At long last, the remaining contestants from The Masked Singer Season 12 — Buffalos and Wasp — will compete for the Golden Mask during the Dec. 18 finale on Fox. But will the ultimate winner be Group A’s mammalian singing trio or Group B’s buzzed-about soloist? And, more importantly, which famous faces are hiding underneath the remaining masks, anyway?
If you’re looking for The Masked Singer spoilers for Buffalos and Wasp, you’ve come to the right place! Gold Derby’s official guess for Buffalos is Boyz II Men, and our official guess for Wasp is Mario. Don’t believe us? Let’s examine all of the various clues, one by one:
Masked Ambassador Clues
Buffalos: Their ambassador is Season 5 champ Nick Lachey, aka Piglet. The music star has been oinking it up with Boyz II Men ever since they toured together — along with the rest of Lachey’s boy band group, 98 Degrees — in 2013.
Wasp: His ambassador is Season 10 winner Ne-Yo, aka Cow. He revealed that he has known Wasp “since he was fresh on the scene and he gained huge success by taking my words of wisdom.” Ne-Yo wrote the hit song “Let Me Love You” for Mario.
SEE ‘The Masked Singer’ winners list: Every season
Audio Clues
Buffalos: The first time we saw the trio, they referenced “starring in two of the biggest sitcoms of all time.” The Boyz appeared on both The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and How I Met Your Mother. In week two, they told the crowd, “You know how when someone tells you you can’t do something and you just want to do it more? Well, just like those kids in Footloose longing to dance, we’re each rebels in our own way. We somehow found each other along the trail.” Boyz II Men formed way back in 1985 at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. For their third performance, the guys talked about being “the most harmonious” in the face of losing their own personal “MacGyver.” That could be a reference to their tour manager Roderick “Khalil” Rountree, who was murdered in Chicago in 1992.
Wasp: “I grew up in a tough neighborhood,” Wasp said in week one, which was a clue to Mario’s hometown of Balitmore. “There was no reason I should have made it out, but I learned to dig deep and fight.” In week two, he declared, “I lived with over a dozen other family members, all of them hustlers. There was so much noise in the house, and love, but there was one thing missing — that was my dad.” Mario’s father, gospel singer Derryl Barrett Sr., was not a big presence in the performer’s early years. Finally, Wasp noted, “In my life, there’s been one hero that I’ve admired most, and that’s my mother.” When Mario’s mother, Shawntia Hardaway, died in 2020, the artist gave her a loving tribute in which he wrote, “Your soul lives forever beside mine.”
Visual Clues
Buffalos: For their first prop, Nick sent the Buffalos a gift for good luck: a crown. That’s a direct reference to the Boyz being music royalty. Later, a lawn mower was ridden onto the stage that had a “Mo-Town” license plate, and the trio explained, “We’re a little tired right now because we are busy using this tractor to mow lawns all around town.” Boyz II Men were members of the iconic Motown Records. One of their first hit singles on that label, “Sympin,” sampled the Bell Biv DeVoe track “Poison,” which explains the black poison bottle from week two.
Wasp: Basketball sneakers appeared following his first performance, prompting Wasp to say, “Well Nick, fresh kicks helps me to stay on my game.” Mario is a huge b-ball fan and was recently spotted at a Los Angeles Lakers game. Wasp later showed off his toy Barbie dolls and stated, “Every minute I’m out there I take my live performances to new heights.” Mario has performed live all of the world. Finally, an ATM shooting out $1 million bills prompted the bee to admit, “Just like this bill, I’ve also hit a million,” which is a reference to his music sales.
Panelists’ Guesses
Buffalos: B2K, Earth, Wind & Fire, 98 Degrees, Bell Biv DeVoe, 112, Boyz II Men, Big Time Rush, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Black Eyed Peas, The Temptations, Tony! Toni! Toné!, and Blackstreet.
Wasp: Taye Diggs, Bruno Mars, Jason Derulo, Miguel, Frank Ocean, Daveed Diggs, Mario, Craig David, Eric Benet, Usher, Maxwell, and Anthony Ramos.
Here are Fox’s official clues videos for Buffalos and Wasp:
The ultimate Golden Mask recipient for The Masked Singer Season 12 will join the roster of winners: T-Pain as Monster (Season 1), Wayne Brady as Fox (Season 2), Kandi Burruss as Night Angel (Season 3), LeAnn Rimes as Sun (Season 4), Nick Lachey as Piglet (Season 5), Jewel as Queen of Hearts (Season 6), Teyana Taylor as Firefly (Season 7), Amber Riley as Harp (Season 8), Bishop Briggs as Medusa (Season 9), Ne-Yo as Cow (Season 10), and Vanessa Hudgens as Goldfish (Season 11).
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