Weird and wonderful new talent show: What is The Masked Singer Australia?

If you’ve watched anything on Channel 10 in recent times, chances are you’ve seen a promo for a bizarre new talent show called The Masked Singer Australia. The new program, which is already a phenomenon in other countries around the world, sees 12 colourful mascots take to the stage to impress a panel of celebrity judges.

Unlike other talent shows such as The Voice and Australia’s Got Talent – which aim to find the nation’s next superstar – 12 celebrities are actually hidden under each of the quirky costumes. While there’s much secrecy surrounding the true identities of the masked singers, Starts at 60 is taking a closer look at what The Masked Singer is actually about, who is hosting and judging the show, what the mascots are and when it starts in Australia.

What is The Masked Singer Australia?

While most talent shows see unknown hopefuls audition in front of a celebrity judging panel for a chance of superstardom, The Masked Singer Australia sees 12 famous faces hidden under ridiculous costumes singing for the nation. While each celebrity will sing during the series, the aim of the show is for the judges and viewers at home to guess who is really underneath the crazy costumes.

The show will begin with six of the 12 famous contestants taking to the stage. They’re not all famous for singing, but they can all sing. Before each celebrity performs, viewers will be presented with a number of clues about the person that could reveal their true identity.

As the series progresses, the clues will become more obvious. Each night, the panel and audience vote for their favourite singer and at least one celebrity is eliminated each week. When a contestant is eliminated, they have to take off their mask and reveal their true identity.

Who are the judges and the host?

The Masked Singer Australia is hosted by Osher Günsberg, who previously hosted Australian Idol and currently hosts The Bachelor and Bachelorette. The masked celebrities will also have to impress four celebrity judges including American actress and singer Lindsay Lohan, former X Factor and Australia’s Got Talent judge Dannii Minogue, former Popstars judge and radio presenter Jackie O and comedian and former Australia’s Got Talent judge Dave Hughes.

Who are the celebrities on The Masked Singer Australia?

Because the whole point of the show is to guess who the 12 celebrities are, their true identities haven’t yet been revealed. Channel 10 has confirmed the masked identities that each famous face will disguise themselves as on the show. For season one, viewers will be treated to kooky performances by an alien, a dragon, a lion, a monster, an octopus, a parrot, a prawn, a rhino, a robot, a spider, a unicorn and a wolf.

While the show hasn’t yet started, viewers are already eagerly trying to guess who each celebrity is. Some names that have been suggested by fans so far include former pop star Nikki Webster, Celebrity Name Game host Grant Denyer, Australian singer Kate Cebrano, Australian Idol winner Casey Donovan, Home and Away star Ray Meagher, actress and singer Kylie Minogue,  Baywatch star David Hasselhoff and even Bindi Irwin.

What are the clues for The Masked Singer Australia?

Ahead of the show’s debut, a number of clues have been released to help viewers identify who is really under each costume. The show’s official Facebook page recently teased that some of the celebrities include a Logie winner, an Aria winner, a World Cup champion and an Order of Australia recipient.

Host Osher Gunsberg explained in a video shared on Facebook that each celebrity is “someone who gets stared at when they do the groceries”. He also explained that not even the judges know who is behind the masks and that celebrities show up to rehearsals wearing hoods, gloves and even fat suits to disguise their body types.

“While all of our celebrities can sing, they’re not all singers,” Gunsburg revealed. “What’s been really interesting is the people who have been famous for doing something else, but are also very, very good singers and that has been throwing us all completely out of sorts.”

He also revealed parts of each singer’s history will emerge as clues and that it’s important to keep an open mind because every single thing audiences see and hear could be a clue.

“Look super carefully at the back of shot, tiny little things on a table, if they’re holding something, a picture in a frame. Any of that could give it away completely,” Gunsburg added.

When does The Masked Singer Australia start?

The Masked Singer Australia will air on Channel 10 from Monday September 23 at 7:30pm and on WIN at the same time in rural areas. It will also be available to stream via the 10 Play app after each show.