Who is The Monster on The Masked Singer? This misunderstood performer seems ready to reignite his career through FOX’s reality show. Based on the clues, The Monster is 33-year-old musician T-Pain, a Florida native associated with the auto-tone movement during the mid-2000s.
On The Masked Singer, celebrities perform for an audience and four judges: Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robin Thicke. At the end of each episode of The Masked Singer, the audience votes for their favorite masked singer, and the loser must reveal their identity. Each week, the celebrity performers reveal small clues through brief video clips.
Related: The Masked Singer Reveals Two New Identities in Double Elimination
Only The Bee, The Peacock, and The Monster remain in The Masked Singer's competition. Here's what we know about the show's fine-tuned yet monstrous performer and a hip-hop star who's been criticized for his vocal approach.
Why The Monster Is T-Pain
For one, the tone of The Monster’s voice sounds a lot like T-Pain. What’s more telling, however, are The Monster’s claims that “people were saying that I wasn’t the real deal” and that he’s been “persecuted and vilified for sounding like a ringtone.” After being criticized for his auto-tunes, T-Pain, aka Faheem Rasheed Najm, re-emerged in a viral clip that showcased his real singing voice a few years ago. Since 2011, though, T-Pain has only released one album, which makes The Masked Singer an ideal platform for a comeback. Also, T-Pain’s southern roots align with The Monster’s origin story.
If T-Pain hopes to distance himself from auto-tune, it makes sense that he’d retreat into his “cave.” After all, The Monster claims that not everyone believes he’s a professional singer. He’s even seen flipping a board game titled “The Beat Machine,” and states that he’s “wanted this comeback for a decade.” The Monster repeatedly uses the word “swing,” and this is likely a reference to his recent rap battle with NBA player Lonzo Ball on TNT's Drop the Mic. As for the “bad boy” and “puff and fluff” references, this seems like an attempt to misdirect viewers towards Puff Daddy - the founder of Bad Boy Records - or a musical acquaintance. All the clues points towards T-Pain staging a comeback by using his natural voice, and it’s also worth nothing that he’s indeed 5’8” tall - the same height as The Monster.
The genius of The Monster storyline on The Masked Singer is that younger viewers may not remember T-Pain, as he's not been entirely relevant in the mainstream music industry over the past 10 years. After all, a lot has changed since T-Pain's musical prime, and the auto-tune hook may simply be a nod to those who recall that T-Pain was, in fact, quite a big star during the mid-2000s, shortly before social media introduced a new wave of talent. All will be revealed in The Masked Singer finale, though.