Dancing With The Stars host Tom Bergeron was revealed to be the Taco on Wednesday’s episode of The Masked Singer after thoroughly stumping the panelists.
‘Y’all were way off! Not even a little!’ guest judge and season one winner T-Pain, 34, crowed, while judge Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, 47, said, ‘I quit.’
Taco’s cover of The Four Tops hit song Can’t Help Myself had the panelists guessing it was TV host Jerry Springer, singer Barry Manilow, both 76, actor Kelsey Grammer, 65, or comedian Martin Short, 69.
Taco guy: Dancing With The Stars host Tom Bergeron was revealed to be the Taco on Wednesday’s episode of The Masked Singer after thoroughly stumping the panelists
His charming patter and predilection for classic songs had some guessing he might be an older comedian, and they weren’t far off, as Tom exhibits a comic flair in all his broadcasting jobs.
When they found out who the Taco really was, the judges looked abashed, and for good reason: Three of them had worked with Tom, 64, over the past decade.
Jenny had written the cover blurb for his only book, while Nicole Scherzinger, 41, and Robin Thicke, 42, both appeared on Dancing With The Stars, with Robin performing on the ABC dancing show that Nicole actually won.
‘What was it like being Taco?’ show host Nick Cannon, 39, asked Tom, who said, ‘This was the most work I’ve done in years!’
Classic song: Taco’s cover of The Four Tops hit song Can’t Help Myself had the panelists confused
Totally stumped: Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong, guest panelist T-Pain and Nicole Scherzinger reacted as they were surprised to see Tom under the Taco mask
Dance champ: Nicole actually won Dancing With The Stars hosted by Tom
After Taco’s cheery performance of the 1965 hit won him a standing ovation, Nicole sighed and said, ‘I love Taco,’ which made the crowd laugh.
‘Taco just makes me so happy,’ she added.
‘This is what this show is about: Connecting with an audience,’ panelist Ken Jeong, 50, told the Taco after the applause died down. ‘Everyone loves a taco, and everyone loves you.’
The host: Nick Cannon hosted the Group B Championships
While onstage, Taco gave Nicole a friendship bracelet that read ‘Kiss,’ which Tom later explained was the song she danced to when she won DWTS in its tenth season.
‘Not to be corny,’ he said from the stage, ‘but when I saw you in person, you were perfect.’
‘I wanna give Taco a kiss just for that,’ Nicole admitted.
Friendship bracelet: Taco gifted Nicole with a friendship bracelet reading, ‘KISS’
In person: ‘Not to be corny, but when I saw you in person, you were perfect,’ Taco told Nicole from the stage
In his video package, Taco said that during the week he was allowed ‘to spill the beans to a famous friend full of enthusiasm, whom you all know,’ and that person spoke for him.
‘We have something extremely personal in common,’ the friend, who turned out to be comedian Bob Saget, 63, said, his face hidden behind a tiered shrimp tray.
‘We both help people when they get knocked down, when life hits them in low places. And we both find the humor in everything. It’s all about the laughs, right?’
Past champion: Season one winner T-Pain returned as a panelist
‘Taco and I share something else,’ he went on. ‘We both love our children, our little shrimps. I’m sure they’d be just as proud as I am to see their role model Papa Shrimp Taco in the limelight doing what he does best: Entertaining you, America. Cheers!’
Visual clues included the letters ‘M’ and ‘E,’ which alluded to Tom’s Emmy, a bowl of baked beans, which represented his Boston hometown, and an old washboard, and a drink.
Previous clues featured VHS tapes, which referred to Tom’s time hosting America’s Funniest Videos, and a red trolley, nodding to Tom’s song on the Mr. Rogers Neighborhood tribute album.
Before he left the stage, Tom couldn’t help offering a few parting words.
Parting words: Tom offered some parting words about trusting first impressions
‘The one thing that I think, for all the silliness, what this show really shows [is] you shouldn’t trust first impressions,’ he said. ‘We all go out into the world wearing masks of some kind or another, and it’s to our mutual benefit to look a little deeper and be nicer to each other.’
The four remaining singers competed Wednesday in the Group B Championships, all of them trying to win a spot in the Super Nine before the Masked Singer’s finale.
As the show started, they all came together to sing the Backstreet Boys’ Larger Than Life, with bonus clues shown for each of the contestants.
Group effort: As the show started, Frog, Banana, Kitty and Taco all came together to sing the Backstreet Boys’ Larger Than Life
Taco’s read, ‘I’ve enjoyed a lot of salsas in my time,’ which referred to Tom’s DWTS gig.
