‘The Masked Singer’ Season 12 Finale Recap: Winner, Runner Up Revealed

SPOILER ALERT: Details follow for “The Masked Singer” season 12, episode 12, “Finale: Champion Is Crowned,” which aired Wednesday, Dec. 18, on Fox.

Although we have reached the end of the road, we cannot let go. On this one sweet day, Motownphilly is back again: Boyz II Men (as Buffalo) won Season 12 of Fox’s “The Masked Singer.” It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday, but this win makes Boyz II Men the first group ever to win the masked trophy.

Boyz II Men beat out Mario as the Wasp who was this season’s runner-up. Among the panelists, it was unanimous: everyone agreed that the buffaloes were Boyz II Men. Meanwhile, for Mario as a wasp, both Rita Ora and Robin Thicke got it right. Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg guessed Jason Derulo. Ken Jeong said it was Usher.

Boyz II Men’s Wanyá Morris told Variety that the group has been asked numerous times to compete on “The Masked Singer,” but scheduling issues have made it difficult to do so until now.

“And then one time I got COVID,” he added. “But it was something we realized they wouldn’t stop asking us about. So we decided to do it.”

Morris said the group initially hid their votes with a plan to get voted out quickly “so we can spend our two weeks off without having to work. But when we got there, we saw there were good singers there, and the energy level was high. It seemed to be a very fun atmosphere. And we were like, let’s stay a little longer.”

It wasn’t easy though, as Nathan Morris noted, the costumes made it difficult: “They’re heavy, they’re hot, it’s hard to breathe. You can’t see anything but what’s literally right in front of you. And that must be far away. So it was a struggle, and the hardest part for us, because it was a singing show, was the fact that the microphone is on the head of the mascot. But it’s still two meters away from your microphone try to get your vote there and controlling the bends and everything was very difficult. It was a learning curve.”

Boyz II Men sang “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye and “Too Good At Goodbyes” by Sam Smith as their final tracks. The group had previously performed “(I Just) Died In Your Arms,” ​​by Cutting Crew; “Waiting For a Girl Like You,” by Foreigner; “Bittersweet Symphony,” by The Verve; “You’re Still The One,” by Shania Twain; and “Africa” ​​by Toto.

The group said they are considering adding some of these songs to their performing repertoire. “All the songs showed our ability to show people that we’re more than just R&B singers, which is what we’ve always wanted to do,” said Shawn Stockman. “This allowed us to really stretch out in a way where we wouldn’t be ostracized or seen as uncool or corny. We listen to R&B, we listen to pop, we listen to rock, we listen to all kinds of music in our private time. And that was probably the only time we were allowed to express that in our entire career.”

The finale opened with Season 5 winner Nick Lachey performing “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams.

Boyz II Men as Buffalo and Mario as Wasp join AJ Michalka as Strawberry Shortcake; Kobie Turner as Goo, Jana Kramer as Royal Knight, Bronson Arroyo as Sherlock Hound, Drake Bell as Ice King, Bethany Hamilton as Macaron, Natalie Imbruglia as Bluebell, Laverne Cox as Chess Piece, Andy Richter as Dusty Bunny, Paula Cole as Ship, Marsai Martin as Woodpecker, Yvette Nicole Brown as Showbird and John Elway as Leaf Sheep as celebrities revealed on “The Masked Singer” Season 12.

Returning for season 12 was host Nick Cannon, along with panelists Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke, while Ora also returned to the desk for the second season in a row to fill in for Nicole Scherzinger.

“The Masked Singer” Season 12 themed episodes included tributes to Mattel’s Barbie as it turns 65 and the movie “Footloose” as it marks its 40th anniversary. Miley Cyrus was honored with an episode dedicated to her music catalog, while also new was a “Who Are You Fest,” featuring music from “memorable festival lineups,” as well as a “Sports Night” and a “60s Night.” Tentpole themes that remained include “Soundtrack of My Life” and “Thanksgiving Night”.

New this season, the tracks were “strategically embedded in costumes, in song choices and moments on stage.” And the fifteen celebrity contestants were endorsed by a “celebrity masked ambassador”, made up of past contestants including Dick Van Dyke (season 9’s Gnome), Jewel (season 6 winner as Queen of Hearts), Ne-yo (season 10 winner as the Cow) and DeMarcus Ware (Season 11’s Koala). And the “Ding Dong Keep It On” bell returned this year, but only one singer across the three group finals could be saved.

