Donny Osmond is back on “The Masked Singer” — this time without the Peacock costume.
Why Did Donny Osmond return to ‘The Masked Singer’?
Osmond, who was the runner-up on the show’s inaugural season in 2019, returned to “The Masked Singer” Wednesday night as a guest panelist. He kicked off the episode — which had a Las Vegas theme — with a performance of “The Greatest Show” and Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas,” People reported. “The Greatest Show” was the first song Osmond performed as the Peacock — and the first song ever performed on “The Masked Singer” stage, according to The Wrap.
The show’s Vegas theme was fitting for Osmond, who, after completing a long-running Las Vegas residency with his sister, Marie, is now doing a solo residency at Harrah’s on the Las Vegas strip, the Deseret News reported.
During his “Masked Singer” return, Osmond provided commentary on the competitors. At one point, he said he could tell that Pi-Rat (a rat with a pirate costume) was an entertainer but not a dancer. Following that comment, Pi-Rat — who said he couldn’t see in his costume — asked who was speaking. When host Nick Cannon revealed that it was Osmond, Pi-Rat quipped: “Oh, you mean he’s doing something without his sister?”
Osmond laughed before playfully making his way to the stage to confront the mystery contestant — an interaction that ended with Osmond kissing Pi-Rat on the nose and telling him he loved him, Entertainment Weekly reported.
In the end, Osmond was the one who correctly guessed that the identity behind the Pi-Rat was ventriloquist Jeff Dunham. He also called the mystery person behind the Harp an “angel” after hearing her powerful performance of Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing,” per People.
At the end of the “Masked Singer” episode, the Harp proved victorious, getting to move forward in the competition. The panel’s most recent guesses on who the Harp is include Ashanti, Yvette Nicole Brown and Amber Riley, according to People. Viewers of “The Masked Singer” widely believe Riley is the Harp, the Deseret News reported.
What Donny Osmond has said about ‘The Masked Singer’
Shortly after being declared the runner-up on “The Masked Singer,” Osmond opened up about the show in an interview with the Deseret News.
“It’s not like the typical show where anonymous people want to be famous. It’s famous people wanting to be anonymous,” Osmond said in 2019. “What really appealed to me is that all 12 people check their resumes at the door. We all started over. And it didn’t matter how many gold records or films or books. We all were the same. After 56 years of show business, you want to find things that are challenging and fun. And this was definitely challenging because I had nothing to lean back on. I was just someone on stage, one of 12.
“I had no idea who I was competing against,” he continued. “I found out who I was competing against when you found out … on television. It was that secretive. ... When you hit the stage … you have all this baggage, good and bad, depending upon the generation that’s out in the audience. And I go through this every night here in Las Vegas. They know me for certain things, whether it be positive or negative and indifferent. But on ‘The Masked Singer’ stage, everything on the slate was wiped clean, everything was neutral and that’s what appealed to me.”
Osmond said he wouldn’t change anything about his run on “The Masked Singer,” but did joke that the show should add an oxygen tank in the mask. Like William Shatner — who got voted off the show during the Season 8 premiere earlier this month — Osmond said it was hard to navigate all the singing and dancing in the costume.
“I swear, you can’t breathe, you can’t see; it’s so hot in there,” he told the Deseret News. “And you saw the running around I did on stage. I couldn’t see the edge of the stage because, you know, it’s dark in there. I’m trying to look through a little cheesecloth at the bottom of the beak. And I was just hoping and praying that I wouldn’t fall off the stage.”
“The Masked Singer” airs Wednesdays on Fox at 7 p.m. MT. Episodes are available to stream the following day on Hulu.