Fans were shocked to learn that long-time judge Nicole Scherzinger would not be returning to The Masked Singer for Season 11. Why did Nicole Scherzinger leave The Masked Singer? Keep reading to find out.
The Masked Singer is Fox’s reality TV singing competition series, in which celebrities compete against each other in performances while wearing head-to-toe costumes and face masks to conceal their identities. Each week, a panel of judges guess the celebrities’ identities based on their voices and clues provided before and after their performances. At the end of every episode, the judges and the live studio audience vote on their favorite contestant. The singer with the least amount of votes is eliminated and must then take off their mask to reveal their identity. The last singer to be unveiled is determined the winner.
The series premiered in 2019 and is based off of the South Korean show King of the Mask Singer, which follows a similar format. Since its U.S. debut, The Masked Singer has since expanded to several different countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Brazil.
Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, Robin Thicke and Nicole Scherzinger served on the judging panel for the first 10 seasons. In September 2023, Fox announced that the former Pussycat Dolls member would not be returning for Season 11 and had been replaced by singer Rita Ora, a panelist on The Masked Singer UK. Read on to learn why Nicole Scherzinger left The Masked Singer.
Why did Nicole Scherzinger leave The Masked Singer?
Why did Nicole Scherzinger leave The Masked Singer? The singer and actress stepped away from The Masked Singer to star in a new production of Sunset Boulevard in London’s West End. Sunset Boulevard is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the 1950 film of the same title. The revival is directed by Jamie Lloyd and it opened on Oct. 12, 2023.
Speaking to The New York Times about her decision to take on the lead role of Norma Desmond, Scherzinger said: “For many years I have been saying I am using a fraction of my potential, and now I feel I have really tapped into that.” She continued: “There are many roles I wanted to play in musical theater, but this is not one of them! I wasn’t sure if the idea was flattering or insulting. But Jamie said to me, don’t watch the movie; read the lines, listen to the music. And I fell madly in love with it.”
Unlike some talent shows, such as Dancing With the Stars, The Masked Singer is not live and Season 11 began filming in September 2023, months before its upcoming March 6, 2024, premiere date. With Scherzinger’s play running until January 2024, filming the newest season would have been impossibly. Luckily, The Masked Singer had Rita Ora in their back pocket.
Ahead of Season 11 premiere, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg told Entertainment Weekly that she “learned a lot” from Ora this season. “She came in because she had some pretty big shoes to fill,” she said of the British singer. McCarthy-Wahlberg added: “We love Nicole. Nicole is so talented and funny, but Nicole had this amazing opportunity to go overseas in the West End and perform. So we were so happy for her. And there couldn’t have been a better choice than Rita.”
While fans are certainly going to miss Scherzinger, it’s still going to be a very exciting season. “When [redacted] was unmasked, we freaked out,” McCarthy-Wahlberg teased of a big moment that happens in the Season 11 premiere. “I couldn’t wait to call everyone I know. And then I realized I can’t call anyone I know. Everyone’s going to have to wait until the show happens, because we don’t want to blow this one. It’s that big and that good.”
Season 11 of The Masked Singer premieres on Fox on March 6, 2o24, at 8 p.m. EST.
Check out this gallery on your favorite primetime stars’ real-life partners in the gallery bellow.
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