SPOILER ALERT: Details follow for The Masked Singer Season 12, Episode 12, “Finale: Champion Is Crowned,” which aired Wednesday, December 18 on Fox.

Even though we have reached the end of the road, we cannot let go. On this one sweet day, Motownphilly is back: Boyz II Men (as Buffalo) won the 12th season of Fox’s “The Masked Singer.” It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday, but this win makes Boyz II Men the first group ever to win the Masked trophy.

Boyz II Men defeated Mario as Wasp, who finished second that season. There was a consensus among the panelists: everyone agreed that the Buffalos were Boyz II Men. Both Rita Ora and Robin Thicke did everything right with Mario as Wasp. Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg suspected Jason Derulo. Ken Jeong said it was Usher.

Boyz II Men’s Wanyá Morris told Variety that the group has been asked to compete on “The Masked Singer” multiple times, but scheduling issues have made it difficult until now.

“And then I got COVID one time,” he added. “But we knew they wouldn’t stop asking us. So we decided to do it.”

Morris initially said the group was concealing their votes with a plan to get voted out quickly “so we can spend our two weeks off without having to work.” But when we got there, we saw there were great singers there and that Energy level was high. It seemed like a very fun atmosphere. And we thought: Let’s stay a little longer. That’s why we did it.”

However, it wasn’t easy, as Nathan Morris noted, the costumes made it difficult: “They’re heavy, they’re hot, it’s hard to breathe. You can’t see anything other than what is literally right in front of you. And it has to be far away. So it was a struggle and the hardest thing for us, since it was a singing show, was the fact that the microphone was on the head of the mascot costume. But it’s still half a meter away from your microphone. So it was very difficult to get the voice there and control the tone. It was a learning curve.”

The final numbers were Boyz II Men singing “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye and “Too Good At Goodbyes” by Sam Smith. The group had previously performed “(I Just) Died In Your Arms” by Cutting Crew; “Waiting For a Girl Like You” by Foreigner; “Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve; “You’re Still the One” by Shania Twain; and “Africa” by Toto.

The group said it is considering adding some of these songs to its performance repertoire. “All the songs showcased our ability to show people that we are more than just R&B singers like we always felt,” said Shawn Stockman. “It allowed us to really express ourselves so we weren’t excluded or seen as uncool or cheesy. We listen to R&B, we listen to pop, we listen to rock, we listen to all kinds of music in our free time. And this was probably the only time in our entire career that we were allowed to express that.”

The finale opened with season five winner Nick Lachey performing “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams.

Boyz II Men as Buffalo and Mario as Wasp join AJ Michalka as Strawberry Shortcake; Kobie Turner as Goo, Jana Kramer as Royal Knight, Bronson Arroyo as Sherlock Hound, Drake Bell as Ice King, Bethany Hamilton as Macaron, Natalie Imbruglia as Bluebell, Laverne Cox as Chess Piece, Andy Richter as Dusty Bunny, Paula Cole as Ship, Marsai Martin as Woodpecker, Yvette Nicole Brown as Showbird and John Elway as Leaf Sheep are the stars who will be unmasked in the 12th season of “The Masked Singer”. become.

Returning for season 12 were host Nick Cannon as well as panelists Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke, while Ora also returned to the panel for the second year in a row to fill in for Nicole Scherzinger.

Thematic episodes of The Masked Singer Season 12 included tributes to Mattel’s Barbie on its 65th anniversary and the film Footloose on its 40th anniversary. Miley Cyrus was honored with an episode dedicated to her music catalog, as well as a new “Who Are You Fest” featuring music from “memorable festival lineups,” as well as a “Sports Night” and a “60’s Night.” Returning tentpole themes include “Soundtrack of My Life” and “Thanksgiving Night.”

New this season were clues that were “strategically embedded in costumes, song selection and stage moments.” And the fifteen celebrity contestants were joined by a “celebrity masked ambassador” made up of previous contestants including Dick Van Dyke (Season 9 Gnome), Jewel (Season 6 winner as Queen of Hearts), Ne-yo (Season 10 winner as the Cow) and DeMarcus Ware (Season 11 Koala). And the “Ding Dong Keep It On” bell returned this year, but only one singer was saved in the three group finals.

