‘Masked Singer’ winner is revealed and a North Carolina artist is unmasked
Wednesday night’s “Masked Singer” grand finale had the potential to reveal two famous North Carolina singers and make one of them the season’s big winner.
For weeks, theories about North Carolina natives Chris Daughtry as Rottweiler and Fantasia Barrino as Flamingo — both “American Idol” alums — have dominated social media and won over Vegas odds-makers.
Did those guesses pan out?
Here’s what happened on ‘The Masked Singer’
The Fox sang first, and did a great job with an upbeat version of “Try a Little Tenderness.” The Fox, a terrific all-around entertainer, has been suspected to be either Jamie Foxx or Wayne Brady.
Flamingo was up next with “Proud Mary,” which started off slow and smooth and then shifted into an energetic song-and-dance performance. After her song, Flamingo became emotional and told judges, “I was told I would never amount to anything, but I’m determined and I’m hard working and I’ve truly had the time of my life.”
Flamingo has sounded exactly like Fantasia many times this season, but the argument for Adrienne Bailon Houghton as Flamingo is probably stronger.
The third performance was Rottweiler, who sang “Alive” by Sia. Panelist Robin Thicke told him that he stands by his early assessment that Rottweiler has the strongest vocals on the show.
Rottweiler, who spoke about how the show has helped him reinvent himself, said after his performance that he felt like he had “already won.” (It’s worth noting that while Twitter and Vegas odds-makers believe this is Chris Daughtry, no judge has ever mentioned him.)
Who won ‘The Masked Singer’?
▪ Third Place: In a bit of a shocker, Flamingo came in third place and was unmasked. Was it Fantasia?
Sorry, Fantasia fans, it was actually Adrienne Bailon Houghton, former Cheetah Girls star.
▪ Second place went to Rottweiler, who judge Nicole Scherzinger called “one of the best voices” ever on the show.
When unmasked, Rottweiler was indeed Chris Daughtry! Daughtry was born in Roanoke Rapids and finished in fourth place on Season 5 of “American Idol.” He fronts the multi-platinum rock band Daughtry and is one of the most successful performers to compete on “American Idol”. According to Business Insider in 2016, Daughtry has the third-highest record sales of “Idol” contestants behind Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.
Daughtry said he wanted to be on the show to do something fun and to challenge himself.
“My kids have no idea I’m doing this so I’m so pumped for them to see this,” he said.
▪ That means First Place went to the Fox., who turned out to be actor and singer Wayne Brady.
Brady, who currently hosts “Let’s Make a Deal,” said it was one of the most challenging and “weirdest” experiences of his career.
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 9:51 PM.
