The Masked Singer season 9 contestant Medusa, the panel's first-ever save, has made it to the finale, and there are many clues that can help solve her identity. On Opening Night, Medusa wowed everyone with her mystical rendition of "Happier than Ever" by Billie Eilish. She then went head-to-head with Sara Evans (Mustang) in the Battle Royale, where they sang "Diamonds" by Rihanna. The following week, Medusa sang "Dancing Queen" on ABBA Night. She and Debbie Gibson (Night Owl) then sang “The Winner Takes It All” in the Battle Royale, and Medusa advanced to the next round.
During The Masked Singer season 9's New York Night, Medusa sang Frank Sinatra's "(Theme From) New York, New York." Medusa and California Roll then competed in the Battle Royale, singing "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel. The panel chose California Roll to go on to the next round, but they saved Medusa when Nicole Scherzinger rang the Ding Dong Keep It On Bell. Medusa then won the Battle of the Saved versus Gargoyle (Keenan Allen) and Mantis (Lou Diamond Phillips). She sang an emotional version of "Mercy" by Shawn Mendes," and then sang "Centuries" by Fall Out Boy in the Battle Royale with Gargoyle.
The Masked Singer's Medusa's Week 1 Clues
On The Masked Singer premiere, several clues were given for Medusa's true identity. Her clue package revealed that she "grew up far from the spotlight, a dancer in the dark, and I never quite fit in. I mean, look at me!" Greek statues appeared in this part of the clip. However, The Masked Singer contestant didn't worry about fitting in as she knew early on that she was born to stand out. She "did her own thing" and ignored anyone who wanted her "to conform."
Medusa said, "Embracing my oddities, snakes and all, has taken me far. From the Super Bowl to this very stage - that's right, technically, I've been here before." Medusa added that this time, she was here to perform. She said The Masked Singer felt like "the perfect stage" for her because "look around ... it doesn't get much weirder than this."
Throughout The Masked Singer clue package, hints appeared, including a balance scale, a large knight and bishop from a chessboard, a true love heart tattoo, Buckingham Palace, and planets and asteroids. Medusa's Swag Bag clue was a DVD for a film called Medusa: Snakes on the Astral Plane. It said "$340 million" on it. Medusa remarked, "Sometimes success comes in the grayest of places." The panelists had some interesting initial guesses for Medusa. Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg thought she might be singer Ellie Goulding, while Nicole predicted she might be the singer Lorde. Ken Jeong wondered if Medusa was the Duchess of Sussex (and former actress) Meghan Markle.
The Masked Singer's Medusa's Week 2 Clues
During The Masked Singer week 2, Medusa's clue package offered a bit more information. She said it was incredible to be the first winner of The Masked Singer season 9. Medusa confessed that hearing Nicole's praise made her "actually tear up," and hearing that was like winning to her. She went on to say that she was "glad my fun personality shined through this unique mask. Because while I may look like I could turn someone to stone in this thing, I'm actually a bit of a softy underneath."
The repeated The Masked Singer clues included the chess pieces, Buckingham Palace, and a true love heart tattoo. There was also a picture of colorful palm trees. Medusa then gave a clue from the "clueseum," which was a picture of Coldplay's Chris Martin. She said, "Did you get it? Or are you getting colder?" Nicole thought she might be singer Tove Lo or Lorde. Robin Thicke's guess was Apple Martin (Chris' daughter), while Ken thought she was Dakota Johnson, Chris' girlfriend.
The Masked Singer's Medusa's Week 3 Clues
During New York Night, Medusa said that she's still recovering from the shock of beating a music legend last week. She confessed that she would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous, but does have a secret weapon, her dad's favorite karaoke song, followed by a portrait of Chris again. Medusa said, "I grew up singing with him, so it's the perfect choice to take me to the quarter-finals." Medusa went on to say she had a treat and showed Duff Goldman's The Masked Singer season 7 McTerrier mask. She concluded by saying, "Now who's a good clue? Who's a good boy?" as she petted the mask which barked.
After the performance, one last clue was given: a lighted wire sculpture of a bridge. Medusa said, "Sometimes you have to build a bridge to get over it. Hopefully, it will put you in the right state of mind." Nicole stuck with her guess of Lorde but wondered if she could be singer Florence Welch. She also guessed that maybe she was a Scottish singer because of McTerrier, and said singer Shirley Manson. Ken was booed for guessing singer Susan Boyle. Robin thought Medusa might be singer Ke$ha, while Jenny guessed Halsey.
The Masked Singer's Medusa's Supreme 6 Clues
During The Masked Singer Supreme 6 episode, Medusa revealed several tarot cards with clues to her identity. The first one had piano keys in the shape of a snake printed on it. Medusa said, "Are you in tune with these key clues?" The next card had a dragon, and she promised, "I won't keep draggin' this on much longer." The dragon card then burned up. The final card was the Golden Mask trophy, which had The Prize written at the bottom. Medusa added, "Hmmmm... what do you see? A masked singer trophy in my future? I sure hope so."
The Masked Singer's Medusa's Battle Of The Saved Clues
During The Masked Singer Battle of the Saved episode, Medusa shared how she felt when she lost her crown to California Roll but was then saved by Nicole. She also revealed more clues in the process. Medusa said, "I've kind of always felt like an underdog. This whole experience brings me back to the early days of my career, where I had to constantly prove myself to people that I was worthy of their time and energy." There was a record with a Golden Mask trophy on it. Robin wondered if she was on a competition show.
