The following contains spoilers for the Season 7 finale of The Masked Singer.
Despite first hitting American televisions in the beginning of 2019, The Masked Singer has amassed an impressive seven seasons in just over three years, with the Season 7 finale crowning a new winner this week. The wacky singing competition featuring over-the-top costumes and real powerhouse vocal performances has been one of Fox's most popular shows since its inception. The format is easy enough to follow: celebrity contestants don elaborate costumes to conceal their identity during performances while a panel of judges tries to discern who exactly is behind each mask. At the root of it, The Masked Singer is lighthearted, entertaining television, though that doesn't mean it hasn't been polarizing in its own way.
Season 7 of The Masked Singer, the show's most recent cycle, was no stranger to controversy, facing backlash over the casting news of Rudy Giuliani (the former New York mayor attached to Donald Trump's presidential re-election campaign in 2020). However, the Season 7 finale was packed with outstanding performances that brought both the judges and the contestants to tears, as well as a shocking double elimination. Despite sitting at only an hour long, the finale was filled with two different performance rounds, and therefore two eliminations; a different route than The Masked Singer has taken with its finales previously.
The first round of performances saw the Prince, Ringmaster and Firefly battling it out with various hits by Coldplay, Usher and six-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles, though fans were disappointed to see favorite -- and front-runner -- the Prince eliminated first. Judge Nicole Scherzinger was the only one to correctly guess his identity prior to the ultimate reveal that the Prince was Cheyenne Jackson. In addition to starring in American Horror Story, Jackson also boasts an impressive Broadway background, even crediting himself as a "singer first" in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. It makes sense that someone with such stage presence and a strong live-performance background would be so successful on The Masked Singer -- though it was amusing to see judge Ken Jeong coincidentally guess it was Jackson's American Horror Story costar Matt Bomer under the Prince mask instead.
This left Firefly and Ringmaster going head to head in the final performance round of the evening. First up was Firefly with a rousing rendition of Robin Thicke's "Lost Without U," a risky move considering that Thicke also sits on the panel of Masked Singer judges. The risk seemed to pay off, however, as Thicke was visibly choked up after the performance, with Firefly clearly emotional underneath her costume as well. Following this emotional moment was Ringmaster with an upbeat change of pace, performing Katy Perry's "Waking Up in Vegas."
Despite both performers delivering strong performances and establishing themselves as front-runners over the course of Season 7, Firefly was ultimately crowned the winner. However, in Masked Singer tradition, the runner-up was unmasked first. The judges had some wild guesses for who they imagined was under the Ringmaster's mask, though none could discern actress and singer Hayley Orrantia, star of The Goldbergs. When the time came to reveal the winner, both Robin Thicke and Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg correctly guessed R&B singer-songwriter Teyana Taylor. Boasting an impressive resume including choreography, acting and modeling credits, Taylor established a successful career for herself working with music heavyweights like Pharrell Williams and Kanye West. Unfortunately, Taylor took to Instagram towards the end of 2020 to announce her retirement from music.
Citing feelings of unappreciation and a lack of inspiration as her reasons for stepping away from the industry, Taylor's victorious turn on The Masked Singer will hopefully help to absolve any doubts in her mind of her skill or ability. Winning over the ears and hearts of the judges -- and American viewers -- is no easy feat, though Taylor's Firefly belted her way into everyone's hearts throughout Season 7 of The Masked Singer. Despite yet another season coming to a close, fans of the reality series won't have to wait long, as Season 8 looms around the corner. Though there hasn't been official confirmation of a filming or release date, The Masked Singer typically releases two seasons per year -- one in the Spring and another in the Fall -- so it's safe to say fans will get their fix of wacky costumes and entertaining performances sooner rather than later.
All seven seasons of The Masked Singer are available to stream on Hulu.