The Masked Singer season 8 was released on September 21 showing different singers wearing masks ready to display their best performances. Only here, the masked singers are actual celebrities. The show is known for bringing fun, cool costumes, amazing music, and of course loads of hilarity.
The new season started in a grand manner this Wednesday with Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robin Thicke retaining their positions as judges and Nick Cannon resuming his role as the host. This time, a total of 22 different outfits were revealed with celebrities disguised underneath every masked outfit.
On Wednesday, three out of four masked singers were eliminated. Everyone caught a glimpse of the true identity of Knight (William Shatner) and Hedgehog (Eric Idle). However, the contestant whose identity has still not been displayed is Hummingbird. The audience will have to wait till next week for the big reveal of who the male vocalist is.
Well, this cliffhanger has heightened curiosities and given rise to numerous speculations about the real identity of the Hummingbird, that is, which celebrity is hiding underneath the big bird costume. Fans have started guessing based on the clues dropped by the contestant. One of the possibilities is that it is no other than football player Tom Brady – who reportedly missed 11 days of training weeks ago. As mysterious as this sounds, several clues have been dropped that point to its certainty, some of which are football-centric. This is clear from Hummingbird’s episode one monologue that goes,
“I’m excited for the kick-off of Season 8 because I promise you, this hummingbird knows a thing or two about competition. It’s in my DNA. I got my start with the help of Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal) and formed a patriotic team that felt like family. Together, we dominated the Super Bowl. My career has been a revelation. But I’m only human. I’m so nervous to step on that stage tonight. But here we go! I guess it’s all or nothing”.
There are a lot of visual clues that also confirm the accuracy of this speculation such as the speaker, a football cleat, a cowboy hat, a locker room, a scoreboard displaying the number 71-00, and a stadium. Brady responded to the ongoing guesses and denied being the vocalist. Speaking on the possibility of him being the Hummingbird, he said, “Wasn’t me. I wasn’t masked and I’m not a singer. So that wouldn’t really fit my profile. I’m basically good at one thing, which is throwing passes”. Despite the denial, it is still uncertain if he’s speaking the actual truth or if the intent is to add to the suspense and make the reveal more shocking.
While the football-centric clues have pointed the fingers toward Brady, there were other contestants in this game of speculations and guesses. One of them is Chris Kirkpatrick, founder of NSYNC whose album was recorded at Shaquille O’Neal’s House in Florida and who also performed at the Super Bowl in 2000 alongside Britney Spears, Aerosmith, and Nelly – thus aligning with the football references. His birth year 1971 also complements the displayed number. While Brady and Kirkpatrick are the two primary guesses, others include Adam Sandler, Hulk Hogan, and Akon. While the speculations based on the clues continue, fans will have to wait till next week to confirm whether their guesses have been right all along.