Follow along with ET as we break down all the biggest clues and most epic performances of the night!
The Masked Singer returned Wednesday night for the grand season 4 finale! ET is following along throughout the exciting episode to break down all the craziest moments, best performances, and the crowning of the new Golden Mask champion!
The final three contestants -- The Crocodile, The Mushroom and The Sun -- are hitting the stage in a battle for the grand prize. Only one can take home the Golden Mask, and all three will finally be revealed by the end of the night.
Everyone's favorite panel of celebrity "detectives" -- including Robin Thicke, Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong, and Jenny McCarthy -- will be trying their best to guess the singers' secret identities. Fans will also see which of them gets crowned the winner of the show's first ever Golden Ear trophy, which will be awarded to the panelist who nailed the greatest number of "First Impression" guesses.
Before the finale, fans can watch the one-hour Masked Singer recap, looking back at the wild and wonderful moments that went down throughout the season. The "Road to the Finals" special kicks off at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox. ET will be live blogging the season 4 finale, which kicks off at 9 p.m. ET/PT, right here!
And The Sun Is...
... Two-time GRAMMY winner LeAnn Rimes! Nicole nailed it twice, with Jenny joining on!
"This has been an overwhelming experience. I didn't expect this to be this much work! I was thinking, 'Oh, I'll come on, this'll be easy! This'll be fun.' And it was a blast!"
And for the final performance of the season, LeAnn closes out the show with an unmasked encore of "The Story!"
Now we just have to wait for Spring, which is when The Masked Singer returns for Season 5, according to Nick! See you all then!!
The Sun -- Final Panelists Guesses
Jenny's First Impression: Demi Lovato
Jenny's Final Guess: LeAnn Rimes
Ken's First Impression: Gwyneth Paltrow
Kens' Final Guess: Mandy Moore
Nicole's First Impression: Katharine McPhee
Nicole's Final Guess: LeAnn Rimes
Robin's First Impression: Natasha Bedingfield
Robin's Final Guess: Katharine McPhee
The Golden Ear Champion!
After a season of "First Impression" guesses, it's time to declare the winner. No point in waiting for The Sun, because the winner is clear. Here's how it broke down:
Ken: 0
Robin: 2
Nicole: 2
WINNNER: Jenny: 4!
And The Musroom Is...
... celebrated singer Aloe Blacc! Nicole and Robin got this one right! (Mostly Nicole.)
"Music is truly the language that connects us all," Aloe shares, explaining why he joined the show.
He also jokes about his costume, quipping, "This is not a skirt! This is a mushroom stem! But because it had a bit of a skirt feel... I felt I could embody [my daughter's] spirit while I was on this stage."
Aloe wraps up his run with a beautiful unmasked encore performance.
The Mushroom -- Final Panelists Guesses
Jenny's First Impression: Maxwell
Jenny's Final Guess: Ne-Yo
Ken's First Impression: Justin Timberlake
Kens' Final Guess: Pharrell Williams
Nicole's First Impression: Donald Glover
Nicole's Final Guess: Aloe Blacc
Robin's First Impression: Billy Porter
Robin's Final Guess: Aloe Blacc
And The Golden Mask Victor Is...
... THE SUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So we're going to find out her identity last, after we finally find out who The Mushroom is!
And The Crocodile Is..
... Backstreet Boy Nick Carter! Jenny nailed it from the start!
"I had to pull every trick out of the bag. There are some talented artists on this show, and I'm just grateful to be here," Nick shares.
Nick then bids farewell to the show with an unmasked encore of "Open Arms."
The Crocodile -- Final Panelists Guesses
Ken's First Impression: Bradley Cooper
Kens' Final Guess: Nick Lachey
Nicole's First Impression: Nick Lachey
Nicole's Final Guess: Jordan Knight
Robin's First Impression: Jordan Knight
Robin's Final Guess: Howie D.
Jenny's First Impression: Nick Carter
Jenny's Final Guess: Nick Carter
It's Time To Vote -- and We Find Out Who's the 2nd Runner-Up!
