The Masked Singer (American TV series) season 12

The Masked Singer
Season 12
Promotional poster for season twelve, featuring "Chess Piece"
Starring	Robin Thicke Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg Ken Jeong Rita Ora
Hosted by	Nick Cannon
No. of contestants	15
No. of episodes	8
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	September 25, 2024 (2024-09-25) – present
Season chronology
← Previous Season 11
List of episodes

The twelfth season of the American television series The Masked Singer premiered on Fox on September 25, 2024.

Season 12 panelists and host

Robin Thicke

Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg

Ken Jeong

Rita Ora

Nick Cannon

Nick Cannon, singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, television and radio personality Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, actor and comedian Ken Jeong and recording artist Rita Ora all returned from the previous season.

William Shatner, who portrayed "Knight" during the eighth season, appeared as a special guest during the first episode. Kevin Bacon appeared as a special guest during the second episode. Joel McHale and Nikki Glaser (who portrayed "Snowstorm" in the eighth season) appeared as guest commentators in the fourth episode. The Peanuts cast appeared during the ninth episode.

Much like the previous four seasons of the series, the twelfth season features the return of themed nights. Throughout the season, themes include nights dedicated to Miley Cyrus and the film Footloose. Additionally, other themes include a night dedicated to the toy-film brand Barbie, "60s Night", "Sports Night", "Who Are You Fest", and “Peanuts Thanksgiving”.^[1] "Soundtrack Of My Life" will be featured once again after having already been represented in the previous four seasons.^[1]

The contestants were revealed between August 15 and September 23, 2024.^[1][2][3] The season features 15 contestants divided into three groups of five.^[1] This is the first season since the fifth season to not feature smackdowns. This is the first season since the seventh season to not feature Wild Card contestants or contestants that join the competition later than the rest. Additionally, the "Ding Dong Keep It On" bell returned from the previous three seasons. The bell allows the panel to save one contestant from being eliminated throughout the three group finals and bring them to the quarterfinals.

On August 15, 2024, it was confirmed that former contestants such as Dick Van Dyke, Jewel, Ne-Yo, and DeMarcus Ware would appear as Mask Ambassadors for the new contestants throughout the season. Each Mask Ambassador has a connection to the contestant and serves as a clue to their identity.^[1]

The celebrities who competed in the twelfth season of The Masked Singer, pictured in order of elimination (L-R):
John Elway ("Leaf Sheep"), Yvette Nicole Brown ("Showbird"), Marsai Martin ("Woodpecker"), Paula Cole ("Ship"), Andy Richter ("Dust Bunny"), Laverne Cox ("Chess Piece"), Natalie Imbruglia ("Bluebell"), Bethany Hamilton ("Macaron"), Drake Bell ("Ice King"),

Guest performance: Panelist Rita Ora performs "Who Can It Be Now?" by Men at Work

Guest performance: Panelist Robin Thicke performs "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins

Group performance: "High Hopes" by Panic! at the Disco

• After being unmasked, Cole performed her signature song "I Don't Want to Wait" as her encore performance.

Guest performance: Panelists Rita Ora and Robin Thicke perform "Rock You Like a Hurricane" by Scorpions

Guest performance: Panelist Ken Jeong performs "I'm Just Ken" by Ryan Gosling

Group performance: "Fun, Fun, Fun" by The Beach Boys

Group performance: "Party in the U.S.A."