For one achy breaky contestant, The Masked Singer came to an abrupt end on Wednesday night, Feb. 11 when Owl was eliminated.
The latest episode of Fox’s quirky singing series celebrated Twilight and Valentine’s Day. Christina Perri opened with a performance of “A Thousand Year,” her song from the vampire romance franchise.
As the competition got underway, Cat Witch sang “It Will Rain” by Bruno Mars; 14 Karat Carrot performed “Tainted Love” by Gloria Jones; Stingray hit “Bad Habits” by Ed Sheeran; and Owl went with “White Wedding” by Billy Idol.
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Owl and Stingray faced the axe, and both battled with performances of Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield.”
In the end, Owl had to fly.
Under the mask was Billy Ray Cyrus, the country star who had a massive global hit in 1992 with “Achy Breaky Heart,” which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
To younger generations, Cyrus is probably best known as the father of Miley and Noah, and the collaborator with Lil Nas X, whose 2019 version of “Achy Breaky Heart” logged 19 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, a then record.
“It’s an honor to be with y’all,” he said after the big reveal. “You know, it’s been a lot of fun. Music changes everything, music changes lives.”
Panelists Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Rita Ora and Robin Thicke all failed to guess who was under the helmet.
“It’s very rare that none of us get it right,” remarked Thicke, “especially for such a big name and a big star and somebody we’ve guessed so many times. So to be able to fool all of us, that’s quite an accomplishment.”
With the benefit of hindsight, the veteran singer did give some handy pointers. There was a “1992” sign, pointing to the year of Miley’s birth, and the release of his signature song. And an image of a billy goat.
And with this Saturday, Feb. 14 marking Valentine’s Day, the reference to the “lady in red” was a clue to his lady. “An angel came into my life named Elizabeth Hurley,” he remarked.
With the departure of Cyrus, a two-time Grammy Award winner, just 10 contestants remain in this season 14 of The Masked Singer, including all three wildcards.
Watch the unmasking below.