Queen of Hearts in the two-hour holiday themed Season Six Finale of THE MASKED SINGER airing Wednesday, Dec. 15.
Michael Becker / FOX
Fox’s The Masked Singer kicked off season 13 in February so Billboard is going back through every winning artist who unmasked themselves for the grand reveal.
Hosted by Nick Cannon, the singing competition series premiered on Fox in 2019 as a way for celebrity contestants to perform anonymously in head-to-toe costumes while clues about their real identity are given throughout the competition before they’re unmasked one by one.
Judges-turned-detectives Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Rita Ora and Robin Thicke have used clue after clue to get closer to uncovering who’s hiding behind each mask, but the final reveals always leave their jaws on the floor.
Over 12 seasons so far, a wide variety of celebrities have competed on the reality contest, from sports superstars to comedians to actors and beyond, but when it comes to the winners, they’ve all been musicians too. The very first winner was hip-hop crooner T-Pain, who left his trademark Auto-Tune behind to show off his pipes au naturel.
Below is a complete list of which mystery musician unmasked themselves to reveal the winner at the end of each season.
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Season 1
Image Credit: Oh they couldn’t believe it! T-Pain shocked millions of viewers with his Monster win to cap the first season of The Masked Singer, proving once more that he doesn’t need Auto-Tune to carry a tune.
Winner’s Costume: Monster
Winner’s Real Identity: T-Pain
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Season 2
Image Credit: Michael Becker/FOX Who was it anyway? Between being mistaken as Thingamajig or Fox, Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Let’s Make a Deal star Wayne Brady cut through the fierce competition and proudly lifted his snout after a stirring rendition of Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness” that was complete with an improvised rap about his 30 years in the game.
Winner’s Costume: Fox
Winner’s Real Identity: Wayne Brady
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Season 3
Image Credit: Michael Becker/FOX Defeating the likes of iconic singers Miss Monster Chaka Khan and Mouse Dionne Warwick and dusting off her finale performance of Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High” with her glittery hands, Grammy-winning songwriter, former Xcscape member and The Real Housewives of Atlanta reality TV star Kandi Burruss was the Night Angel in disguise after all.
Winner’s Costume: Night Angel
Winner’s Real Identity: Kandi Burruss
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Season 4
Image Credit: Michael Becker/FOX From her titanic opening-night cover of Lizzo’s “Cuz I Love You” to her tear-jerking covers of Billie Eilish’s “When the Party’s Over” and Kesha’s “Praying,” it was Sun that shone through and glimmered even brighter with the crown on top of legendary country singer LeAnn Rimes.
Winner’s Costume: Sun
Winner’s Real Identity: LeAnn Rimes
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Season 5
Image Credit: FOX via Getty Images When it ultimately came down to a three-way face-off between the Black Swan, Chameleon and Piglet, but this little piggy won the whole competition and revealed his identity as reality TV star and 98 Degrees co-founder Nick Lachey.
Winner’s Costume: Piglet
Winner’s Real Identity: Nick Lachey
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Season 6
Image Credit: Michael Becker / FOX A diamond in the rough! As the Queen of Hearts, singer-songwriter Jewel stole our hearts and won season 6 after a tight race against the Bull.
Winner’s Costume: Queen of Hearts
Winner’s Real Identity: Jewel
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Season 7
Image Credit: Michael Becker/FOX When up against the Ringmaster and the Prince, Firefly shone bright with covers of judge Robin Thicke’s “Lost Without U” and Chaka Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody.” The powerful voice proved to be none other than Teyana Taylor.
Winner’s Costume: Firefly
Winner’s Real Identity: Teyana Taylor
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Season 8
Image Credit: Michael Becker / FOX Harp plucked the judges’ heartstrings from her very first moment on stage when she make P!nk’s “Perfect” her own, right up until she cemented her season-long front-runner status with a performance of Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory,” which sealed her win over three-headed rivals The Lambs. The powerful voice underneath the gilded crown was none other than Glee and Broadway veteran Amber Riley.
Winner’s Costume: Harp
Winner’s Real Identity: Amber Riley
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Season 9
Image Credit: Michael Becker/FOX Like something straight out of Greek mythology, Medusa’s journey to the Masked Singer crown was a heroic one. Throughout the season, Bishop Briggs wowed judges with mystical, powerful renditions of Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” Rihanna’s “Diamonds,” Shawn Mendes’ “Mercy,” My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome to the Black Parade” and more.
Winner’s Costume: Medusa
Winner’s Real Identity: Bishop Briggs
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Season 10
Image Credit: Michael Becker / FOX Cow milked the show for all it was worth during the season, delivering hits such as Rihanna’s “Take a Bow,” Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation,” Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River” and more. Though Cow was dressed like a lady bovine — with lipsticked lips, dress, pearl earrings and red cat-eye glasses — it was none other than R&B star Ne-Yo under the mask.
Winner’s Costume: Cow
Winner’s Real Identity: Ne-Yo
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Season 11
Image Credit: Michael Becker / FOX Goldfish offered up clues to her true identity by performing fellow High School Musical universe alum Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” and a smooth-as-butter cover of Player’s 1977 AM radio classic “Baby Come Back”; it turned out the woman under the gills was actress/singer Vanessa Hudgens, whose 2006 debut single “Come Back to Me” sampled the Player song.
Winner’s Costume: Goldfish
Winner’s Real Identity: Vanessa Hudgens
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Season 12
Image Credit: : Michael Becker. ©2024 FOX Media LLC. On their route to the winner’s circle, three-person masked marvels Buffalos were all over the map when it came to their musical choices, from an impressive early take on Cutting Crew’s 1986 hit “(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight,” to a soulful run through Foreigner’s ultimate power ballad “Waiting for a Girl Like You” and a no-notes, touching cover of Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One.”
When the wooly heads came off, it was none other than Boyz II Men‘s Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris who triumphed over Wasp, fellow R&B singer Mario.
Winner’s Costume: Buffalos
Winner’s Real Identity: Boyz II Men