'The Masked Singer' Season 3: Astronaut is Hunter Hayes but elimination has fans say he was 'robbed' of a win

The country singer was a popular guess among the audience ever since Astronaut's debut on the show
(FOX)
(FOX)

Tonight (April 29) was the 'Battle of the Sixes' episode on 'The Masked Singer'. Kitty, Frog, Rhino, Night Angel, Turtle and the Astronaut were the ones competing against each other for a spot in the quarterfinals. At the end of Episode 5, the performers advanced to the next stage except for Astronaut, who was eliminated from the show after the studio audience's decision where he received the lowest amount of votes. It was finally revealed that it was none other than country artist Hunter Hayes under the mask.

His elimination was shocking as Astronaut has been an audience favorite since his very first performance on the show. Every time he's stepped on to the stage, he's garnered a lot of praise from the judges as well as the audiences. He had the singing chops and was a great performer too. Tonight's episode saw him perform One Direction's 'Story of My Life' and the audiences couldn't stop gushing over his performance. 

While Nicole Scherzinger got goosebumps during his performance, the audiences watching from home mirrored her emotions. 

An at-home audience wrote, "#TheMaskedSinger hunter hays singing story of my life by one direction is amazing I have goosebumps." While another one was caught in their feels after listening to him croon the emotion-packed song, "Did I just cry listening to the astronaut on #TheMaskedSinger sing story of my life? Yes...yes i did."

It's common news that the audiences have been guessing Hunter Hayes name for the astronaut from the beginning and him singing this song made it all the more special for a viewer who wrote, "Excuse while I freak out because #astronautmask (aka: Hunter Hayes) is singing 'story of my life' #TheMaskedSinger."

No one could've guessed that Astronaut would be the one sent packing by the studio audiences because he really brought it with his performances over the season but nothing could be said after the audiences sent Banana home in the previous episode. He was amazing throughout, an audience favorite and he was Bret Michaels, so no doubts about his singing capabilities either but the truth is he was sent home. 

After the elimination announcement, Astronaut took off his mask to finally reveal himself to the judges (who never guessed it would be Hunter Hayes), the studio audiences as well as the ones tuning in from home. 

It was a moment of sadness for the audiences at home and a lot of opinions trickled in on Twitter after his elimination. One wrote, "Wtf #TheMaskedSinger Astronaut goes home yet Rhino and Night Angel still there!?! Get outta here with that BS."

While another wrote, "Astronaut was robbed #TheMaskedSinger."

While another fan tweeted, "@MaskedSingerFOX I think the Night Angel should go next. Honestly, and not to be mean, she should have left a few weeks ago, and her beating out the Astronaut made me so frustrated #TheMaskedSinger."

"#TheMaskedSinger I seriously can’t believe Astronaut got voted off but Night Angel is still there!?!? WTH?" read another tweet. "Noooooooooo wtf how did Rhino and kitty go through but astronaut gets the boot???? #TheMaskedSinger," wrote another. 

What did you think of Astronaut's elimination? Let us know in the comments. 

'The Masked Singer' returns next Wednesday night on Fox. 

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