Wrestling Star, Actor Unmasked on ‘The Masked Singer’: Watch

An ‘80s TV star had to jump as The Masked Singer went country on Wednesday night (March 22).

Holly Robinson Peete, the author, singer and actress who made her name on 21 Jump Street, alongside a young Johnny Depp, was one of two celebrities unmasked on “Country Night”.

Dressed to impress as Fairy, the multi-hyphenate performed “Angel of Montgomery” by Bonnie Raitt, then engaged in a head-to-head “Battle Royale” with Macaw on Shania Twain’s hit “That Don’t Impress Me Much.” 

Sadly, for Robinson Peete, one had to go home.

“How did you not know it was me,” she questioned Nick Cannon and the four panelists.  No hard feelings.

“I’ve so enjoyed this,” she enthused. “This was a lot of fun.”

So why do the show? “I’ve always been sort of a closet singer.” It turns out, she sang the theme for 21 Jump Street, and gave an impromptu example for the cameras.

This isn’t her first rodeo. Robinson Peete won “Sesame Street Night,” and her dad, we learned, is Matt Robinson, the original Gordon from the beloved kids show. Dad used to talk to Oscar the Grouch, daughter got to sing to the trash dude. “Talk about a full circle moment,” she remarked.

Earlier, Axolotl performed Leann Rimes’ “Can’t Fight the Moonlight”.

She couldn’t fight the unmasking, though. Under the helmet was five-time WWE women’s champion Alexa Bliss.

Despite crunching rivals on the canvas for a living, singing for an audience is well-outside her comfort zone. “This was something that was personal for me because I have actually crippling stage-fright when it comes to singing,” she explained.

“I actually cried backstage before coming out here because I was just so nervous. But I am just so proud of myself because I conquered my fears. And y’all were so great.”

Bliss added, “I deal with anxiety and this was something that I wanted to show I can make myself proud.” And for those of us with fears, some advice: “Do something every day that scares you because I did that today and it was so fun.”

Robinson Peete and Bliss join a growing group of unmasked celebrities in this season nine of Fox’s wacky hit. Others include Malin Akerman (Squirrel), Lele Pons (Jackalope), Michael Bolton (Wolf), Grandmaster Flash (Polar Bear), Debbie Gibson (Night Owl), Howie Mandel (Rock Lobster), Sara Evans (Mustang) and Dick Van Dyke (Gnome).

Lars Brandle

Billboard