The new season of The Masked Singer started with a bang on Sunday night, with the first contestant revealed as an Aussie TV legend.
And after a surprisingly solid rendition of the Ed Sheeran hit Bad Habitsthe knight was unmasked as none other than veteran Neighbors actor Ryan Moloney – aka Ramsay Street legend Toadfish!
The knight’s clues had teased that he was “the closest thing Australia has to true royalty” – and we can’t argue with that. But despite his ubiquity on our screens for almost three decades, he got away with his brief stint on the show without anyone from the judging panel or seemingly any viewers guessing his true identity. With neighbors finally finishing up last week, could a new singing career be on the horizon for Ryan Moloney?
Here’s who else performed on Sunday’s premiere – and who we think they really are:
The Blowfly
In their clues package, the Blowfly was shown playing cricket, said he loves “cruising in his big V8” and proclaimed that he’s “Aussie as.” There were also a couple of references to “High Fives.”
The Blowfly then performed a gravelly rendition of Miley Cyrus’ midnight sky – and between all those ocker clues and the Barnsey-esque vocals, I’m pinning the Blowfly as former australian idol runner-up Shannon Noll – and many viewers on social media have the same idea.
The judging panel was leaning sporty though, picking Freddie Flintoff, Daniel Ricciardo and, er… Stevie Nicks (good try, Hughesy).
mirror ball
Some puzzling clues for the Mirrorball, who was shown standing in front of a Mexican flag and the number 48. She was also shown lounging on a piano adorned with framed photos of pulp fiction stars Uma Thurman and John Travolta.
Things got even trickier when the Mirrorball launched into her performance of the Olivia Newton-John classic Xanadu – sounding just like Livvy herself. Surely not?
Many viewers on social media have claimed the Mirrorball as former Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton, who was previously rumored to be a contestant on this season. She can certainly sing, has Mexican heritage-and she appeared in the 2005 movie be coolstarring… Uma Thurman and John Travolta.
And diehard Pussycat Dolls fans are convinced: A top PCD fan account posted a YouTube preview of the Mirrorball’s performance several weeks ago under the title ‘MELODY THORNTON ON MASKED SINGER AUSTRALIA.’
On the judging panel, Chrissie Swan guessed Olivia Newton John’s daughter Chloe Lattanzi, but I’m less convinced – Chloe is a singer but doesn’t quite have her mum’s high vocals.
Mel B seemed to have a brainwave mid-performance, insisting she “knows that voice” – she’s absolutely convinced it’s Aussie singer Samantha Jade. Given Mel B was a judge on the season of Australia’s Got Talent that Jade won, it seems like the most realistic guess from the panel.
Zombie
There’s an airplane theme to Zombie, who was shown in her clues package as an air stewardess. “I’m not as green as I used to be – or as orange. Would you care for a baked potato?” she asked. hmm. There were also references to opera singers and Wicked Witches among her clues about her.
The Zombie delivered an, ahem, limited performance of the Ava Max song Sweet But Psycho – to these ears, this seems to suggest the Zombie isn’t a professional singer – but many viewers on social media seem convinced that the Zombie is former Wiggle Emma Watkins. If so, um… first night jitters?
Chrissie Swan had other ideas though, guessing Broadway great Idina Menzel (Chrissie, I think you owe Idina an apology for that one). The rest of the panel were on the ‘non-professional singer’ wavelength though, with Mel B guessing supermodel Heidi Klum, Dave Hughes guessing Boost Juice founder Janine Allis, and Abbie guessing Aussie actress Kate Ritchie.
thong
According to the clues package, the Thong is an “Aussie icon with the background overseas,” who’s “better known for their work with M&M.” Oh, and they love fish.
Based on her performance of footloose, I’d guess the Thong is also another non-professional singer – it was a very Friday night karaoke performance. Chrissie guessed Bindi Irwin, Mel B picked surfer Stephanie Gilmore, Hughesy guessed English singer Dido (what? Why?) and Abbie guessed MasterChef and survivor star Khanh Ong.
This one’s got me stumped – it’s hard to pick when it’s clearly someone who’s not known for their singing!
And it seems there’s no real consensus among viewers on social media, with more than a few pitching their votes for Chrissie’s guess, Bindi Irwin.
The remaining five Masked Singer contestants will perform in Monday’s episode, with another celeb unmasked at the end of the night.
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