The Masked Singer season 11 finale: Recap and more details explored

The Masked Singer season 11 finale aired on Fox, on May 22, after the season kicked off in March earlier this year. The awaited finale had Goldfish and Gumball pitted against each other, and after they gave their last performances, Goldfish was declared the winner.

Vanesa Hudgens was unmasked under the Goldfish costume, while Gumball, the runner-up, turned out to be Scott Porter. In the semi-final's last episode, the fierceness of the competition was palpable as fans struggled to guess who among the last three would be sent home. So after Clock was unmasked as Thelma Houston, the finale episode was looked forward to for the intensity of the challenge.

And even though both the finalists gave each other tough competition, Goldfish's win was predictable. She was never put in the bottom two smackdowns in the entire season, while Gumball was put in that spot twice.

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What happened in The Masked Singer season 11 finale?

The show, which started with 16 contestants, had only two remaining by the end. This meant that both Gumball and Goldfish had to survive 14 eliminations against accomplished artists of the industry to get to The Masked Singer season 11 finale. Gumball was the first one to go ahead with his final night performance. Before he sang Latch by Disclosure, feat Sam Smith, he said in his clue package,

"In my life, I’ve had to fight to be seen. Imagine trying to do something thousands of times and only being successful a handful of them. And yet in Hollywood, that’s considered a victory. I’ve been on TV for almost two decades nonstop and yet, being here, I feel I’ve finally gotten to show who I really am".

For Gumball, all the judges guessed wrong. Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg and Robin Thicke went with Derek Hough, Ken Jeong saying Taran Killam, and Rita Ora guessing Joseph Gordon Levitt.

Then came Goldfish, with her first The Masked Singer season 11 finale performance. She chose to go with her own rendition of Heart of Glass by Blondie, but before that, the clue package said,

"It’s not really something I grew up around. But lately, I have been on a journey of self-discovery, and being here, I’ve been able to express myself so freely".

She continued,

"I come from a working-class family that has no connection to Hollywood whatsoever, so there’s no reason I should’ve made it. But I’m proof that with enough love, hard work and dedication, you can truly do anything".

As for Goldfish, Rita Ora and Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg knew it was Vanesa Hudgens behind the mask. While Robin Thicke guessed Hilary Duff and Ken Jeong said it was Nicole Scherzinger.

For his second performance of the night on The Masked Singer season 11 finale, Gumball chose to sing Renegade by Styx. He explained that his song was dedicated to "my folks", the artists who would work overtime so that they could pursue their musical dreams and perform on a stage.

Goldfish sang Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me by Elton John. After her performance, she told the audience how their eagerness to hear her had exhilarated her throughout the season.

When it was time to uncover their masks in The Masked Singer season 11 finale, host Nick Cannon divulged one final clue. He said that this wasn't the first time the two finalists were sharing a screen, referring to the 2009 movie Bandslam, which featured both Vanesa and Scott.

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The Masked Singer season 12 has already been announced by Fox.