I have been a fan of “The Masked Singer” since the first season back in 2019 when T-Pain proved to the world that autotune is a personal choice and not a necessity. For those who are not aware of what this show is about, it is where celebrities hide their identities behind unique costumes and the panel of judges has to guess which celebrity it is. 

The show has gone on to win two Emmys, People’s Choice Awards and many more, and has been going on for eight seasons now. They even started changing the format of the show to keep the quality fresh and young. So far in the current eighth season, they introduce us to three singers each episode and one is crowned the king or queen while the other two get unmasked.

Episode four of the season was Andrew Lloyd Webber night where Andrew Lloyd Webber himself was the guest judge and was honored throughout whether it was frequent reminders of his legacy or his songs sung in a different way by the contenders.

In this episode, we are introduced to three new singers: Maize, Robogirl and Mermaid. These new singers are fighting for the crown and fighting to get to the semi-finals. 

The first singer to perform was Maize and they threw a curveball on their version of “Heaven On Their Minds” from “Jesus Christ Superstar.” My first impression was that this was a woman with a rich and low tone, but as the performance continued, I was able to figure out that it was a man that was sharing his hidden talent. His strong Broadway-esque notes had the panel and audience standing and engaged the whole time. For me, this was a solid 7.5/10 performance.

Next up was the Mermaid, who was so legendary she did not need to stand as she was rolled out in a multi-colored open shell. She lulled us with her version of “Any Dream Will Do” from “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and released a vibe so contagious that we had no choice but to sway along. My first impression was that this was Tina Turner until I realized my girl no longer has U.S. citizenship, but I knew she was a legend. For this performance, I give it 8/10.

The last singer of the night was Robogirl who, off the bat, was giving me young dancer and/or actress vibes who was not a singer. Her version of “Bad Cinderella” written by Baron Andrew Lloyd Webber himself showcased her natural sassiness and synchronous to the beat that had the audience rocking with her. Personally, this was the weakest performance of the night, but it did what it needed to do. I give this performance a solid 7/10.

As the night concluded, one of the singers had to be unmasked while the other two went on to the battle royale to fight for the top. The first singer to get unmasked was Maize and behind the costume was “Sex and the City’s” Mario Cantone who said “That’s why I did this [because] I want people to know that I can sing, and I do a lot of Broadway benefits and everytime I do one, people say ‘I didn’t know you can sing.’”

Moving on to the Robogirl vs. Mermaid battle royale where the two contenders for the title “Queen of Masked Singer” have to sing the same song in their choice of style. The song was “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” from “Evita” and Mermaid presented a style of grace with her icon status while Robogirl threw us another curveball and belted out like a professional.

In the end, Robogirl was crowned queen for the night and goes one to compete with two new singers next week. Mermaid had to swim back to the ocean as we got to see who was behind the mask. The legendary stance Mermaid presented throughout made everything click once Gloria Gaynor, the survival anthem queen herself, appeared behind the mask.

She was guessed before in prior seasons so it only makes sense she would come eventually. The episode ends with Gaynor singing her timeless song “I Will Survive” and getting everyone on their feet.