Past Winners of 'The Masked Singer' Prove You Should Always Expect the Unexpected

Since its premiere in 2019, The Masked Singer has taken the U.S. by storm. The singing reality competition, which originated in Korea, is unexpectedly addictive — and not knowing who is behind the masks is oddly maddening.

It's thanks to the show's simple, yet genius, design that the series has amassed a serious following.

Like The Voice, the identities of contestants on The Masked Singer are unknown. However, unlike The Voice, those competing in The Masked Singer wear elaborate masked costumes for the duration of their time on the show.

And although their singing voices are real, the contestants' speaking voices are obscured — so neither the judges nor the audience has any idea who the singers are until they're eliminated. (Or until they make it all the way to the end and are declared the winners.)

Let's take a look back at past winners of the competition. Because, as viewers have learned by now, they should always expect the unexpected.

On Feb. 27, 2019, the Monster (rapper T-Pain) was declared the winner of Season 1 of The Masked Singer.

None of the panelists correctly guessed who the Monster was before he was unmasked in the final episode. This was likely because T-Pain sang without his famous auto-tune.

"It was normal to me, because I hear my voice all the time," he told Entertainment Tonight following his win. "But when people hear the auto-tune, they automatically go off, 'Well, that can't be his real voice!' You know, it's pretty much the same."

In Season 2, the Fox beat out 13 other contestants to take home the golden mask — and he was revealed to be none other than Wayne Brady. (Once again, the top guess was Jamie Foxx. Which would have been perfect, considering the fox costume and all.)

“This has been the coolest, most amazing, most touching, most challenging, weirdest... I mean, really, I’m gonna take this with me forever,” Wayne said after the shocking reveal. “This show is amazing because of the mask you lead talent-first."

By the end of Season 3, a lot of fans had already guessed who the winner would be and who would be behind her mask. The Night Angel, who was revealed to be Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss, took home the trophy.

Kandi was a member of the R&B group Xscape in the '90s, so many fans of her music called it her voice behind Night Angel early on in the show.

Kandi beat out runners-up Turtle (Jesse McCartney) and Frog (Bow Wow) in the final episode.

Given that LeAnn Rimes has two Grammys to her name, it is no surprise she won Season 4 of The Masked Singer as The Sun.

However, she did have some stiff musical competition. Singer Aloe Blacc came in second place, followed by Backstreet Boy Nick Carter.

Nick Lachey became the first boy bander to win The Masked Singer when he took home the top prize as Piglet in Season 5.

The 98 Degrees singer beat out JoJo Siwa and Wiz Khalifa, saying at the time, "My kids wanted me to do the show for so long."

Following in LeAnn's footsteps, country singer Jewel won The Masked Singer when she appeared on the show as the Queen of Hearts.

"We can't place our worth on our job title, or our names..." she told EW. "And so the show actually in a really interesting way, even though it's such a fun, silly pop show, I feel like allowed me to show so sincerely and authentically who I was, that most essential thing, which to me is my heart."

Everyone knows Teyana Taylor is a triple threat, but do you know she won Season 7 of The Masked Singer? The One Battle After Another star appeared as the Firefly, and beat out fellow singer Orrantia and actor Cheyenne Jackson.

Former Glee star Amber Riley made her William McKinley High alums very proud when she won Season 8 of The Masked Singer. And she beat out Wilson Phillips to do so.

It was deja vu for American Idol runner-up David Archuleta as he once again came in second place, but this time to Bishop Briggs, who won Season 9 of The Masked Singer as Medusa.

Bishop is best known for her hit single "River."

The Masked Singer fans were not "So Sick" of Ne-Yo, seeing as he won Season 10 of the singing competition. Despite being dressed as a Cow, Ne-Yo took first place in a stacked season that saw Dukes of Hazzard actor John Schneider come in second and PLL star Janel Parrish third.

We were soaring, flying, when Vanessa Hudgens won Season 11 of The Masked Singer in 2024. Since then, the High School Musical star has welcomed two kids with her husband, Cole Tucker.  

It took a few seasons, but another boy band took home The Masked Singer trophy when Boyz II Men won in Season 12 as "Buffalos."

Singer Mario came in second place.

A third country star won The Masked Singer when the "Redneck Woman" singer, Gretchen Wilson, won in Season 13. Gretchen, dressed as "Pearl," outperformed singer Andy Grammar and Meg Donnelly to win.