By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
On December 27, 2020, FOX and Ellen DeGeneres brought The Masked Dancer to television. Ten celebrities put on colorful costumes to showcase their dancing skills. One by one, they were unmasked and eliminated from the competition.
Now, the final three Masked Dancer performers remain. Tonight, Cotton Candy, Sloth, and Tulip performed one last time for the show’s Diamond Mask. Which dancer became the show’s first winner? Did the panel (Ken Jeong, Paula Abdul, Brian Austin Green, and Ashley Tisdale) correctly deduce the dancers’ identity? Read on to find out!
After a one-hour Road to the Finale retrospective, host Craig Robinson joined the Final Three for an impressive performance of “I’ve Had the Time of My Life.” As the trio left the stage, Tulip performed for one final time. She delivered a variety of dance moves that range from polka to contemporary. She performed Ava Max’s “Kings and Queens” for a Wonderland-inspired routine. I was intrigued by her performance, and I believe that Tulip is one of the D’Amelio girls. Ashley declared Tulip her favorite, while Ken was impressed with the flip that was incorporated into the routine. For her final “Word Up” clue of the competition, Tulip said: “Followers.” The panel agreed that social media played a huge role. Ken guessed Lucy Hale, while Ashley thought it was Mackenzie Ziegler.
I believe that I have interviewed the Sloth before. Yes, I genuinely believe that the iconic dancer and choreographer Maks Chmerkovskiy is the Sloth. There were countless Dancing with the Stars-related clues on the show, including a panda (Laila Ali was on season two of The Masked Singer) and spice container (Mel B was his partner on one of my all-time favorite seasons of DWTS). Sloth revealed that he would miss his secret identity. For his final “Word Up” clue, Sloth said: “Magical,” and I heard Maks’ voice. Ashley thought it was Hugh Jackman, while Ken stated it was Channing Tatum.
For her final time on the Masked Dancer stage, Cotton Candy delivered a moving performance to Kesha’s rendition of “This Is Me.” It combined everything from a gymnastic routine, a pep rally, and a reference to the Disney and Pixar classic Up! The performance made both Paula and Ashley emotional. The final “Word Up” of the season was “Foundation.” Ken thought it was Olympics icon Michelle Kwan, but Ashley thought she was a gymnast and guessed that Simone Biles or Gabby Douglas were behind the mask.
After the votes were revealed, Craig Robinson revealed that TULIP was the third-place dancer! The panel made their final picks. Paula selected Liza Koshy, while Ken thought Lucy Hale was the Tulip. Brian Austin Green thought Tulip was Sabrina Carpenter and Ashley stood by her guess of Mackenzie Ziegler. It turned out that Ashley Tisdale was right; TULIP WAS MACKENZIE ZIEGLER!
The winner of Masked Dancer – Season One was…COTTON CANDY!!! That meant that Sloth was the runner-up. Paula declared that Maks Chmerkovskiy was the Sloth and Brian Austin Green joined her. Meanwhile, Ken doubled down with Channing Tatum and Ashley guessed Hugh Jackman! Paula, Brian, and I were right...SLOTH WAS MAKS!!!!
The panel’s final guesses were Tara Lipinski (Brian), Michelle Kwan (Ken), Gabby Douglas (Paula), and Simone Biles (Ashley). It turned out that Cotton Candy was Gabby Douglas!
CONGRATS to GABBY DOUGLAS on winning The Masked Dancer!
The Masked Singer’s fifth season premieres on March 10!
