Warning! The following contains spoilers for The Masked Singer Season 11 premiere. Read at your own risk!
The Masked Singer's milestone Season 10 premiere set a high bar by bringing back a feeling of previous seasons. At the time, I thought it was the series' best yet. I should've known that the Fox show can always outdo itself, and I daresay it just did. Season 11's premiere was the best yet, and I credit that to adding Rita Ora and the show's biggest guest yet.
We've seen some shocking reveals on The Masked Singer in ten seasons, but this one took the cake. With that said, those who haven't had a chance to catch the premiere on Fox or stream the episode with their Hulu subscription should be warned because I'm about to spoil it by talking about the Season 11 premiere below:
The Book Quickly Was Revealed To Be Kevin Hart
It was obvious who The Book was under the mask from the first note that he sang, but it's still a shock that a star as huge as Kevin Hart appeared on the Season 11 premiere of The Masked Singer. As if his butchering of Ne-Yo's "So Sick" wasn't enough to earn an early exit, Hart ripped off his costume to ensure he could be eliminated after successfully pranking his friend Nick Cannon.
His impromptu unmasking was the first since Gremlin's bizarre elimination in Season 4, and likely done because Hart is a busy actor. I did like seeing him stop by, however, and went to give that new Borderlands trailer a look just to remind myself how jazzed I am for that movie.
Rita Ora Shined In Her Debut On The Masked Singer
When Nicole Scherzinger announced she was leaving The Masked Singer ahead of Season 11, I wondered how anyone could replace her energy. It turns out that if you give Rita Ora a microphone and have her open up Season 11 by singing The Who's "Who Are You," she'll get the job done.
I think what was most impressive to me about Rita Ora's debut on The Masked Singer panel was how seamless it was. Usually, when there's a shakeup in a cast – especially after ten seasons – it takes some time to get used to. Based on how she interacted with Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, and Robin Thicke, you'd think she was always a part of the show.
One episode is an admittedly small sample size, but Rita Ora left a very strong impression on me, and I'm eager to see how she does throughout the rest of The Masked Singer Season 11. If she can keep the same energy she had in the first episode, I'm willing to hitch my wagon to the Rita-era of the reality series until it ends. No offense to Nicole Scherzinger, of course, because I loved her in all the previous seasons as well.
The Masked Singer airs on Fox on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. I'm looking forward to the rest of this season, though I'll admit I will wait a couple of episodes before picking a frontrunner to win because the first batch of contestants didn't wow me.
