‘The Masked Singer’ Season 4 Finale Spoilers: Will the Sun be crowned the winner? Decoding all clues and hints
'The Masked Singer' Season 4 is drawing to a close this week. Three masks: the Sun, the Crocodile, and the Mushroom are left standing in the finale, each of them very strong and very capable to bag the golden mask trophy if we are going to judge them for the talent they possess. Predicting the winner on the basis of popularity that the finalists enjoy wouldn't yield the best guess at this point. With the shocking elimination of fan-favorite, the Seahorse (that was later revealed as Tori Kelly), from the competition in the semifinal episode after being defeated by the Crocodile, it can be anyone who can take away the winning title.
Fans of the show have been predicting that the Sun will be the one who'd take away the trophy. Some of the best performances this season have come from the Sun. Every time she's stepped out on that stage, she's bested her previous performance and the only competition that she has on 'TMS' is herself. She blew it out of the park with her performance on the Holiday special singalong episode, singing an acoustic version of Billie Eilish's song 'When The Party's Over'. This in no way means that the Mushroom and Crocodile are any far behind. The former has been showcasing his versatility every week, choosing songs that help his vocal range shine. The Crocodile too has won a lot of hearts after baring his soul and not shying away from showing off his vulnerability and emotion. While the winner among the three cannot be determined, we feel that we've managed to do the second-best thing: decoding the identity of the masked celebrities through various clues that they've provided about themselves over the episodes.
The Sun
Clues
The Sun's various clue packages reveal that she's a seasoned singer and "has set quite a few records." The first clue ever to be revealed about her identity was that she "knows how to shine like a torch even during the freezing winter." Like many who've lived their lives in public, she too has seen "some extreme seasons" in her life. From feeling "like the center of the universe" when she first "sprung into existence" but then being subjected to the pressures that come with being a star that led her to become "burned out", the Sun has seen it all. Her struggles also include her falling "into a deep depression". She was "frozen" but later on she was able to transform "within the darkness of a quiet place." Some of the most prominent visual clues that have popped up in her clue packages include a gold member card, a chihuahua, a Mickey Mouse head silhouette, a jaguar, and a swimming pool with the "shallow area" marked out with 2 ft and 7 ft markers, according to a Good Housekeeping report.
Decoding the clues
Our best guess for the Sun's identity is country singer Leann Rimes and fans too believe she's the one behind the radiant mask. There have been a lot of blue clues in her clue packages, including the swimming pool, all of which point to her debut album that topped the charts titled 'Blue'. Clues have also clearly stated that she started at a very young age. Rimes started singing at the age of two and won her first competition at age five. She was also on a talent competition called 'Star Search' at age eight, the eight ball in the clue package points to the same. There was also an image of the Sun spitting fire, an ode to her 2013 album 'Spitfire'. She was also a performer at the 2002 Winter Olympics, and this explains the clue that said, "The Sun knows how to shine like a torch even in the freezing winter." She'd performed the song 'Light The Fire Within' back then.
If there's any further doubt that leads you to believe that the masked celebrity is not LeAnn Rimes, we urge you to check this performance by her that was uploaded to Youtube by a fan in 2019. She's singing Lizzo's 'Cuz I Love You', the same song she sang on the season premiere episode on September 23. Compare both the performances and you have the answer. Revisit her debut performance on 'The Masked Singer' by clicking on the video below.
The Mushroom
Clues
One of the most prominent clues in Mushroom's clue packages over the episodes has been references to the musical 'Hamilton'. His clue package also stated that he had a chance to "turn his hobby into a career" and visual clues backing the clue up are images of a reality singing competition popping up. It also is clear that this masked celebrity is fond of accessorizing his look with a hat which is also a part of his costume on the show. One of the clues said if you want to figure out who is behind the mask, you'll first need to find out "who is under my hats". Other visual clues included: a street hot dog stand, a violin case, a top hat, gardening supplies, a red Jello brain (which was also his magic clue, brain on a platter), a Wallstreet bull, a suitcase, a burn book which could be a nod to 'Mean Girls' and last but not the least, a connection to judge Robin Thicke. “I would love mixing it up with you again because this is definitely not the first time we’ve connected," the clue revealed about his connection to Thicke. The Mushroom also revealed that he was once an outcast, considered a nerd, and perceived as weird.
One of the clue packages also revealed that the Mushroom was a high school class president, had a GPA over 4.0 and another package revealed that he didn't grow up with the name that the world now knows him by.
Decoding the clues
The Internet has been abuzz with names like Billy Porter and Frank Ocean for the identity of the Mushroom. But after taking all clues into consideration, it's safe to deduce that this masked celebrity is 'Wake Me Up' singer Aloe Blacc. While he's always been recognized in the industry with his current name, his real name is Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III. Even though there are a lot of 'Hamilton' clues in his packages over the episodes, however, the show is known to not be very direct with clues, and the time they do it, it's only to misdirect audiences and fans so as to keep the identities a secret. Blacc didn't appear on 'Hamilton' ever, he was on the mixtape where he performed 'Wrote My Way Out' with the musical's creator, Lin Manuel Miranda.
As for turning his hobby into a career, this could point out to the fact that he could take his passion for playing the trumpet and knack for writing rhymes in elementary school and make a debut as a teenager in 1996 on 'Imaginary Friends', a mixtape by Exile back then known as Eksile, according to a report. The bull and suitcase seem like a reference to his previous job working as an analyst for global giant Ernst & Young.
The Crocodile
Clues
The first clue about this very pink and blingy Crocodile mask was, "A special set of keys reversed my game forever. Tic Tac Whoa!". He also said that he's "happiest in water," revealed about his Hollywood upbringing since a very young age, and also the fact that he was "forced to develop a thick skin" while being immersed in "heartache and instability." He also said that unlike the cold-blooded mask he's sporting in the competition, he's a "warm, sensitive creature who wants to be loved back." His final clues included a heartwarming revelation that he drives eight hours after performing on the show just to meet his kids right after he belted an emotion-laden version of 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing' by Aerosmith and dedicated it to his two kids, referring to them as little crocs.
Decoding the clues
Judging by all the clues on the Crocodile's clue packages since the beginning of the season, there's no doubt whatsoever that it's none other than Nick Carter from Backstreet Boys. There's been a lot of references about his little crocs in the clues, including rainbows. Both of Carter's babies are rainbow babies, meaning they were born following a miscarriage. There were also a number of clues pointing to his boyband career, including mentions of their reunion tour and most importantly the number five for the band members. The dolphins that the audiences saw in the clues seem like a reference to his work saving dolphins and his appointment as the United Nations Ambassador of the Year of the Dolphin, according to a Screen Rant report.
'The Masked Singer' finale will air on December 15 starting at 8 pm on FOX.