‘The Masked Singer’ Host, Nick Cannon, Didn’t Want To Know Who Was Beneath Costumes Before Filming

Fox’s The Masked Singer has become one of the biggest hits on television. Viewers all over the country can’t wait to find out the true identities of the costumed contestants.

When the show premiered on January 2, there were 12 performers decked out in elaborate ensembles and each was given a name based on their goofy getup: Alien, Bee, Deer, Hippo, Lion, Monster, Peacock, Pineapple, Poodle, Rabbit, Raven, and Unicorn.

During the debut episode — spoiler alert! — the Hippo was unmasked, revealing Pittsburg Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.

On the second episode of the season, which aired on January 9, the Pineapple took his mask off and — another spoiler alert! — comedian and actor Tommy Chong was exposed.

With 10 secret characters remaining, people everywhere are weighing in with guesses as to who the singing stars really are.

One person who claims he had no idea who the contestants truly were when the series filmed last June is the show’s host, Nick Cannon. But that’s only because he wanted to be surprised.

“I had the choice at the beginning. They said, ‘Do you want to know?’ And I felt like, as the host… I wanted to find out when the audience found out,” he said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Thursday, January 10.

So, when you are watching The Masked Singer at home, you are watching the exact moment in time that Cannon and the four panelists — Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong, and Nicole Scherzinger — also found out.

The 38-year-old host did offer some clues about a couple of the competitors, although they are pretty cryptic.

“There’s a few people on the show that are purposely changing their voices to try to throw people off,” he explained.

When told that many people believe Bee is legendary singer Gladys Knight, he responded with the question, “Why would the person you said dress up like a bee?”

“The Raven has risen from the fire. That person has been through quite a bit and [is] still rising. That’s all I’m going to say. I’m just going to leave it at that,” he said about the costumed character many think is former talk show host Ricki Lake.

His biggest tease was regarding Lion.

“This person, if you even notice, they use the Lion the most in the promos,” Cannon said.

“It looks like it’s the most expensive costume. So, whoever is underneath there must be someone really important. [They] must be really heavy in the star power department.”

The next episode of The Masked Singer airs Wednesday, January 16, at 9 p.m. on Fox. Comedian and actor Joel McHale will be a guest panelist for the episode.