Spoiler alert: For anyone who hasn’t seen Episode 7 of The Masked Singer, the Crab’s identity is revealed.
The Masked Singer Season 5 has been a wild ride so far, from the game-changing wildcard factor to the amazing (if not always surprising) reveals. This week's ep marked the Fox series entering the semi-finals, and the competition made every effort to impress fans watching the mystery celebs fight to eventually be in the Top 3. But in another surprise twist, The Masked Singer delivered a double elimination, with one of the eliminated contestants being the Crab. While he'd been a fan favorite, there was a tense moment from an earlier episode that left viewers worried after Crab had to suddenly leave the stage and remove his mask. Following the elimination and subsequent unmasking, viewers and the judges finally got answers.
While Episode 7's surprise twist threw everyone for a loop, including the four judges, it meant everybody would finally know who the Crab was. The Masked Singer's Ken Jeong and Jenny McCarthy, in particular, were hot on the Crab’s trail from the beginning, and once the final guesses were shared, Jeong and McCarthy were proven correct, with iconic R&B bad boy Bobby Brown unveiled as the harmonious crustacean. While Brown’s reveal was surprising to some, the real question fans had tied back to his unsettling health scare. Speaking with EW, the singer explained what lead to the terrifying moment:
Well, for the first time in my life, I realized that I was claustrophobic. I've never been restricted on stage before. I'm known for my performances, so just being restricted in the costume was something different for me. I enjoyed it, every minute of it, but just finding out that I was claustrophobic is probably the worst part about it.
Making such a discovery while competing on The Masked Singer would be scary and totally unexpected for anyone. Having watched Bobby Brown’s performances for many years prior to his work on the Fox hit, I know he’s a performer who loves moving energetically and dancing around the stage with no restrictions. So, as he pointed out, being inside a full-body costume and performing a full routine was very restrictive for him. He isn’t the first Masked Singer contestant to state that sentiment about donning such a heavy costume, either, though some celebs have had zero issues with their costumes. Thankfully, Brown was still able to enjoy himself, which was made pretty obvious by his performances.
Bobby Brown also revealed that The Masked Singer was must-see television for him and his family before he was brought into the show. When asked to give a piece of advice to future contestants, the singer spoke directly to the reality of his own experience, saying:
Pick a costume that you can breathe and move in, would be my advice to anybody who does the show.
Having seen the panic-laced incident in real-time, I think Bobby Brown gave some truly sage advice about costume choices, especially for what is ostensibly a singing competition. Those amazing costumes can also seem very cumbersome while watching the performers struggle with movement and breathing from time to time. Maybe one of The Masked Singer's next big changes should be focused on redesigning some of the costume types.
While it was sad to see Bobby Brown go, the competition remains fierce as the Super 8 turned to Special 6 with talent such as Black Swan, Piglet and Yeti still in the running. You can watch The Masked Singer every Wednesday on Fox at 8 p.m. ET, with the competition taking a break for a non-elimination sing-along episode next.
