a soulful rendition of Sam Smith‘s “Too Good at Goodbyes,” showing off their perfect harmonies. “What did we just witness?!” Rita exclaimed. Robin added, “Those harmonies make you feel like you’re walking through the gates of heaven.” One Buffalo got choked up saying, “It’s so freeing, I’m crying right now. I don’t even know why! This has made me feel that, with these guys, we can do anything.”
When it came time to reveal the results, Nick noted it was “very, very, very close,” but the winner of the Season 12 Golden Mask Trophy was… Buffalo! They became the first group in “Masked Singer” history to win it all.
As the runner-up, Wasp unmasked first, but not before the panelists each submitted one final guess: Jason Derulo (Jenny), Usher (Ken), and Mario (Rita and Robin). Wasp then revealed himself as Billboard Music Award winner Mario. Rita and Robin were right!
Next was the Buffalo’s reveal. The panelists were all in agreement that they had to be the legendary, Grammy-winning R&B group, Boyz II Men. And they were correct!
Buffalo now joins this list of previous winners: Monster (T-Pain), Fox (Wayne Brady), Night Angel (Kandi Burruss), Sun (LeAnn Rimes), Piglet (Nick Lachey), Queen of Hearts (Jewel), Firefly (Teyana Taylor), Harp (Amber Riley), Medusa (Bishop Briggs), Cow (Ne-Yo), and Goldfish (Vanessa Hudgens).