The Masked Singer reveals the Royal Knight and Sherlock Hound

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Masked Singer season 12, episode 9, “Peanuts Night.”

There was a lot to be thankful for this week Masked singer episode — not only was it the Group C final complete with epic performances and a battle royale, but the entire Peanuts gang hung around for all the Thanksgiving festivities.

After all, nothing says “Thanksgiving” quite like it A Charlie Brown Thanksgivingwhich has served over 50 years of family fun, traditions and memories. To kick off the episode, the Peanuts characters joined panelists Rita Ora and Robin Thicke on stage as they celebrated Turkey Day with their falsetto-filled rendition of Daryl Hall and John Oates’ “You Make My Dreams Come True.”

In one of the sweetest moments of the season, the panelists’ families — including Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg’s husband Donnie, Ora’s husband Taika Waititi, Ken Jeong’s wife Ho and dog Mocha, Thicke’s children and some of host Nick Cannon’s brood (we didn’t have all day, after all) — posted heartwarming and funny videos celebrating the holiday and their respective Masked contributor.

The rest of the episode featured the Group C final, with the celebrities giving appropriate Thanksgiving-themed clues and upbeat hits like “I Hope You Dance” (Strawberry Shortcake), “Holiday” (Royal Knight) and “Ho Hey” (Sherlock Hound ).

With Ding Dong Keep It On Bell already used up, two people had to go home to make way for one final quarter-finalist, and Royal Knight was the first contestant to be sent home. Guesses for her were all over the place — Ora picked Anna Faris, Jeong picked Kelly Ripa, and Thicke guessed Busy Philipps. In the end, McCarthy-Wahlberg earned herself another Thanksgiving helping because she correctly established that Royal Knight was a singer, bestselling author, and One Tree Hill star Jana Kramer (see our interview with her below).

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This sent Sherlock Hound and Strawberry Shortcake to the final Battle Royale of the season to each perform their version of “Shivers” by Ed Sheeran. In the end, the Sherlock Hound was sent to the pound, and some panelists had even more to be thankful for when it came to their guesses. Although McCarthy-Wahlberg and Ora were wrong with their guesses on Scott Stapp and Hozier, respectively, both Jeong and Thicke correctly chose former professional baseball pitcher and musician Bronson Arroyo.

Thus ending the Group C finals, meaning Strawberry Shortcake is the last quarterfinalist, joining Goo, Buffalo, and Wasp in next week’s “Quarterfinals” episode. Prior to that, Weekly entertainment caught up with Kramer to digest her Masked singer experience, right on how it compared to Dancing with the starsand what the latest update is on One Tree Hill reboot.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: As a recording artist yourself, what made you want to do it? The Masked Singer?

JANA KRAMER: I just thought it would be so funny. My kids and I loved watching the show together as a family. It was just one of those shows where I just thought, man, it would be so fun to just go up there and it’s such a wild idea, such a wild show, but just have fun.

Did your kids know you did it or will it be a big Thanksgiving surprise for them this week?

No, I told them, of course I had to tell them I was going to Los Angeles to film and that they were going to the beach with their dad. And so they were so excited and I wanted them to feel a part of it too, and see me in the costume or help with ideas and stuff like that. So it was fun to let them be a part of it.

Your masked ambassador was Savannah Chrisley. Did you get to talk to her or compare notes before doing the show?

Savannah and I have been friends for a long time and we are both crazy busy. But I wrote her and thought, “Hey girl, they showed me a list of people who could be my ambassador. Are you cool if you do that?” And she says, “Absolutely.” So we just texted and talked about it because she’s so into everything and I have the kids too. So it’s kind of one of those things where it’s just a text thing, but I love her and she’s a great girl. She just said, “Have so much fun, it’s a blast.”

You did too Dancing with the stars. How did that experience compare to The Masked Singer?

They were light years different in my opinion, just because I felt there was more pressure on Dancing with the stars than with Masked singer. I mean, right from the beginning the experience was so much fun. And I’m not saying that Dancing with the stars it wasn’t fun, it was just more pressure. With Masked singerit was like even the producers were saying, “Go out there and have fun. Just go pump up the crowd. Have fun.” And that was what it was all about. And you’re also wearing a mask so people don’t really know who you are. So it’s like you can really go out there and not really, I mean you still don’t care, but you also go out there and it’s not just on you because you can kind of hide under the mask, which is kind of neat. And so Dancing with the starsit’s all you and all eyes on you. Everyone knows it’s you and that’s why they already choose you from the first step you take. With Masked singerit’s like as long as you go out there and have fun – I mean, some of the best singers have gone home soon because they didn’t have fun – so I think it’s one of those things where it definitely just was more fun.

Attendees tend to tell me that singing with a mask is strangely gratuitous, even for the professional singers.

Definitely. When I do shows and stuff, I judge myself and I know I’m being judged on stage. And so with The Masked SingerI was like, I can actually just go out there and have a good time and not care what anybody thinks. And if I don’t hit a perfect note, that’s fine, because it’s all good. And I feel like I was better at singing with a mask on because I just didn’t have that insecurity.

What’s next for you and do you have any more updates on One Tree Hill reboot?

I mean, I’m not sure. Sophia (Bush) and I have definitely talked about it and they have some great plans for the show, so hopefully one day my character (Alex Dupre) can come back. But we’ll see. And I have two films next year at the top of the year. I can’t talk about them yet, but I’m really excited. So I have some really cool projects coming up that I need to get ready for. And then we’ll see what’s next, and then the podcast (Whining down with Jana Kramer) always runs in the background.

What did you take from yours Masked singer experience?

I think just going out there, whether you have a mask on or not, just to go out there and have fun. I think we take things very seriously. And the show is about just having fun and lifting people up and making people smile. And we can. We can do that anytime, not just on that stage. So I think it’s just about remembering how much fun it was and that we can still do it (in life).

The Masked Singer sent on Wednesdays at 8pm ET/PT on Fox.