Spoiler alertNot one, not two, not three, but four of them _The Masked Singer_had to reveal their true identities last night in the Christmas special of theRTL program. The curtain fell on the frog, the queen bee, the panda and theelephant. The exposure of the latter caused shame for Buddy Vedder, saw morethan 1.8 million viewers. “How embarrassing of me. I really want to disappearhere.”
Christmas trees, oliebollen, thousands of lights, Christmas duets and festiveoutfits: there was no escaping Christmas in the new episode of The MaskedSinger. Unlike previous weeks, not one mysterious celebrity flew out of theshow, but no fewer than four people had to leave the battlefield.
The knight and the tiger bit off. They sang the song together Merry XmasEverybody from Slade __ and made it a real party. The jury did not miss thateither. Nevertheless, the audience in the room decided that a place in thefinal was for the tiger. And so the adventure ended for the frog. The panel,consisting of Carlo Boszhard, Loretta Schrijver, Gerard Joling and BuddyVedder, agreed unanimously: Wolter Kroes had to be hidden in the frog suit.The tension built up, but guess what? The jury had guessed correctly for thethird week in a row. “Yes,” they exclaimed in unison when it became clear thatthey were right.
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The Frog and the Tiger in The Masked Singer. © RTL
Shame
It wasn’t over for the panel after the initial reveal. It was up to theelephant and the flamingo to compete for a place in the final. They performeda rendition of Underneath the christmas tree by Kelly Clarkson. Boszhard,Joling, Vedder and Schrijver meanwhile were guessing: could Hans Klok behidden in the elephant suit? And who would that flamingo be? Questions aboutthe flamingo went unanswered, because the public believed that the elephantshould leave the battlefield.
It was Gerard Joling who got a hunch and thought he was sure it was actorEveron Hooi. That in contrast to Vedder, Boszhard and Schrijver. Theymentioned, among others, Juvat Westendorp and Martijn Krabbé. To the surpriseof the panel, Joling turned out to be on the right track. A shame for Vedder,because he had not recognized his ‘dressing room buddy’. “Really, howembarrassing of me. I actually want to disappear here”, Vedder confessed tohis ‘ roomie ‘.
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Everon Hay in The Masked Singer. © RTL
The third performance was given by the queen bee and the joker. They sang_Last Christmas_ from Wham. What the panel immediately noticed: there was noquestion of a competition here; the chemistry between the two just splashedoff the stage. And as nice as the duet was, the adventure ended for the queenbee. The panel was convinced that it must be Berget Lewis and that turned outto be correct.
Lewis suggested her participation The Masked Singer find ‘great’. “I thoughtit was one of the most fun programs I’ve ever done,” she exulted once sherevealed herself.
Vocal violence
The penguin and the panda, stretched out on a piano, closed the show with ajazz version of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. Buddy Vedder already threw aball: according to him, Angela Schijf would be in the suit of the panda.Meanwhile, the panel thoroughly enjoyed the performance. That was made clearagain afterwards. “You don’t want violence at Christmas, but vocal violence ismore than welcome. You guys are incredibly good”, Vedder complimented the twomysterious ladies.
No matter how ‘Broadway-worthy’ the performance of the two was; according toBoszhard, both the penguin and the panda had not given themselves one hundredpercent all this time. “So these are two people who are completely in thebusiness,” he concluded.
Boszhard will have to wait and see whether that conclusion is justified,because the final place went to the penguin. That meant the panda had to gohome, but not before the panel could guess who the mysterious celebrity was.Joling and Vedder went for Angela Schijf, Schrijver bet on Birgit Schuurmanand Boszhard mentioned musical star Vajèn van den Bosch. So it could go eitherway.
It was Schrijver who finally managed to solve the puzzle, because BirgitSchuurman was indeed hidden in the panda suit. ,,You are right”, Boszhardyelled. Schuurman smiled broadly and looked back smugly on her adventure. “Ireally enjoyed doing it. Super exciting all the time too, keeping that asecret and then hearing you talk and guess who it could be.”
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