Final three celebs revealed as US music star wins Masked Singer

Three final celebs were revealed in the Masked Singer finale – and there was controversy as a US musical import won the season. WARNING: Spoilers.

Warning: Masked Singer spoilers below

The fourth season of Masked Singer Australia came to an end on Sunday night, with the final three masked celebs’ identities finally revealed.

But there was some controversy surrounding this season’s winner, after a miracle last-minute guess from the famously clueless Dave Hughes had some viewers smelling a rat.

Mirrorball, Rooster and Snapdragon were the three contestants still left in the competition – and the Mirrorball took out the season, unmasked as former Pussycat Dolls member Melody Thornton.

Mirrorball is … Melody Thornton (she was a Pussycat Doll).

The 37-year-old singer was pegged as the star inside the Mirrorball costume before the season even began, thanks to eagle-eared PCD fans who could pick her voice from the pre-release ads.

But her name never came up among the judges all season – with Mel B instead frequently guessing she was her former PCD bandmate Nicole Scherzinger. Nicole was always PCD’ lead singer, with the other members (including strong vocalist Melody) barely having any solo lines.

Dave Hughes got one right!

Which made judge Dave Hughes’ sudden guess of Thornton after her final performance come as a shock – particularly given his habit of making outlandish guesses throughout the season.

Some viewers questioned how Hughes would suddenly pick the winner after a season of clangingly wrong guesses, asking whether Hughes was perhaps fed the guess so viewers wouldn’t ask “who?” when Thornton was unmasked:

Absolutely ridiculous. So obvious they’ve told Hughesy to say Melody Thornton. They’ve built it up for him to finally get one right #MaskedSingerAU

— 𝒥𝒥 (@AcousticAri) August 28, 2022

There’s no way Dave would know who melody Thornton is. Hell, if it wasn’t for her upstaging Nicole shersawerser, I don’t think I’d know her either and I was in peak pussycat dolls demographic. #MaskedSingerAU

— Georgia Duncan (@_georgiarae) August 28, 2022

That was so off-brand you get the feeling Hughesy was fed Melody Thornton’s name so viewers have time to Google her before the final. They should have at least kept Michelle Williams in for the grand final as there’s no genuine ‘star’ left #MaskedSingerAU

— cameron adams (@cameron_adams) August 28, 2022

The producers definitely would’ve told Dave Hughes to guess Melody Thornton because:

a) They want him to finally get one right
b) It would be kind of sad if no one guessed her all season (and instead guessed Nicole)
c) As if Hughesy listened to Don’t Cha#MaskedSingerAU

— Lachlan Guertin (@LachlanGuertin) August 28, 2022

There is no way Hughesy knew who Melody Thornton was until he was told to say her name 5 minutes before they shot this #MaskedSingerAU

— Dr Mantis Toboggan (@MantisT40435689) August 28, 2022

Lets be honest, Dave Hughes has no flipping idea who Melody Thornton is. #MaskedSingerAU

— Nez 🇺🇦 (@fraggle73) August 28, 2022

You’re telling me Hughesy knows who MELODY THORNTON is? #MaskedSingerAUpic.twitter.com/8jibuJpqNF

— Andrew (@AndrewPatrick_) August 28, 2022

Coming in second, the Snapdragon was unmasked as Sheldon Riley – the distinctively-voiced former The Voice and The X Factor contestant and Eurovision entrant who was picked by many fans way back in the first episode (and soon figured during the season out by judge Chrissie Swan).

It seemed like the show provided a bit of an awakening for the 23-year-old powerhouse vocalist, who has usually performed in masks in the past in his own career but said that, post-Masked Singer, he had more confidence to perform as himself.

The Snapdragon is … Sheldon Riley.

And coming in third was the Rooster, perhaps this season’s biggest surprise package, with singer and actor Hugh Sheridan disguising his voice from episode to episode to throw judges and fans off the trail. One judge had figured him out, though, with Abbie Chatfield positive it was Sheridan from early in the costume.

The Rooster is … Hugh Sheridan.

Sheridan confessed he “tried very hard” throughout the season to disguise his voice – and also said he’d initially suffered such bad claustrophobia in the Rooster costume that he feared he might quit the show.

Melody Thornton now joins the small list of Masked Singer Australia winners: Singer turned swimming champ Cody Simpson, singer and actress Bonnie Anderson, and US pop queen Anastacia.

Sunday’s finale closes out a big season of The Masked Singer, which has mixed local celebs with a handful of international stars – including arguably the biggest “get” in the show’s history with former Destiny’s Child superstar, Michelle Williams.

Here’s the full rundown of everyone revealed this season:

Episode 1: Neighbours actor Ryan Moloney

Episode 2: Swimming champ Lisa Curry

Episode 3: Aussie actress Pia Miranda

Episode 4: TV presenter Jamie Durie

Episode 5: Former Wiggle Emma Watkins

Episode 6: TV judge and food critic Matt Preston

Episode 7: Aussie pop singer Sam Sparro

Episode 8: Australian Idol star Shannon Noll

Episode 9: Destiny’s Child star Michelle Williams

Episode 10: US TV actress Tori Spelling

Finale: Sheldon Riley, Hugh Sheridan and Melody Thornton.

Between them, this season’s new judges have had a dream run of correct guesses.

How many did you correctly guess through the season? I had my annual first-week stab at guessing the identities of the celebs who’d performed so far – and this year, I got six out of the eight I guessed correct (minus points for haphazardly guessing the Rooster was John Farnham, not Hugh Sheridan).

The new-look judging panel have been surprisingly bang-on with their guesses too, with Chrissie Swan enjoying a mid-season winning streak in which she correctly identified three contestants in a row, while Abbie Chatfield and Mel B have both correctly guessed at least a couple of contestants.

OG judge Dave Hughes remains enjoyably terrible at the game (Pavarotti, anyone?) – and jokingly warned his new colleagues that anyone too good might not be asked back next season.

Originally published as Final three celebs revealed as US music star wins Masked Singer