The Masked Singer Finally Unmasked Its Big Winner
The Masked Singer is one of the most addictive shows on television right now, wacky premise and all. As Season 3 comes to an end, the Masked Singer 2020 winner has finally been revealed, and fans of Bravo reality TV will be happy to know who it turned out to be. Warning: Spoilers ahead! Avid Masked Singer fans may not be surprised by the crowning of the Night Angel, as her win was repeatedly predicted by judge Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, who said that the Night Angel was going to beat out the other runner ups, the Turtle, who got second place, and the Frog, who took third, per AOL.
The winner of Season 3 made history on two counts: the Night Angel is the series' first female champ, and McCarthy even added that the Night Angel's performance of Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet" would go down in history as one of the show's best performances ever. Now that the identity of the creature has been revealed, it all makes sense, because the woman behind the Night Angel is a bonafide modern R&B legend.
The Masked Singer winner is also a reality star
The Night Angel turned out to be Kandi Burruss, star of The Real Housewives of Atlanta and the Grammy-winning R&B singer and songwriter behind classics like TLC's "No Scrubs." Fans of RHOA know Burruss stays busy, so it's no surprise that she found time to appear on The Masked Singer Season 3. In hindsight, there were some major clues to her identity. The Night Angel had little to no dancing chops to rival her singing voice, and Burruss is famously a self-declared terrible dancer (via Atlanta Black Star).
Even though she's an R&B and reality TV legend, Burruss admitted on the season finale that she was nervous about coming on the show, per People. As she accepted the Golden Mask, she said, "When I first got here I was terrified of failure, because for so long I had convinced myself that I wasn't enough. ... When I didn't find success as a solo artist, I decided to develop other businesses behind the scenes; I did what I had to do, because I'm a mother. But as my kids have grown, it's gotten harder to tell them to chase their dreams when I wasn't chasing my own. So I'm here to win, not just for myself but for all women!"
The two runner-ups were also revealed on the finale. Rapper Bow Wow was revealed as the Frog and Jesse McCartney as the Ninja Turtle.
Kandi Burruss didn't think she'd win
For someone so good at holding her own on The Real Housewives of Atlanta and on-stage, Kandi Burruss doesn't always have the easiest time dealing with criticism. The former Xscape star told host Nick Cannon and judges Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robin Thicke, "For a long time, I really stopped singing by myself because you get negative feedback and so it kind of messes with your head."
Burruss apparently didn't believe McCarthy's prediction of her win (via Entertainment Weekly). But she told Ellen DeGeneres that The Masked Singer renewed her confidence as a solo singer, saying, "I think for a long time I haven't put out any music as a solo artist, and then doing this show it just kind of revitalized me and made me want to do music again. Like, I actually dropped a new single right now and I'm super excited about it." The singer released her new single, "Used to Love Me" featuring Todrick Hall and Precious, just ahead of her win.
Burruss also said that the competition taught her to practice what she preaches to other people. "There's no limit to what you can accomplish. Like, stop psyching yourself out. Stop getting in your own head, telling yourself what you can't do," Burruss said.
The mother of three has a lot to look forward to, now that she's gotten her groove back. We can't wait to see what's next!