The Masked Singer season 9 release date and air time on FOX

The popular reality competition series, The Masked Singer, is all set to return with a brand new installment on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, at 8 pm ET on Fox. Viewers are set to witness familiar formats as well as new updates in the upcoming season.

Season 9 of The Masked Singer will be hosted by Nick Cannon and will feature panelists Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong, Robin Thicke, and Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg.

The hit Fox series will see popular celebrity contestants competing against each other and putting their best foot forward to impress the judges and viewers to keep steering ahead and ultimately win the coveted title.

Viewers should get ready for another interesting season full of music, celebrity unmasking, and fun banter between the judges as well as their hilarious guesses.

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The Masked Singer season 9 features panelists' save

Season 9 of The Masked Singer will surely follow in the footsteps of its previous installments, but will also add newer formats that are bound to keep viewers hooked.

The series will feature its exciting twist, "Champion of the Masked Singer" from its previous season. This time, however, the show will also have the panelists save one contestant from elimination with the "Ding Dong Keep It On" Bell, which can only be used once per group.

This will allow the judges to have a strong contestant safe for yet another week. They'll get a chance to prove their worth of being a title contender.

Not only is the latest season of The Masked Singer bringing intriguing changes to its format, the production is also setting up an updated stage design. It will be enough to contain the largest audience in the show's history, who will also be assigned the important task of voting for their favorite masked character.

Season 9 of the Fox series will have the contestants divided into three groups as they were last season. However, this time around, they will not be pitted against other groups but will compete within their own group to be crowned the King or the Queen. The masked singer with the least amount of votes will be unmasked mid-episode.

The remaining two singers in the episode will face off in a "Battle Royale" performance. The winner will compete in the following week's episode while the other contestant will have to unmask. Eventually, three finalists will be left standing to compete in the semi-finals of the competition.

The upcoming season will feature a fan favorite format from the previous season - themed nights. The contestants will follow the theme in their performances, costumes, song selections, set design, and celebrity guests, among other dynamics.

Season 9 themes include "Abba Night," "Opening Night," "Country Night," "New York Night," "DC Superhero Night," "Sesame Street Night," "'80s Night," "Movie Night," and "The Masked Singer in Space Night."

The Masked Singer has already revealed the names of 10 characters. Performing in this season's competition are Axolotl, California Roll, Dandelion, Doll, Fairy, French Hen, Gargoyle, Gnome, Jackalope, Medusa, Moose and Mustang.

Others are yet to be announced. It will be interesting to see the variety among the masks and what they bring to the show.

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The Masked Singer season 9 is set to witness a number of talented contestants and although the celebrity list will only be revealed after the eliminated participant is unmasked, it will make for good suspense as the judges and the audience continue to make their guesses throughout the series. Viewers will have to stay tuned to see how it all pans out.

Don't forget to catch the season premiere on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, at 8 pm ET on Fox.