Have you heard of The Masked Singer? It’s a Fox competition show where a group of mysterious contestants dress up in outlandish costumes and sing for a panel of judges. Over the course of a season, each singer—referred to by their costume—gives clues as to who they really are (the competitors are all minor celebrities of some sort) while one by one they are eliminated and unmasked. It’s a little bit Eurovision, a little bit pro wrestling, and maybe the closest thing we have to a Power Rangers reality show.
On The Masked Singer’s second season premiere this week, one of the first performers to be eliminated was Ice Cream—a friendly looking man-sized Pistachio cone with sprinkles that was revealed to be Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, streamer extraordinaire.
In his brief but illustrious career as Ice Cream, Ninja sang songs like the Devo classic “Whip It” while a robot Ladybug danced:
And also “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X’s breakout hit of the summer.
If you want to know how close The Masked Singer’s panelists—which include Ken Jeong, Robin Thicke, and noted anti-vaxxer Jenny McCarthy—got to guessing Ninja’s identity, they very quickly suggested “YouTuber” when Ice Cream gave his clues, and PewDiePie was guessed just before the reveal, which I’m sure made Ninja feel great.
The Masked Singer is a trip.