The best and most chaotic time of year is here: The Masked Singer Australia season four is in full swing and it’s as cooked as ever.
This year, we were given a spicy new judging panel battling it out for chaotic-costume-guessing glory and they have not let us down.
The cursed show that puts B-and-below Grade celebrities into nightmare fuel costumes and makes them sing on stage in front of a crowd — which once was hyped-up people in other animal costumes (possibly low-budget furries) — is back and we’re simply obsessed.
Every year there’s swelling drama and rumours around The Masked Singer. Which Masked Singer masks will be revealed first? Which local celebrities are on the judging/guessing panel? Will anyone ever be as good as Lindsay Lohan who really phoned it in for a whole season?
As we plough through season four here’s everything we know about the show that feels more like a fever dream than a legitimate program on the telly.
Everything We Know About The Masked Singer Australia Season 4
What Are The Masks On This Season Of The Masked Singer Australia?
Three of the masks for season four were unveiled on July 5th and they’re all just as cursed as you’d expect.
First up we had the Mirrorball which looked scarily like the ceiling of Revs after a few too many strong shandies. Then we’ve got the Zombie, who looked like a flight attendant from hell. And then there’s the adorable and alarmingly-large Thong. Does what it says on the tin, really. It’s a big-ass thong.
Once the show kicked off we were introduced to the full host of fever dream masked singers, including Microphone, Poodle, Blowfly, Popcorn, Gnome, Caterpillar, Knight, Rooster, Snapdragon and Tiger.
Which Masked Singer Celebrities Have Already Been Revealed?
We’re deep into the season now which means we’ve met a bunch of the celebs behind the elaborate masks, costumes and voice-altering technology on The Masked Singer Australia.
The first Masked Singer celeb to be revealed was Knight, who turned out to be Ryan Moloney. Ah, ol’ Toadfish Rebechhi. Straight from Ramsay St to the chaos parade.
Next up was Caterpillar, who transformed into Commonwealth Games champion swimmer Lisa Curry.
Two of the masks we met in the original promos for season four were revealed shortly after.
First was Thong — who turned out to be Looking For Alibrandi star and Survivor Australia winner Pia Miranda. Then it was time for Zombie, who was hiding a wiggly Emma Watkins (the former Yellow Wiggle) behind her kaleidoscopic eyes.
Ol’ Gnome was the next to be elaborately unmasked and it turned out to be none other than former MasterChef judge and Celebrated Mouth, Matt Preston. Quickly following him was Popcorn, who was hiding a Sam Sparro beneath that big pile of fluffy, popped kernels.
No doubt, every person and their dog knew who Blowfly was hiding. That Masked Singer mask revealed that none other than Shannon Noll was buzzing behind those big peepers.
The final two masks to be unveiled were Microphone, which was hiding one of three Destiny’s Child icons Michelle Williams and Poodle, who was the ever iconic Tori Spelling. Two international celebs back to back, what a treat!
That leaves us with three masks left for the grand finale.
As a recap, here’s who each of The Masked Singer Australia mask revealed in season four:
Knight: Ryan Moloney
Caterpillar: Lisa Curry
Thong: Pia Miranda
Zombie: Emma Watkins
Gnome: Matt Preston
Popcorn: Sam Sparro
Blowfly: Shannon Noll
Microphone: Michelle Williams
Poodle: Tori Spelling
Who Is In The Masked Singer Australia Grand Finale?
This year’s Masked Singer grand finale has come down to three remaining masks: Mirrorball, Rooster and Snapdragon.
We have some hot predictions for each of the finalists, and we agree that Hugh Sheridan is strutting in that Rooster mask, Eurovision singer Sheldon Riley is Snapdragon and Mirrorball is Pussycat Dolls icon Melody Thornton.
The Masked Singer Australia grand finale kicks off at 7.30pm on August 28 and you can watch it on Channel 10 and 10Play.
When Did This Season Of Masked Singer Start?
The official premiere date for season four of The Masked Singer Australia was Sunday, August 7th and it runs from Sunday to Tuesday at 7.30pm.
Who Was Rumoured To Be Starring In This Season?
Some of the rumoured cast of The Masked Singer leaked ahead of the premiere and proved this season was ready to absolutely serve.
The Daily Mail revealed the potential celebs starring in the show. You can colour me intrigued.
