The Masked Singer Australia: Shock first reveal of season two is sporting superstar
Fans have been blown away after an Aussie sports megastar was unmasked in the first big reveal on the new series of The Masked Singer. Warning: Spoilers
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Warning: Spoilers
Fans have been blown away after Aussie tennis star Mark Philippoussis was revealed to be the celebrity underneath “The Echidna” in the hit reality show’s first big reveal of season two.
The Melbourne-born tennis champ had the judges and fans in a whirl when he dropped some major clues to his identity while he was masked up.
The Scud paid homage to his Greek heritage earlier in the episode with a rendition of George Michael’s Faith.
Panellist Jackie O had Philippoussis pegged from the start while Urzila Carlson and Dannii Minogue also suspected it was a tennis star in hiding, tossing up between Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios.
Dave Hughes nominated surfer Mick Fanning but said he was excited to see the mystery celeb was “the most handsome man that’s ever been produced in this country.”
When asked by host Osher Günsberg as to how he felt being the first eliminated, Philippoussis said: “I was bummed, I’m gonna’ be honest, I am competitive. Who doesn’t love to sing? I love music, it was an incredible adventure.”
Season two of The Masked Singer Australia is back and is already thrilling fans with its mystery contestants and outlandish costumes.
So what can viewers expect from season two of the hit show that keeps us all guessing?
THE JUDGES
Dannii Minogue is gracing our screens again as one of four star panellists.
The singer sparked a backlash by spending 14 days in a self-funded private residence on the Gold Coast instead of a quarantine hotel after flying in from Los Angeles on July 13.
Queensland has given similar exemptions to those in the film, aviation and oil industries, as well as consular officials.
“People didn’t know the details,” Minogue told News Corp’s national music writer Cameron Adams exclusively. “The outrage was because people didn’t know all the facts. I’m the same person, I haven’t changed, I wouldn’t ask for a ‘celebrity’ treatment or to have anything special granted to me. I went by the book, I made sure my priority was keeping everyone safe – everyone. That would never change, that’s how I am as a person. I thought people knew me a bit better by now.”
US actress Lindsay Lohan was a hit on last year’s show but will have to sit this season out as she is unable to re-enter Australia due to COVID-19 border restrictions.
Lohan has been replaced on the panel by South African comedian Urzila Carlson, a regular on Have You Been Paying Attention?.
“It’s not something I thought I would ever do, but when I got the call to say ‘Lindsay can’t make it because of Cyrus The Virus, could you step in?’, I immediately said yes,” Carlson said in a statement.
“I’m pumped to do the show, but I’m also upset that Lindsay can’t be the other panellist.”
Radio stars Jackie O and Dave Hughes round out the judging panel for the show, which is filmed at Melbourne’s Docklands studios.
THE CONTESTANTS
Network Ten has released some clues about this season’s mystery contestants, revealing that this year’s Masked Singer cast – spanning 12 celebrities – features a Hollywood actor, an award-winning recording artist, a triple Olympian and TV Week Logie winners.
Despite the quarantine restrictions, producers have managed to lock-in an impressive cast, News Corp Australia’s Sunday Confidential reports, with a Hollywood heart-throb, an Emmy Award winner, an internationally renowned singer and a few local comedians tipped to be in the mix.
The hottest name said to be joining is Hollywood star Zac Efron, who has been staying in Byron Bay during the global pandemic.
Other possible contestants include music star Keith Urban, comedian Anh Do, pop singer Dami Im, radio personality Tommy Little and actress Madeleine West.
Grey’s Anatomy star Kate Walsh is also rumoured to be featured on the popular show, however she remains holed up in Perth where she has been holidaying since March, unable to return to her home in New York due to the COVID travel restrictions.
THE COSTUMES
Last year’s season of The Masked Singer Australia took costumes to a whole new level and, judging by the teaser trailers so far, this season’s offerings are even more elaborate.
Season two’s line-up of characters includes The Dragonfly, The Hammerhead, the Kitten, The Wizard, The Frillneck, The Sloth, The Cactus, The Goldfish, The Bushranger, The Queen, The Puppet and The Echidna.
In the show’s teaser tailers, fans have been given a glimpse of the new characters. The most recent was The Puppet, who told viewers he couldn’t wait to “put on a show”.
“Our dapper little Puppet mask is here! He promises to put on quite the show for you all but who is under there?,” producers said in a statement, while introducing the latest mask
In a statement, Ten added: “Will Puppet pull on your heart strings, or will the curtain fall before he gets another opportunity to serenade you all?”
In another trailer, The Sloth made his TV debut.
“I have quite the way with words even if they’re not mine,” the Sloth said. While the Fish added: “Fishy fishy fishy WHO? Say g’day to GOLDFISH!”
A prickly green plant character dubbed The Cactus teased viewers about her identity: “When they hear my voice, they’ll be yelling – you ‘grow’ girl’”.
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Fans were speculating about the mystery celebrity behind another character, dubbed The Frillneck, after it made its outlandish social media debut.
This time, the theme was Australiana — a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by one fan who predicted that the mystery star behind the mask was Robert Irwin.
As The Frillneck made his dramatic debut with a showman’s attitude, another fan on Instagram predicted that it was Savage Garden frontman Darren Hayes.
Ten also kept fans guessing when it revealed The Wizard, looking like a cross between an octopus and a pirate.
Fans will be intrigued as the celebs battle for victory by hitting the stage and belting out some classic tunes.
In a video shared on Instagram, a mystery celeb disguised as The Dragonfly strutted their stuff and showed off the character’s dazzling costume and elaborate mask.
The star appeared to channel Beyonce with some serious diva-like moves in the colourful preview of season two of the smash-hit singing show.
The video begins with a shot of sky-high glam rock platform boots.
As the camera panned up, revealing electric blue leggings, the bejewelled wings of The Dragonfly were shown in all their glory.
The mystery celebrity then teased viewers by appeared to lift the heavy mask off before the camera cut away.
Ten’s The Masked Singer Australia premieres on Monday, August 10.