Kitty was the first to go onstage alone, and she turned in a sexy version of Miranda Lambert’s Mama’s Broken Heart.
In her video package, her ‘BFF’ wore a long green wig that cascaded down over the balcony of a grand home, and said she had known Kitty ‘since we were little kittens.’
First up: Kitty was the first to go onstage alone, and she turned in a sexy version of Miranda Lambert’s Mama’s Broken Heart
‘She didn’t have a ton of friends and got bullied at school for being weird, but to me that’s always made her special,’ she added. ‘Whether she’s writing poems or directing horror movies we would star in, she’s always had a flair for the dramatic. I’ll never forget that one time, she said that she could see ghosts and scared one girl so badly Kitty got detention.’
‘She may have the voice of an angel, but it’s her dark side that will help her slay the competition.’
Visual clues included a Fabergé egg, a candelabra, knife, Christmas lights, and the word ‘gossip,’ while her ‘extra’ clue read, ‘I’m here to seal the deal!’
Country song: The feline nailed her rendition of the country song
Good times: Robin laughed while trying to figure out the singer’s identity
Nicole loved her performance, saying, ‘I’m feeling the feline; I’m all about feline power. I think without a doubt, Kitty’s gonna be in the Super Nine.’
Kitty gave a friendship bracelet that read ‘Fireworks’ to Robin and said, ‘I gave this to you because the first time we met was lit.’
The panelists thought Kitty was an actress such as Christina Ricci, 40, Kristen Bell, 39, or Hayley Duff, 35.
Wild guesses: The panelists thought Kitty was an actress such as Christina Ricci, 40, Kristen Bell, 39, or Hayley Duff, 35
Banana came onstage with a low-key version of Bill Withers’ Lean On Me, a favorite of his late father, who had only recently passed away.
Visual clues included a jar of jam, while his ‘extra’ clue read: ‘What’s more inspiring than doing laundry?’
‘Your essence that comes out of you, Banana, you’re able to get the audience on their feet every single week,’ Jenny offered. ‘And you can sing. You did an amazing job.’
Late father: Banana performed the Bill Withers song Lean On Me, a favorite of his late father, who had only recently passed away
Friendship episode: Robin hugged Ken during the friendship-themed episode
Banana’s friendship bracelet went to Jenny, and read ‘Nineties Love,’ which he said referenced a ‘great time’ he had with her once, just hanging out ‘as friends.
He later suggested, however, that the bracelet was intended to distract her from the truth.
Guesses to his identity included race car driver Michael Andretti or comedian Larry the Cable Guy, 57, country singer Brad Paisley, 47, or actor Johnny Knoxville, 48.
Low key: Banana performed a low-key version of Lean On Me
Last up was the Frog, who belted a rendition of The Gap Band’s You Dropped A Bomb On Me that was so good T-Pain cried out, ‘Oh my God, who is that?’
In his video package, Frog said he was ‘too ribbit to quit,’ adding, ‘Makes me think backwards to when my career jumpstarted and a woman who was so instrumental but barely seen.’
In the next scene, a woman whose face and body were rendered invisible was draped across a fainting couch. ‘I knew Frog when he was a tadpole,’ she noted. ‘I knew immediately he’d be a superstar. I looked out for him when he was in L.A. Uh-huh. Even then he had an entourage.’
Last up: The last singer was Frog who belted a rendition of The Gap Band’s You Dropped A Bomb On Me that was so good T-Pain cried out, ‘Oh my God, who is that?’
She recalled taking the Frog to his first late-night talk show, which taped well after his bedtime was over.
Visual clues included organic shampoo, a gaggle of frogs, a green bow tie, and a blue water lily. The ‘extra’ clue read, ‘I’ve opened doors for the biggest artists.’
After he performed, the Frog confessed to the judges that before he was on The Masked Singer, he’d lost his love for music and wanted to quit, but the show reignited his love for singing.
Smooth moves: Frog also showed some fancy footwork while singing
No clue: T-Pain and Nicole could not place the singer’s voice
He gave a friendship bracelet reading ‘All we do is win’ to T-Pain, which made him wonder if it was the singer Ludacris, 42, who was featured on that record.
Other guesses included the singer Omarion, 35, and comedian Tommy Davidson, 56.
After everyone performed, it was revealed that Banana and Taco got the lowest number of fan votes, with Taco eventually being chosen as the one to go home.
The Masked Singer will return next week on Fox.
Good guess: Frog gave a friendship bracelet reading ‘All we do is win’ to T-Pain, which made him wonder if it was the singer Ludacris, 42, who was featured on that record