Top Secret ‘The Masked Singer’ Clue Process is More Involved Than You Might Think
The Masked Singer has quickly become one of the wildest singing competition shows on the air. Fans of the show know all about how the various clues help the judges figure out who the contestants are, but the process is even more complicated than each episode shows.
‘The Masked Singer’ pits disguised celebrity guests against each other in a singing competition
Each season of The Masked Singer boasts a bevy of celebrity guests who compete against each other as singers. The trick is each contestant is wearing an elaborate costume that keeps the judges — Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, and Nicole Scherzinger — and the audience from knowing who’s performing.
Hints are given to the viewers about who each performer is, and the judges can ask questions to the contestants, but each clue and answer is pretty vague and sometimes creates more questions than answers. According to a show insider, this is all by design.
‘The Masked Singer’ producers do a pre-show interview to find out ‘stuff that’s not on Wikipedia’ to make the clue packages
Executive producer Craig Plestis revealed to People that all contestants do a pre-show interview to help showrunners “find out stuff that’s not on Wikipedia,” adding, “Then, we have what we call our clue producers who put all that together within these clue packages.”
He continued, “We try to keep a balance of several clues that will either be visual or story-based or actual words that will lead you to who that person is.” The clue packages — video clips that include narration of the clues — are actually read by the contestants themselves. So, what keeps the judges from guessing by the voices? A vocal distorter that all competitors use when not singing.
‘The Masked Singer’ crew makes contestants wear shirts that say ‘Don’t Talk To Me’
Plestis revealed plenty of other behind-the-scenes secrets, including the lengths the show’s producers go to to keep the judges and other contestants from guessing anyone’s identity. Obviously, the judges and singers are kept separate at all times, except when they’re on stage performing.
Contestants are also not allowed to interact with their fellow performers. When walking around on set, they even have to wear a special sweatshirt that says “Don’t Talk To Me” on it. This isn’t really to keep them from talking to anyone, but rather, to keep disguised contestants from getting confused for crewmembers.
The Masked Singer’s producers truly think of everything when it comes to keeping the performers’ identities a secret. The contestants can’t even drive their own cars to set, and if they bring a guest to a show taping, their guest must wear a disguise, too.
Some of the stars who’ve been unmasked on ‘The Masked Singer’ include Dick Van Dyke, Debbie Gibson, and Howie Mandel
The ninth season of The Masked Singer is currently airing, with the judges and viewers working overtime to figure out who is behind each elaborate costume. There are plenty of mysteries still left to solve, but some of the celebrity guests have been unmasked.
The famous faces booted from the singing competition show so far include Dick Van Dyke, Melissa Joan Hart, Malin Akerman, Debbie Gibson, Grandmaster Flash, Dee Snider, and Howie Mandel.
