The Masked Singer season 11 premiere: Famous comedian unmasks to prank Nick Cannon

The Masked Singer made its highly anticipated return to Fox with season 11 premiere on Wednesday, March 6, but this time with a brand new panelist. For the first time ever in the history of the reality TV show, British musician Rita Ora has joined the judging panel, replacing Nicole Scherzinger.

Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, and Robin Thicke reprise their roles, with Nick Cannon returning as host. The season 11 premiere was off to an explosive start with attention-worthy performances delivered by Goldfish, Starfish, Ugly Sweater, and Lovebird.

However, stealing the limelight was Book who closed on the premiere in the most jaw-dropping yet hilarious manner.

While the viewers were busy predicting and putting clues together about the masked singers, Book unmasked himself leaving everyone shocked.

The troublemaker was ace comedian Kevin Hart, who declared he was on stage to joke with his Celebrity Prank Wars co-star Nick Cannon.

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Book’s shocking unmasking on The Masked Singer season 11 premiere

Book arrived on the reality TV show with the clue package that included an open mic sign, a major tip-off for the judges. In addition, the masked singer admitted he was on a mission to impress one of his special friends. The clue package said:

“I have stories for days and a vocabulary that’s really, what's the word? Good!”

It added that the masked singer was “good” at everything, be it sports or school, along with another tip-off that “these days, I'm a bestseller, making over $4 billion in the box office."

Book ended up belting out season 10 winner NE-YO’s smash-hit So Sick, which wasn’t the best performance of the night but ended up becoming the funniest of all.

During the judges' critiques, Rita Ora stated, “I know who this is, 100 percent.” Meanwhile, Robin Thicke made a correct guess, noting:

“There’s only a few people in the world that as soon as they walk in the room I start smiling and laughing like this, and that’s Kevin Hart.”

Before anyone else attempted to take a guess about who the Books was, in a dramatic move, the masked singer decided to reveal himself. “How do I get out of here?" he asked, sending shockwaves among the judges, and audiences, leaving host Nick Cannon in complete disbelief. Once popping out of the costume, the 44-year-old comedian said, “I got you, Nick.”

The shocked host, who couldn’t process what had occurred on stage, asked the comedian for an explanation for spoiling the fun of guessing. Kevin Hart joked:

"This is a prank! You had no idea. You had no idea that I'm coming here, Nick. And guess what, Nick? Guess what? It's nothing you can do about it!"

Nick and Kevin have a history of pranking each other but the host noted the latter delivered the “worst performance” in the show’s history. Kevin made up an excuse highlighting he belted out a terrible performance “on purpose.”

Nick laughed it off, telling Kevin that he did nothing but “embarrass” himself. “Dude, that was stupid,” he remarked.

The comedian-actor came up with a hilarious response of his own:

“I don’t look stupid. I look put together, Nick. There's nothing stupid about me. You know who looks stupid? You, in that stupid jacket."

The Masked Singer host brushed him off accusing Kevin of ruining the “freakin’ show” by self-eliminating himself.

Elsewhere during the premiere, Goldfish sang Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo, Starfish crooned Material Girl by Madonna, Ugly Sweater did The Best by Tina Turner, and Lovebird sang Home by Phillip Phillips.

After Kevin’s unmasking, all the other four masked singers were declared safe.

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The Masked Singer season 11 will return with another episode next Wednesday at 8 pm ET, exclusively on Fox.