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‘The Masked Dancer’ Spoilers: Who is the Hammerhead? Zac Efron to Niall Horan, here are the clues so far

The very first contestant on the premiere episode came in the form of Hammerhead joined by his backup dancers. He began his performance on Backstreet Boys’ epic number ‘Everybody (Backstreet's Back)'

If you loved all the seasons of popular reality show ‘The Masked Singer’ then there are chances you might get hooked to its brand new spin-off series called ‘The Masked Dancer.’ Yes, Fox network has brought back the celebrity contestants in elaborate costumes and gigantic masks only here they will be shaking their tail feathers and will keep the audience and the panelists on their toes to guess their identities.

The premiere of ‘The Masked Dancer’ aired Sunday, December 27, 2020, with host Craig Robinson. The panelists include Ken Jeong, from ‘The Masked Singer’, world-famous choreographer Paula Abdul, Brian Austin Green, actor and former “Giraffe” Mask on ‘The Masked Singer’ and actress and singer Ashley Tisdale.

The very first contestant on the premiere episode came in the form of Hammerhead joined by his backup dancers. Without any delay, he began his performance with Backstreet Boys’ epic number ‘Everybody (Backstreet's Back)’. Dressed in a Hammerhead Shark outfit teamed up with a flashy gym outfit and a huge gold chain, the first yet unknown celebrity gave hints like he was a workaholic, loved coffee, got famous too quickly and also hinted at his swimming skills. Hammerhead also used the newly-introduced feature called ‘Word Up’ where contestants can use one word in their original voice to give hints to the panelists. He opted for the word ‘dramatic’ to which Brian said, “Maybe you are not a trained dancer but definitely an entertainer” adding that Hammerhead might be Zac Efron. Trying her guessing skills, Paula said Hammerhead might be Nial Horan or maybe even Joe Jonas.

The Internet was also quick to react to the season premiere’s very first performance. Social media began the guessing game on Twitter. One viewer couldn't imagine the One Direction singer being on the stage and sought to make that clear, “Hearing Paula Abdul guess @NiallOfficial for the Hammerhead on the Masked Dancer BROKE me.  First of all...not his voice. Second of all....I just can’t see Niall dancing around in the costume of a hammerhead shark with a GRILL. Sue me! Oop.” Another expressed, “The Masked Dancer is a bit cringe for me. Hammerhead is not a strong dancer but he tried. Paula Abdul makes the song. He sounds like Mikey Day from SNL, lol.” One viewer seems to have decided who the first celeb is as he tweeted, “The Hammerhead masked dancer is @MichaelPhelps. I will come back to this tweet when all is revealed to claim my detective medal and revel in my investigative skills #TheMaskedDancer”. Maybe, he might not be too far off the mark since among the contestants are four Olympic gold medal winners. 

This new series will consist of 10 contestants and they have been introduced as Cotton Candy, Cricket, Disco Ball, Exotic Bird, Hammerhead, Ice Cube, Miss Moth, Sloth, Tulip and Zebra.  The contestants of this series are said to have sold more than 38 million albums worldwide, 20 Emmy Awards wins, 20 Grammy nominations, 10 World Dancing titles, five New York Times Best-Selling Author titles, four Olympic gold medals and three Broadway show appearances.