Nick Cannon has a “newfound respect” for “The Masked Singer” contestants after taking part himself.
The 40-year-old presenter missed out on hosting the first half of season five of the show after falling ill with coronavirus but made a surprise return of the celebrity singing contest in Wednesday’s episode, April 7, 2021, when the Group B contestants were joined by an all-new wildcard contestant, The Bulldog.
After performances from The Piglet, The Black Swan, The Chameleon and The Crab, as well as the new contestant, who impressed the judges with his falsetto rendition of New Edition’s “Candy Girl,” guest presenter Niecy Nash stunned the panel — Robin Thicke, Nicole Scherzinger, Jenny McCarthy and Ken Jeong — when she revealed there would be no vote and she herself would “decide who gets unmasked”.
The judges didn’t get a chance to make their final guesses, and The Bulldog was told to unmask immediately — revealing himself to be Cannon.
Following the shock over his revelation, Cannon paid tribute to Nash for stepping in to take over as host.
He said: “First and foremost, let me say I dedicated my performance to you because you truly are a queen, and you stepping in for me when, you know, during my sickness, during a hard time for me, and being able to watch you do your thing amazingly and shine here, I truly do thank you. Thank you so much.”
He also admitted performing as The Bulldog had made him super nervous “to perform in front of my people.”
He added: “I have a newfound respect for all of our masked crusaders, from season one to all of these people right here on this stage.”
According to Entertainment Weekly, it’s now been confirmed Cannon will return to hosting duties from next week’s show.
Later in the series, Rita Wilson and Chrissy Metz will be joining the panel as guest judges on April 21 and May 5, respectively.
Flip the page and watch Cannon’s big reveal.