Medusa continued, "That's why every time I sing, I really feel like I go to a different place, free of ego, insecurities, and it's just all about the music, and feeling the emotion." At that point, a person wearing Sun's mask from The Masked Singer season 4 was shown, which was played by LeAnn Rimes. Medusa concluded by saying, "I didn't know how attached I was to this mask until I almost lost it. I hope that tonight's performance will let me hold on to it a little longer."
After Medusa's performance, the Men in Black brought out one more clue, which was a sign that said, "Alias." She explained, "Here I'm known as Medusa, and at home I'm known by my name. But to the world, I go by something completely different." The panelists used these clues to stick by their earlier guesses of singers for her identity, including Lorde (Nicole), Susan Boyle (Ken), and Ke$ha (Robin).
The Masked Singer's Medusa's Quarterfinals Performance & Super Clue
After Medusa's stunning quarterfinals performance of "Someone Like You" by Adele, Jenny said that she would have won if she sang that song in the finale. Nicole told her that she was the one to beat. Medusa's super clue was "Mom." She explained, "Being an artist is my greatest passion, but being a mom is my favorite job." The panelists realized that some of their original guesses were ruled out because they aren't mothers. Robin changed his guess from Ke$ha to Ellie Goulding but admitted he was having trouble figuring out her identity.
Nicole didn't think Medusa sounded like Ellie. She still thought Medusa reminded her of Lorde, but Lorde doesn't have a child. She then listed some other guesses, including Imogen Heap, Regina Spektor, Bishop Briggs, and Amy Lee. Jenny guessed Halsey and Ashlee Simpson, but Nicole didn't like either of those guesses.
When host Nick Cannon asked Medusa where the deep emotions in her performances come from, she explained, "I have experienced devastating loss in my life. And I think my goal as an artist was for people to feel less alone. And that’s what music has always done for me. So just the fact that you guys are feeling what I’m trying to portray... it means more than you’ll ever know. So thank you." Jenny then said that she never wanted to know who a contestant was more than she wanted to find out Medusa's identity.
The Masked Singer's Medusa's Semi-Finals Performance & Clues
During The Masked Singer semi-finals, Medusa earned her spot in the finale by performing an incredible rendition of Hozier's "Take Me to Church." She then competed in the Battle Royale against California Roll and Macaw where they all sang "Runaway Baby" by Bruno Mars.
Medusa's clue package revealed some important clues about her identity. She said, "Making it into the semi-finals means so much to me. The coolest part of all is that this is the show the person closest to me would a hundred percent have been a fan of. She was a really colorful, vibrant person, and was my biggest cheerleader." Medusa was seen in a children's bedroom with two beds. She then picked up a photograph of Medusa and another character who looked just like her. As she embraced the photograph, Medusa revealed, "In 2020, I lost her. She was really young, and it was really sudden."
Medusa continued, "When you lose your other half, it's really hard to see what your future could look like. So it felt like the biggest blessing ever when I found out I was pregnant with my son. It felt like a gift from her." As she held a baby bottle in front of a crib, she said, "She and my son are a big part of my soul and my spirit." A model ship and a photograph of singer Sarah McLachlan were then shown.
Medusa added, "So it really makes my heart soar when the judges feel emotionally attached to what I'm singing about, and I always attribute it to them. I'll be channeling them tonight, as always, with a song that had me tearing up, even at soundcheck." After Medusa's emotional performance of "Take Me to Church," one more clue was given. She revealed that she has a connection to panelist Robin Thicke. She explained, "Both of our voices have taken us on a journey: one that put platinum on our walls." The panelists put together the clues to make new guesses about artists such as Grimes (Robin) and Dido (Ken).
The Masked Singer's Medusa's Identity Guess
Although The Masked Singer panelists offered several guesses for Medusa's identity, based on the clues, she might be one of Nicole's guesses: multi-platinum-selling singer Bishop Briggs. Her given name is Sarah Grace McLaughlin, but she took her stage name from her Scottish parents' hometown, Bishopbriggs. This explains the Sarah McLachlan clue. The bishop chess piece could be a nod to her first name, while the heart tattoo could be a reference to her song, "Tattooed on My Heart." Bishop became a mom in August 2022. She also suffered a tragic loss when her sister Kate died of ovarian cancer at 30 years old.
Bishop is a singer-songwriter who's best known for her single, "River." Jewel had sung that song during The Masked Singer season 6, when she was the Queen of Hearts, so that could be why Medusa said she had technically been there before. In addition, Bishop's song "Never Tear Us Apart" was on the soundtrack of Fifty Shades Freed, which could be why "grayest" was mentioned.
Bishop's song, "Wild Horses," was played during an Acura Super Bowl commercial. The Chris Martin clue probably refers to the fact that Bishop was the opening act for Coldplay in 2016 on nine of their tour dates. The piano clue could be a reference to Bishop playing the piano, while the dragon could be a nod to the Chinese dragon tattoo on her left thigh. She also opened for Imagine Dragons at the Concert for Legends in 2019. The prize clue might hint at her 2019 Music Moves Europe Award for Best Pop Artist.
Whomever Medusa turns out to be, she's a fantastic performer who's bringing something unique and groundbreaking to the show. Nicole marveled that she didn't think she had ever been so speechless in nine seasons. Whether Medusa is Bishop or someone else, she has set the bar high for The Masked Singer season 9.
The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.