Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t seen Episode 3: The Raccoon’s identity will be revealed in this article!
The Masked Singer Season 5 has been on a roll despite a bumpy beginning. The first two episodes have been quite shocking, with the reveals of Kermit the Frog and former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner (aka Snail and Phoenix, respectively). In Episode 3, the Raccoon was eliminated after scoring the lowest votes. While Raccoon’s elimination was expected, the person behind the mask was surprising, to say the least. After their elimination, Raccoon talked about how a scene from Two and a Half Men inspired their wild performance.
Masked Singer fans had been playing 'guess who' since the Raccoon first appeared in Episode 1. When the Raccoon’s head came off, everyone, including the judges and host Niecy Nash, was taken aback by Danny Trejo's reveal. As one of Hollywood’s go-to tough guys, seeing him on The Masked Singer went against public perception. The actor spoke with TVLine shortly after being eliminated, and revealed how the CBS sitcom and Aerosmith informed his final performance:
‘Wild Thing’ I didn’t know. I knew a little bit of ‘Ring of Fire.’ I loved Johnny Cash, because he sang at Folsom [Prison]. ‘Wild Thing,’ remember the guy from Aerosmith, Steven Tyler? I heard him in a TV show, Two and a Half Men, and he was bothering Charlie Sheen. He was practicing and he was just screaming. I said, ‘OK, I’ll do it like that.’ [Laughs] I was channeling Steven Tyler from Aerosmith.
Danny Trejo channeled his inner Steven Tyler on The Masked Singer Episode 3, but compared to his competitors in Group A, the actor was a bit out of his league. Seashell and Russian Dolls alone ruled the night with their performances. Hearing Trejo sing Johnny Cash's “Ring of Fire” fit the image he’s cultivated after decades of working in Hollywood. So, him listing those particular songs gave the same rough-and-tumble outlaw vibe in costume as his typical badass persona. The rock or country genres suited him, given his action roles.
As with most seasons of The Masked Singer, having fun is an important part of the performance, but Danny Trejo likely wouldn’t have lasted in the competition for long compared to other singers. Even after three episodes, some competitors are already emerging as potential contenders for the top three. From the actor’s reaction, he was more into having an enjoyable time and trying something new instead of winning, so it seems like his original Two and a Half Men approach probably gave him what he needed. And, Trejo’s reaction leaned more into his actual personality outside of Hollywood. Despite his success, he is still just an everyday guy even in extraordinary real-life moments.
Even with so many acting credits to his name, seeing Danny Trejo’s face was still a welcome surprise, and he gave fans a peek into his influences after pulling off the funny moment. If you want to see who else is eliminated after Trejo, check out The Masked Singer on Fox, Wednesdays at 8 pm EST.
