''The Masked Singer Australia'' is an Australian

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

singing competition A music competition is a public event designed to identify and award outstanding musical ensembles, soloists, composers, conductors and musicologists. Pop music competitions are music competitions which are held to find pop starlets. Examples ...

show hosted that premiered on

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

on 23 September 2019. Hosted by

Osher Günsberg Osher Günsberg (born Andrew Jonas Günsberg), recognised by his former stage name Andrew G, is a British-Australian television and radio presenter and journalist. He is the host of the reality TV series '' The Bachelor Australia'', ''The Bachel ...

, the show is based on the international music

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

franchise ''

Masked Singer ''Masked Singer'' is an international music reality game show franchise. It originated from the South Korean program '' The King of Mask Singer'', developed by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. Format The format features the celebrities who per ...

'' which originated from the South Korean television program ''

King of Mask Singer ''The King of Mask Singer'' () is a South Korean singing competition program presented by Kim Sung-joo, with introductions by voice actor . It airs on MBC on Sunday, starting from April 5, 2015 as a part of MBC's '' Sunday Night'' programming ...

''. The show is filmed at

Disney Studios Australia Disney Studios Australia (formerly Fox Studios Australia) is a motion picture and television production facility in Sydney that has operated as part of The Walt Disney Company since 2019. Occupying the site of the former Sydney Showground at ...

. A fourth season premiered in August 2022.

Production

In March 2019, TV Blackbox shared leaked news that

would be producing a local series of the franchise. The news was officially announced in May 2019 at the network's

upfronts In the television industry, an upfront is a gathering at the start of important advertising sales periods, held by television network executives and attended by major advertisers and the media. It is so named because of its main purpose, to allow ...

. In June 2019, it was revealed that Osher Gunsberg would be the host of the series. On 15 July 2019, it was revealed that American actress

Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and singer. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at the age of three. Having appeared as a regular on the television soap opera '' An ...

would join the show as a panellist. Australian singer

Dannii Minogue Danielle Jane Minogue () is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. She initially gained recognition for her appearances on the television show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988) and for her role as Emma Jackson on th ...

, comedian

Dave Hughes David William Hughes (born 26 November 1970) is an Australian stand-up comedian, television and radio presenter. He is known for his larrikin personality, drawling Australian accent, and deadpan comedic delivery. Hughes co-hosts ''Hughesy, ...

and radio presenter Jackie O were also announced alongside Lohan. At the network's

in October 2019, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season. In April 2020, it was reported that the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

would force pre-production of the second season to be delayed so filming was postponed from late July to early August 2020.

was also unable to fly to Melbourne to take part in the program and was replaced by new panellist, comedian

Urzila Carlson Urzila Carlson (born 15 February 1976) is a South African born New Zealand comedian and actress, known for her stand-up performances as well as her appearances on television programs in both New Zealand and Australia. Carlson is a regular panelli ...

. In October 2020, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a third season, which premiered on 13 September 2021. On 20 October 2021, it was announced that the series will return with a new season set to air in 2022, with Jackie O, Minogue, and Carlson all not returning.

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...

, Abbie Chatfield, and

Chrissie Swan Christina Swan (born 3 November 1973) is an Australian television and radio presenter and media personality. Swan co-hosts '' Chrissie, Sam & Browny'' on Nova 100 with Sam Pang and Jonathan Brown. In 2022, she served as a judge on '' The Mas ...

joined the panel as their replacements.

Security

The show has an 'extreme security protocol' in effect both during and after filming to protect the celebrity's identities from leaking, with host Günsberg stating that the show "was beyond any kind of security I've been exposed to." Everyone involved in the show signed a

non-disclosure agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish ...

which prevented anyone from revealing any information about the shooting dates, costumes or identities of the masks episode until its broadcast. The celebrities who appear on the show are only allowed to inform their spouse about their participation, who must also sign one. In order to keep the identities of the masks secret, audience members and the majority of the production staff were not allowed to watch the unmasking and were removed from the studio moments before the celebrities are revealed, with Günsberg revealing that there were "only 8 people in the room when it he unmaskinghappened." Audience members had to place their phones in a special magnetic locked pouch when they were on set and were frequently sweeped throughout filming by security, which included former

ASIO ''Asio'' is a genus of typical owls, or true owls, in the family Strigidae. This group has representatives over most of the planet, and the short-eared owl is one of the most widespread of all bird species, breeding in Europe, Asia, North and S ...

officials, for any devices and hidden cameras to ensure the masks' identities were kept secret.

Design

Costumes

The costumes are designed and created by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

and BAFTA Award-Winning costume designer Tim Chappel, best known for his work on ''

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' is a 1994 Australian road comedy film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot follows two drag queens, played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce, and a transgender woman, played by Tere ...

'' with Lizzy Gardiner.

Cast

Panellists and host

Following the announcement of the series, it was confirmed by

that the judging panel would consist of international actress and singer

, radio personality Jackie O, singer-songwriter

and comedian

. It was also confirmed that

would host the show. On 7 July 2020, it was revealed that Lohan would be unable to return to the judging panel in the second season, as she could not travel from

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and the implementation of travel restrictions. She was replaced for

season two Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * ''2econd Season ''2econd Season'' is the second and most recent album by Atlanta-based rapper Unk. Release It was released on November 4, 2008. Guest Performers The album features gu ...

by new panellist, comedian

. On 4 May 2022, it was announced on ''

The Kyle and Jackie O Show ''The Kyle and Jackie O Show'' is an Australian breakfast radio show hosted by Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O on KIIS 106.5 in Sydney. The show is syndicated in the late drive slot on the KIIS Network following ''Will & Woody'' across Austral ...

'' that Carlson would be leaving the show to focus on her comedy tour, with the possibility of Lohan returning after a two-season absence. On 21 May, Minogue announced her departure from the show after three seasons, due to clashing commitments filming a new gay-dating show in the UK, ''I Kissed a Boy''. On 4 June, Jackie O announced she would also depart from the show. On 9 June, Channel 10 announced that the three new panellists joining Dave Hughes for the fourth season would be television and radio presenter

, television personality and radio host Abbie Chatfield and international singer

Season overview

Awards and nominations

, - ! scope="row", 2019 ,

AACTA Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...

, Best Entertainment Program , ''The Masked Singer'' , ,

Controversy

In October 2019, American band Halocene claimed that the program had stolen "note for note, beat for beat" their arrangement of "

Bad Guy A bad guy or villain is a type of character in fiction and other narratives. Bad Guy or Bad Guys or ''variation'', may also refer to: Film * ''Bad Guy'' (1937 film), a film starring Virginia Grey * ''Bad Guys'', a 1986 film starring Adam Bal ...

" by

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single " Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with whom ...

, which the Lion (

Kate Ceberano Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the soul, jazz, and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as '' Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her song " Pash" received a gold ...

) sang during the third episode. The rock trio had released the cover on their

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel, which also included original melodies from an unreleased original song. The band threatened legal action and set up a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the be ...

page, receiving support from their fans.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Masked Singer Australia, The Network 10 original programming 2019 Australian television series debuts 2010s music television series 2010s Australian game shows 2020s music television series 2020s Australian game shows Australian music television series 2010s Australian reality television series Music competitions in Australia English-language television shows Australian television series based on South Korean television series Australian television series based on American television series Television shows set in Sydney Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios 2020s Australian reality television series