''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 ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

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

show which was hosted by

Osher Günsberg Osher Günsberg (born Andrew Günsberg; 29 March 1974), formerly known by the stage name Andrew G, is an Australian television and radio presenter and journalist. He was the host of the reality TV series ''The Bachelor Australia'', '' The ...

, that premiered on

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

on 23 September 2019. It is based on the international music

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

franchise format ''

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 celebrities who perform ...

'' 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 was recorded at

Disney Studios Australia Disney Studios Australia (formerly known as 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 Showg ...

, formerly called Fox Studios Australia. Although the series was renewed for a sixth season in October 2023, which was set to air in 2024, the series was later cancelled by Ten in May 2024.

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 allo ...

. 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, singer, producer, and businesswoman. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at age three. She appeared as a regular on the soap opera ' ...

would join the show as a panellist. Australian singer

Dannii Minogue Dannii Minogue (; born 20 October 1971) is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. As a child, she became known for her appearances on the television talent show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988). She went on to play the r ...

, comedian

Dave Hughes David William Hughes 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 has previously been co-host of '' Hughesy & K ...

and radio presenter

Jackie O Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular fi ...

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

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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 actor, known for her stand-up performances as well as her appearances on television programs in both New Zealand and Australia. Carlson is a regular pan ...

. 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 would return with a new season that aired in 2022, with Jackie O, Minogue, and Carlson all not returning.

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a member of the Pop mus ...

Abbie Chatfield Abbie Chatfield (born 20 June 1995) is an Australian media personality, television host, radio presenter and podcaster. She is best known for her appearances in reality television as both a contestant and host, and currently serves as a panelli ...

, and

Chrissie Swan Christina Swan is an Australian television and radio presenter and media personality. Since 2023, Swan has hosted '' The Chrissie Swan Show'' on Nova FM. In 2022 and 2023, she served as a panellist on '' The Masked Singer Australia'' alongside ...

joined the panel as their replacements. In February 2023, Swan announced that the show would be returning for a fifth season, which aired in late 2023.

Security

The show has an 'extreme security protocol' in effect both during and after filming to protect the celebrity's identities from

leaking A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a Water tank, tank or a Ship, ship's Hull (watercraft), hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can e ...

, 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), also known as a confidentiality agreement (CA), confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), proprietary information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement (SA), is a legal contract or part of a contract between at le ...

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 swept 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 Ameri ...

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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

and

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Award-Winning costume designer

Tim Chappel Tim Chappel (born 1966 or 1967) is an Australian costume designer. He won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, with Lizzy Gardiner, for the film ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert''. His costumes have also been featured ...

, 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 (Terence S ...

'' 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

, 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 (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

because of the

and the implementation of travel restrictions. She was replaced for season two by new panellist, comedian

(due to her travelling back to USA). 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 (radio host), Jackie O on KIIS 106.5 in Sydney and KIIS 101.1 in Melbourne. The show is syndicated in the late drive slot on the KIIS N ...

'' 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

and international singer

Season overview

Awards and nominations

, - ! scope="row" rowspan="2", 2019 , rowspan="2",

9th AACTA Awards The 9th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as the AACTA Awards) is an awards ceremony to celebrate the best of Australian films and television of 2019. The main ceremony was held at The Star (Sydney), The St ...

, Best Entertainment Program , ''The Masked Singer'' , , , - , rowspan="2", Best Costume Design in Television , rowspan="2", Tim Chappel , , , - ! scope="row", 2020 ,

10th AACTA Awards The 10th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as the AACTA Awards) is an awards ceremony to celebrate the best of Australian films and television of 2020. The main ceremony was held at The Star in Sydney and t ...

, , , - ! scope="row", 2021 ,

11th AACTA Awards The 11th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (generally known as the AACTA Awards) is an awards ceremony to celebrate the best of Australian films and television of 2021. The main ceremony occurred on 8 December 2021 at the S ...

, Best Entertainment Program , rowspan="3", ''The Masked Singer'' , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="2", 2022 , rowspan="2", 62nd Logie Awards , Most Popular Entertainment Program , , , - , Most Outstanding Entertainment or Comedy Program , , , - ! scope="row" rowspan="2", 2023 , rowspan="2", 63rd Logie Awards , Gold Logie for Most Popular Television Personality ,

, , , - , Most Outstanding 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 and musician. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single "Ocean Eyes (song), Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her broth ...

, which the Lion (

Kate Ceberano Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the rock, soul, jazz and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as '' Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her single " Bedroom Eyes" re ...

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

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

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 ...

page, receiving support from their fans.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Masked Singer Australia, The Network 10 original programming 2019 Australian television series debuts 2023 Australian television series endings 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 Australian 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