All the songs have been sung, so it's time to vote! This one is a real nail-biter!
With all the votes counted, the third place finisher is...
... The Crocodile!
The Sun Tells Her Emotional 'Story'
After bringing the whole world to tears in the semifinals, The Sun pulled off the magic once more this week with her cover of "The Story" by Brandi Carlile
"What a performance! Not a dry eye in the house," Nick marvels after she's done.
"When you sing, you bring a sense of foundation and security and grace," Nicole shares. "You have ignigted a fire in all of us."
"You inspire me," Jenny adds, "Thank you for the gift of your voice, and for sharing it with us."
"Honestly the best part of this is people being able to feel the essence of me without preconceived ideas of who or what I am, and I feel like for the first time people are actually hearing me and feeling me and that makes me pretty happy," The Sun shares.
The Christmas Clue:
The Sun gives a special gift to Robin, and it's a whole lot of mistletoe.
"This is something to say thank you for all your compliments and encouragement this season," The Sun explains.
The Sun -- FINAL CLUES
The Sun:
- Says she's been in the industry for a "really long time."
- Says that people have different ideas of who she is: "a little girl with big dreams, or a pop princess, or the grounded woman I am today."
- Says, "For the first time in my career I get to show that I'm all of those things and more."
- Says, "After one of the most emotional performances of my lifetime, I've chosen a song that means even more to me, because it's a tribute to the person who has loved me through some of my toughest times. He's always encouraged me to fly and our bond is a testament that love really does conquer all."
The Mushroom Reveals His Christmas 'Wish'
The Mushroom brings something new every single week, and for the finals he's bringing the funk with a performance of Stevie Wonder's iconic "I Wish."
"It is only fitting that we have a funky Christmas with Fungi!" Jenny marveled.
"Music is truly the universal language that connects us all, and Mushroom is a connector," The Mushroom shares. "Here we are in masks and costumes just delivering messages that can resonate with everyone."
The Christmas Clue:
The Mushroom gives Nicole a quart of Mushroom Cookie Dough ice cream.
The Mushroom -- FINALS CLUES
The Mushroom
- Says his inspiration was "my little shroom, my daughter."
- Says, "I channel her mannerisms, her voice, her love of dressing up, and she doesn't even know I'm doing this."
- Says, "While most of you have shopped to my music in the supermarket and heard me on the radio, not a lot of you know me by name, and I hope tonight changes all that."
The Crocodile Embraces His Journey With Open Arms
The Croc is playing to win, and to make people cry with this stunning rendition of "Open Arms" by Journey.
"You could feel he might have been waiting to sing that live his whole life and it all came out in the vocal," Robin shares. "He set the bar so high for the finals."
The Crocodile responded, "I love performing, but I've discovered that a lot of my joy comes from knowing that I'm taking care of my kids and my family. It's all for them," The Croc shares.
The Secret Santa Christmas Clue:
In the spirit of the holidays, the contestants are giving clues in the form of presents.
The Crocodile gives Jenny an angel snow globe, and thanks her for giving him confidence.
The Crocodile -- FINAL CLUES!
The Crocodile
- Says, "I've gotten the freedom to express the real me, that for so much of my life has been hidden."
- Says, "Growing up, my family was dirt poor, so I mowed lawn after lawn just to afford my first album. Frontiers, by Journey."
- Says, "Tonight, I'm singing a song from that album and channeling that little crocling who loved singing more than anything."
Finals, Here We Go!
The Season 4 finals are here, and it's an early Christmas for us fans!
The show is really in the holiday spirit, with x-mas decorations, Nick is decked out in suit as white as fresh snow and Ken is dressed like a king for some reason! It's wonderful!
If you're trying to crack the mystery of the costumed contestants like the rest of America, check out our running list of spoilers, hints and best guesses, where we break down all the clue packages and make wild (surprisingly accurate) predictions about the singers' secret identities.
For more on this exciting season of The Masked Singer, check out the video below!
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