The Masked Singer season 12 premiere recap: A new twist and identity of Leaf Sheep revealed

The Masked Singer season 12 premiered on Fox with its latest season on September 25, 2024, fresh off the heels of Vanessa Hudgens being crowned the season 11 winner, who came on the show as the Goldfish. The new season features 12 contestants and panelists Ken Jeong, Rita Ora, Robin Thicke, and Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, while Nick Cannon returns as the host.

The premiere of The Masked Singer season 12 featured songs from movies like Barbie and Footloose and as per the press release, the show "reaches new heights in its twelfth season with all-new special theme nights celebrating huge blockbuster IP and music from iconic superstars".

The contestants of season 12 have combined 21 Grammy nominations, 14 Emmy nominations, and 202 film appearances. The new season would also showcase a new twist as each contestant will be assigned a celebrity ambassador who has formerly been part of the show.

The ambassadors have a connection with their singers and they would provide major new clues about the singers’ identities.

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What happened in the premiere of The Masked Singer season 12?

William Shatner started the proceedings and welcomed Rita Ora who performed Who Can It Be Now? by Men At Work. Soon after, the first masked singer, who is a buffalo, entered the stage. Nick Lachey joins Buffalo as their ambassador who introduced himself as Piglet from season 5. Nick stated that Buffalo's life was tough and they were "raised in the grasslands".

Before singing, Buffalo confirmed that their name was on the Walk of Fame and that they have starred in "two of the biggest sit-coms of all time.”

Buffalo sang (I Just) Died In Your Arms by Cutting Crew, but in the middle of the set two more masked buffalos joined in, hinting that they were a group.

The next to perform on The Masked Singer was Woodpecker, who was accompanied by Jenifer Lewis (Miss Cleocatra from season 11). The latter revealed that Woodpecker was "a mogul, a CEO and she even became friends with Beyoncé."

Woodpecker added to this information that she was "trying to be the youngest billionaire."

Visual clues were also provided which had a red sports tape with the word “NEXT” written on it, a sign that said “Family,” and an S.A.T. scorecard.

Woodpecker sang Flowers by Miley Cyrus. and judges guessed names like Willow Smith, Cardi B, Halle Bailey, and Keke Palmer.

The third singer to come up on stage was Leaf Sheep who was accompanied by DeMarcus Ware (Koala from season 11). DeMarcus called Leaf Sheep, "the GOAT" while Leaf Sheep himself added that in his "prime, in headlines and topped the country’s charts”.

Visual clues for the masked singer included a quarter, the #1, and a cowboy seahorse. Leaf Sheep sang I Like It, I Love It by Tim McGraw.

Showbird was next on stage with her ambassador Joel McHale (former guest panelist). Showbird claimed to be a nerd who was into Legos and Comic-Con while also adding that she was in “some of the biggest blockbuster movies”.

Visual clues for Showbird included a book titled Advanced Singing 401, shimmering clothes, a golden gavel, and bedazzled boots. Showbird sang Just Fine by Mary J. Blige.

The final singer of Group A on The Masked Singer was Ship whose ambassador was Jewel (Queen of Hearts from season 6). Ship declared that like a ship, her career has seen tidal waves as she had "massive hits, made history, but lost control."

Expressing her fear of being on stage again, Jewel tells her to steer “towards her fears head-on".

Visual clues included a small airplane with a clock on it, a “Wanted” sign with a $15,000 reward written on it, and crossed antennas. Ship sang Pompeii by Bastille and the panelists guessed names like Cyndi Lauper, Sarah McLachlan, Joan Osborne, and Enya due to her vocal prowess.

The Masked Singer ended with panelists and the studio audience voting with Leaf Sheep earning the least amount of votes.

This meant that he had to unmask before leaving, and Ken Jeong's guess that Leaf Sheep is John Elway became true as the legendary American quarterback revealed himself.