Top of the list is TV host Grant Denyer. I didn’t know he could sing but I suppose sheer vocal talent isn’t 100 per cent the point of The Masked Singer.
According to The Daily Mail, he was first rumoured to be appearing on the show a full two years ago.
Another big name is known Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton. An inside source told The Daily Mail that judge and Spice Girl Mel B recognised Thornton’s voice from within the Mirrorball costume. Mel Supremacy!!
Plus, apparently, Baby Spice Emma Bunton was seen eating out with Mel B in Sydney. A Spice Girls reunion? Let’s go gays and girls.
In an interview with 101.9’s Fifi, Fev & Nick, judge David Hughes refused to comment on whether Bunton would be starring on the show. Mysterious, mysterious.
Rounding out The Daily Mail‘s rumour list is Eurovision icon Sheldon Riley and my personal lesbian awakening, Charli Robinson from Hi-5.
Safe to say we were very keen to watch haunted costumes bop around this year.
Who Is On The New Judging Panel?
The majority of last season’s judges yeeted out of the show before season four began filming. But have no fear because the new judging lineup has proven to be absolutely incredible.
Abbie Chatfield, Chrissie Swan and actual bonafide Spice Girl Mel B joined Dave Hughes on the judging panel.
View this post on Instagram
In a statement, Mel B said she’s missed Australia “so much”. She also reckoned she was going to have an edge on the other judges because she’d competed in-costume on The Masked Singer UK and The Masked Singer Spain. She’s quite literally been ~inside the mask~.
“I’m bringing all my secret inside knowledge to this. But more to the point, I’m bringing the fun,” she said.
“Fasten your seatbelts everyone, it’s going to be a rollercoaster ride.”
Fellow The Masked Singer Australia judge and Shepard avocado hater Abbie Chatfield said she was “thrilled” to be joining the show.
“I’m the first to say I can be competitive and I’m so ready to put my pop culture knowledge to the test and guess who is under the mask,” Abbie Chatfield said.
The Herald Sun previously predicted Abbie Chatfield could be taking one of the seats at the judges’ desk. And Melb B was previously rumoured to be a judge on The Masked Singer Australia too. As Lizzo once said: all the rumours are true.
Melbourne Fox 101.9 producer and known Masked Singer oracle Leon Sjogren previously predicted a Spice Girl would be joining the show after a long run of nailing the identities of the masked performers.
Every year I seem to absolutely nail The Masked Singer performers.
This time I can also guess who the new judges will be.
You heard it here first… They’ll have a Spice Girl.#MaskedSingerAU #TheMaskedSinger
— Leon Sjogren (@Leonsjogren) June 7, 2022
Past judges of The Masked Singer Australia include Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, Dannii Minogue and Urzila Carlson.
Henderson quit the show’s judging panel after three years of working on the program. She posted on Instagram on June 4 about leaving and said it was an “incredibly tough decision” but filming always happened during school holiday time and she wanted to go spend more time with her daughter.
Why Did The Masked Singer Australia Judges Quit?
Fans were shocked to learn that not one, not two, but THREE judges had left the show in 2022.
A sneaky source close to production told So Dramatic! that while scheduling conflicts with all three departing gals was accurate, there’s another reason why they didn’t sign on for another year.
“Jackie and Danni asked for a pay rise this year due to the immense success of the show over the last two years. They thought they were worth more and deserved it, given that the show owes its success to them,” the source spilled.
Apparently, production would not “budge” on their final price and so the gals left.
“They had a different opinion and think the show’s success is due to the talent and names they can get behind the masks,” they said.
“So, they are spending up big on talent this year, instead of allocating more money from the budget to cover the judges’ pay.”
The source added that there’s “no bad blood” and “no animosity, they just decided it wasn’t worth it.”
How Much Are The New The Masked Singer Australia 2022 Judges Getting Paid?
So Dramatic! revealed that Mel B AKA Scary Spice is believed to have been offered around half a million dollars, which is fair given her celebrity status.
Meanwhile, Abbie Chatfield copped a whopping $100k, which is significantly less than Mel’s payday, but totally fair given she’s new to talent shows.
As for Chrissie and Hughesy, they’re both still under contract for Ten, hence why they’re both a part of the show.
When Did Season Four Of The Masked Singer Australia Filming?
The Masked Singer Australia was filmed at Fox Studios in Sydney over most of July and premiered on Channel 10 on August 7.