Season 12 featured 15 contestants appearing in new costumes, including “Ship”, “Leaf Sheep”, “Woodpecker”, “Chess Piece”, “Bluebell”, “Buffalo”, “Showbird”, “Dust Bunny”, ” Goo”, “Strawberry Shortcake”, “Wasp”, “Sherlock Hound”, “Royal Knight”, “Ice King” and “Macaron”.

Here were the performances in Wednesday’s episode 12, “Finale: Champion Is Crowned”:

WINNER: Buffalo

Song: “Somebody That I Used to Know,” by Gotye; “Too Good At Goodbyes,” by Sam Smith

The panel’s guess: Boyz II Men, Bell Biv DeVoe, Tony! Tony! Tone!

How liberating was being Buffalo?: “So liberating. I’m crying right now. And I don’t even know why. It’s made me feel with these guys, we can do anything.”

Buffalo voiceover: “Honestly, we feel a little emotional being here for the final. Yeah, it’s been an opportunity to rediscover ourselves and our bond in a really cool way. I feel like we had to adjust a lot in our careers .But adaptability has been the name of the game since the jump. We had to overcome the passing of one of the most important people in our lives. We even had to change our sound. when we lost one member. This has been for our fans, for our kids. And see you Nick Lachey, for vouching for us as our ambassador. We hope to follow in your winning footsteps tonight. We are the ones you used to know, still know and always will know. Maybe for another three decades to come.”

Previous songs: “(I Just) Died In Your Arms,” ​​by Cutting Crew; “Waiting For a Girl Like You,” by Foreigner; “Bittersweet Symphony,” by The Verve; “You’re Still The One,” by Shania Twain; “Africa,” by Toto

Previous panel guesses: B2K, Earth Wind and Fire, 98 Degrees, Bell Biv DeVoe, 112, Boyz II Men, Big Time Rush, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Black Eyed Peas, Temptations, Tony! Tony! Toné!, Blackstreet, Color Me Badd, After 7

Wasp

Song: “When I Was Your Man,” by Bruno Mars; “I’m Your Baby Tonight,” by Whitney Houston

The panel’s guess: Daveed Diggs, Usher, Bruno Mars, Frank Ocean, Jason Derulo, Taye Diggs, Miguel, Mario, Anthony Ramos

What would you say to Young Wasp: “Your wings are like your intuition. Trust them. Believe in yourself.”

Wasp’s voiceover: “Getting to the finals means more to me than I can explain. This experience has felt like it was made for me. Like I’m finally getting the recognition I’ve been longing for. For a long time in this industry I felt underappreciated . I started building my empire at a young age. I was dominating the charts and collaborating with a bunch of Masked Singer alums, and of course my ambassador, Ne-Yo have been asking for advice all the time. But I still feel like the industry hasn’t realized how big my talent is. I feel like I’m constantly overlooked at times and like people still see me as the cute little kid . They don’t know the depth of my talent. I felt the opposite. It somehow made it feel more real something I will bring tonight. Like the wasp, I have been exposed to all that I am in. The power, my vulnerability. I give you everything and the fact that you all noticed makes me feel like I can float. I feel like my mother is here with me tonight in spirit, and she has given me wings for the last two performances. I hope she’s proud. And if I can take that trophy home, it would mean I can show that her baby can win tonight.

Previous songs: “Rock Your Body,” by Justin Timberlake; “Skyscraper,” by Demi Lovato; “Ain’t No Way,” by Aretha Franklin; “Standing Next to You,” by Jungkook; “Beautiful Things,” by Benson Boone

Previous panel guesses: Taye Diggs, Bruno Mars, Jason Derulo, Miguel, Frank Ocean, Daveed Diggs, Mario, Craig David, Eric Benét, Usher, Maxwell, Anthony Ramos

Last season’s performers included Vanessa Hudgens, who won the Season 11 crown as Goldfish, beating Scott Porter, who had appeared as Gumball. Other cast included Thelma Houston (Clock), Chrissy Metz (Poodle Moth), Corey Feldman (Seal) and Clay Aiken/Ruben Studdard (Beets), Jenifer Lewis (Miss Cleocatra), Kate Flannery (Starfish), Charlie Wilson (Ugly Sweater) , DeMarcus Ware (Koala), Colton Underwood (Love Bird), Sisqó (Lizard), Billy Bush (Sir Lion), Joe Bastianich (Spaghetti & Meatballs), Savannah Chrisley (Afghan Hound) and Kevin Hart (book).

“The Masked Singer” comes from Fox Alternative Entertainment. Rosie Seitchik, Craig Plestis and Cannon are executive producers, while Seitchik serves as showrunner. The series is based on the South Korean format created by Mun Hwa Broadcasting Corp.