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Boyz II Men won The Masked Singer season 12 on December 18, 2024, performing as Buffalos at Fox Studios. Renowned as one of the best-selling R&B groups of all time, Boyz II Men originated in Philadelphia in 1988.
The group consists of Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, and Shawn Stockman, known for their hits End of the Road, I'll Make Love to You, and On Bended Knee, along with earning 4 Grammy Awards in their decades long career.
The R&B trio of Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, and Shawn Stockman defeated singer Mario, who competed as Wasp, through 2 rounds of performances. The finale featured both contestants performing signature ballads and uptempo numbers before the final vote and unmasking.
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The episode included performances of Somebody That I Used to Know, Too Good at Goodbyes, When I Was Your Man and I'm Your Baby Tonight between the two finalists.
Boyz II Men wins The Masked Singer season 12 as Buffalos
The Masked Singer season 12 winning group revealed they originally tried to get eliminated in the first episode. Talking to Gold Derby on December 18, Nathan Morris explained their initial strategy involved deliberately disguising their voices during their performance of "(I Just) Died In Your Arms" by Cutting Crew.
“We were trying to sabotage the whole thing from the beginning. We were either going to sing like us so they would find out or sing like s—. One of the two, so they would say, ‘Get them out of here!'” Nathan said.
Eventually, they found themselves becoming more invested as the competition progressed. Stockman also stated:
“We all tried to not sound like ourselves. I know I was trying my best to sound like a white boy as much as I could. So, that was fun! We were able to role play and enjoy it. We’re in suits for God’s sake, so let’s not take this so seriously.Then, as the show went on, we started to get more involved, emotionally, and we were like, ‘Let’s pull this off!'”
The R&B group members shared their 33-year career perspective during the finale. Wanya Morris spoke about their endurance in the music industry. He mentioned how the group maintains their stage presence while other performers their age face physical limitations. His exact words were:
“For us three guys to be doing this 33 years later, still doing innovative things, setting records and making history as the first group to ever win — we’ve got friends that are in their 50s that can’t walk up stairs, but we’re still on stage. We’re overcoming and that’s what the emotional aspect of it was. We really are doing this.”
Final performances
Buffalos began their The Masked Singer season 12 finale appearance with Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye, which highlighted their group harmonies. Judge Robin Thicke praised their range after the performance.
For their second song, they performed Too Good at Goodbyes by Sam Smith, which brought one of the Buffalos to tears during the emotional performance.
Mario, as Wasp in The Masked Singer season 12, started with Bruno Mars' When I Was Your Man. His powerful vocals led judges to guess he might be Mars himself, along with suggestions of Jason Derulo, Daveed Diggs, Taye Diggs, Miguel, Frank Ocean, Anthony Ramos, or Usher. His second performance of Whitney Houston's I'm Your Baby Tonight further displayed his musical range.
Runner-Up unmasking
Mario's identity as Wasp emerged after the final vote. Before his unmasking, The Masked Singer season 12 judges made several final guesses about his identity. The panel suggested various artists including B2K, Bell Biv DeVoe, Blackstreet, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Earth Wind & Fire, and Jonas Brothers. His performances gained praise from all 4 judges throughout the season.
The Let Me Love You singer showed his vocal range across different musical styles during his run. Mario mentioned feeling underrated in the industry during his final comments. He spoke about building his musical career from a young age and working with numerous industry stars.
The Masked Singer season 12 finale concluded with both Buffalos and Wasp receiving recognition for their achievements in the competition.
