Spoiler alert: The identity of The Masked Singer's Octopus, as revealed in this week’s two-part season premiere, is mentioned in this article.
The Masked Singer's Season 6 premiere was chock full of talent, as Group A battled it out to continue through the competition. Because of this week’s two-parter, this week saw multiple contestants get eliminated, resulting in a major change of pace for the singing competition. Among those ousted was the charismatic Octopus and, after his stunning elimination, the Octopus revealed the emotional connection he felt to his suave eight-tentacled alter ego.
As soon as he sang his first note, the viewers and judges were hot on the Octopus’s trail. Given his height, the judges ran to their usual guesses of basketball players, including Dennis Rodman and Shaquille O’Neal. And in a stunning surprise, everyone’s favorite clueless judge, Ken Jeong, was the only one who knew the aquatic invertebrate’s secret from the beginning. Once the Octopus’ head came off, he was revealed to be none other than NBA superstar and reigning champ Dwight Howard. An aquatic creature might have been a strange costume choice for some, but not for Howard. The NBA all-star recently spoke on the unexpected kinship he felt with his costume:
It was like we chose each other, like the octopus chose me. This octopus and I, we're kind of like the same, we've been misunderstood for most of all our life. ... People are afraid of it, but once they get around the octopus and they see how cool the octopus is, how smart it is, they have a different view. So, I wanted to bring out some of the octopus' traits in my character as well.
Dwight Howard’s sentiments are actually quite revealing. As he astutely pointed out, he and the eight-tentacled invertebrate are seen as scary and mysterious figures in their respective worlds. Howard has been characterized as an eccentric (sometimes, difficult) personality within the NBA. So as the Octopus, Howard was able to showcase a new part of himself while using a disguise that suited him.
Like any contestant, the Octopus’s elimination was a bittersweet moment. Dwight Howard revealed to People that he did The Masked Singer as a tribute to his mother. He also admitted that other NBA players pushed him to consider performing on show after hearing him sing. So Howard had plenty of good reasons to join up with the fan-favorite reality competition series.
While Dwight Howard got eliminated along with Mother Nature and Pufferfish, there are still contestants viewers can root for. Of course, next week, viewers will go through the same process again, as Group B gets their chance to battle it out.
After the premiere, The Masked Singer will now air at its regular night and time, Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET, on Fox.
