The Masked Singer winner has been crowned, and all three finalists have finally been unmasked.
Judges Rita Ora, Mo Gilligan, Davina McCall, and Jonathan Ross have spent weeks guessing who could be behind the masks, and now we know.
Only three singers remained in the final, Bigfoot, Cricket and Piranha, after the likes of Lorraine Kelly and Melody Thornton of the Pussycat Dolls were exposed behind their masks in previous weeks.
And now, Piranha has been crowned winner, while Cricket and Bigfoot were both been unveiled as Lemar and Alex Brooker, respectively.
After beating all the other celebrities in the competition, the singer behind the winner’s mask was revealed to be Danny Jones!
The McFly singer and guitarist, 37, explained his clues, including that he was from Bolton and the hint to The Voice, before saying how happy he was to have won.
He said: ‘I’ve had the most amazing time, I can escape behind here and just be Piranha and sing these songs. I’ve learnt so much, I’m able to sing higher now just from being on this show. I am so happy, thank you.’
Talking about winning, he added: ‘It feels surreal. Everything about this show and everything about what I’ve just done is completely surreal! I have become a Piranha, and no longer Danny Jones!’
He went on: ‘I think that the boys (in McFy) will be very surprised. I am my own worst enemy, so I’m always like, “That wasn’t very good”, so they always build me up. They’ll guess me straight away.’
Following performances from all three, Cricket was the first to be eliminated and unmasked, and after correct guesses from fans and judges, they were revealed to be singer Lemar!
Bigfoot followed in second place, and once again, the judges were correct in their guesses (apart from Rita, who opted for Match of the Day star Ian Wright).
The star was revealed to be The Last Leg’s Alex Brooker, who said he ‘loved’ the character and surprising his daughters.
‘It was just the most fun. I love the show, my daughters love this show, they’ve got no idea. Girls, this is where daddy’s been going all the time, this is why daddy’s been singing in the car,’ he said.
‘You did such a great job, you made everyone in the room fall in love wit you,’ Rita gushed, as Alex performed one final time.
Viewers were divided between feeling smug at their correct guesses and praising Alex’s incredible singing.
Lemar was the first Masked Singer finalist revealed, after the judges were insistent they knew who it was after hearing his incredible voice and putting together the clues.
The 45-year-old has previously won three Mobo Awards and two Brit Awards, which were both hinted at in over the series.
He also referenced the BBC show Fame Academy in Cricket’s clues, which shot him to fame in the first series, where he finished in third place.
On taking part in the show, he said: ‘I thought it was going to be fun but it’s been more fun than I could have imagined. I’m a fan of the show. Just getting to express yourself on different songs that people maybe wouldn’t expect, that’s been a lot of fun.’
Viewers were stunned at the unveiling, with many saying he was ‘robbed’ and ought to have made it to at least the final two.
X user @Niksssssss wrote: ‘Well done Lemar!!! You should have WON!!! You’re always a winner in my eyes.’
‘Lemar’s voice is just as amazing as it was 20 years ago absolutely shameful that he’s gone out to Bigfoot,’ @TotallyTonio added.
Cricket had kicked off the show tonight, performing an incredible version of Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles.
Clues for the star had previously involved links to sports and having had ‘success in my field’, with guesses ranging from Levi Roots to Jay Blades.
But in the final, the judges, joined by Gavin and Stacey star Rob Brydon, were convinced of ‘hip hop royalty’ with Davina, Mo, Rita and Jonathan all correctly predicting it was Lemar.
And fans were just as insistent, with viewer @ShakyWoon putting together some clues and writing: ‘Cricket is a trillion per cent Lemar now! ‘Dedicated’ is the name of Lemars album and ‘Don’t Give It Up’ is one of his singles! #MaskedSinger #MaskedSingerUK.’
@MichelleBoudin_joked: ‘Sorry but @simonwebbe1 and @Lemar are in that cricket costume together and you can’t convince me otherwise.’
While the audience and judges were still pondering on whether Lemar really was behind Cricket’s mask earlier tonight, Bigfoot was the second to perform.
Up until this evening, possible guesses for his identity had included Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint and Ted Lasso’s Nick Mohammed.
It was earlier revealed to Metro.co.uk that his initial idea for Bigfoot’s costume had to be altered, as there was the risk of the design hindering the singer’s performance.
But thankfully, his performance to Chesney Hawkes’ The One and Only was on form, and the judges were all decisive in guessing that Bigfoot must be Alex.
Fans were in agreement too, with @jotchambers writing: ‘I think Bigfoot is Alex Brooker but how cool would it be if we all got it wrong.’
‘The Josh Widdicombe clue with Bigfoot really made me laugh, I mean it is obvious he is Alex Brooker,’ @hannahoxoxox added.
After Bigfoot’s second performance to You’re Welcome from Disney film Moana, the judges were still convinced it was Alex.
The final first performance came from Piranha, who at the time still had people convinced they were a member of a boyband – and how correct they were.
Fans had previously guessed it could be Corrie star Shayne Ward, whilst others were focused on it being Danny from the beginning.
Piranha’s rendition of Lay Me Down by Sam Smith was hailed the best the show has ever seen by Jonathan, who suggested it was George Ezra, while the other judges opted for Tom Grennan, Glee star Darren Chris or Danny.
Viewers were thrilled that Danny was crowned, with @AlienBubblegoth writing: ‘Yes! I knew from the first week that it was Danny I would recognise his voice anywhere and I am so happy that he won!’
@DobysInBands17 echoed: ‘Yay congrats to piranha, so well deserved! I always knew how great a singer Danny Jones was but he took it to another level!’
The stars were hoping to follow in the footsteps of 2023 champion Charlie Simpson, who was disguised as a Rhino, and Ainsley Harriott who was crowned winner while dressed as a Partridge (in a pear tree) of the Christmas special.
The final elsewhere saw the return of The Masked Singer singers that had already been revealed in the past.
Cricket sang Rewrite The Stars from The Greatest Showman with Charlotte Church, who had appeared on the show previously as Mushroom.
Bigfoot then performed Dancing On The Ceiling by Lionel Richie alongside Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson, who was dressed as Phoenix.
The last duet was between Piranha and Natalie Appleton who sang Believe by Cher while dressed in her Fawn costume.
Ahead of the final, The Masked Singer copped backlash from angry fans who weren’t too happy with a common trait shared between the trio.
The Masked Singer is available to watch on ITVX.
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