Season 12 featured 15 contestants in new costumes, including “Ship”, “Leaf Sheep”, “Woodpecker”, “Chess Piece”, “Bluebell”, “Buffalo”, “Showbird”, “Dust Bunny”, “Goo” , “Strawberry Shortcake,” “Wasp,” “Sherlock Hound,” “Royal Knight,” “Ice King,” and “Macaron.”

Here were appearances in Wednesday’s episode 12, “Finale: Champion Is Crowned”:

WINNER: Buffalo

Song: “Someone I Used to Know” by Gotye; “Too Good At Goodbyes” by Sam Smith

Panel estimates: Boyz II Men, Bell Biv DeVoe, Tony! Tony! Clay!

How liberating was it to be Buffalo?: “So liberating. I’m crying right now. And I don’t even know why. That made me feel like we could do anything with these guys.”

Buffalo voiceover: “To be honest, we’re pretty emotional about making it to the final. Yes, it was an opportunity to rediscover ourselves and our bond in a really cool way. I feel like we’ve had to adapt a lot in our careers. But adaptability has always been key. We had to fight our way out of the hood. We had to cope with the death of one of the most important people in our lives. And we even had to change our entire sound when we lost a member. This was for our fans, for our children, for everyone who remained loyal to us. And see you, Nick Lachey. Thank you for vouching for us as our ambassador. We hope to follow in your victorious footsteps tonight. We are the people you used to know, still know and will always know. Maybe for another three decades.”

Previous songs: “(I Just) Died In Your Arms” by Cutting Crew; “Waiting For a Girl Like You” by Foreigner; “Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve; “You’re Still the One” by Shania Twain; “Africa” by Toto

Previous panel guesses: B2K, Earth Wind and Fire, 98 Degrees, Bell Biv DeVoe, 112, Boyz II Men, Big Time Rush, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Black Eyed Peas, Temptations, Tony! Tony! Toné!, Blackstreet, Color Me Badd, After 7

wasp

Song: “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars; “I’m Your Baby Tonight” by Whitney Houston

Panel estimates: Daveed Diggs, Usher, Bruno Mars, Frank Ocean, Jason Derulo, Taye Diggs, Miguel, Mario, Anthony Ramos

What would you say to Young Wasp: “Your wings are like your intuition. Trust them. Believe in yourself.”

Wasp voiceover: “Making it to the final means more to me than I can explain. This experience felt like it was made for me. Like I’m finally getting the recognition I’ve been longing for. For a long time I felt underestimated in this industry. I started building my empire at a young age. I dominated the Billboard charts and worked with the best in the business. Including a number of former Masked Singer members. Lil Wayne, Vanessa Hudgens and of course my ambassador Ne-Yo, who I asked for advice all the time. But I still feel like the industry doesn’t know how big my talent is. I sometimes feel like I’m constantly overlooked and people still see me as the cute little kid with that song. They don’t know the depth of my talent. When I was here I felt the opposite. I felt valued, validated, celebrated and all anonymous. This somehow makes it feel more real. That’s something I’ll take with me tonight. As a Wasp, I have the opportunity to reveal whatever I find myself within. The power, my vulnerability. I give you everything, and the fact that you noticed makes me feel like I can rise. I feel my mother is with me in spirit tonight and she has given me wings for the last two performances. I hope she’s proud. And if I can take home this trophy, that would mean that the world I can show her baby can be the winner tonight.

Previous songs: “Rock Your Body” by Justin Timberlake; “Skyscraper” by Demi Lovato; “Ain’t No Way” by Aretha Franklin; “Standing Next to You” by Jungkook; “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone

Previous panel guesses: Taye Diggs, Bruno Mars, Jason Derulo, Miguel, Frank Ocean, Daveed Diggs, Mario, Craig David, Eric Benét, Usher, Maxwell, Anthony Ramos

Last season’s cast included Vanessa Hudgens, who won the Season 11 crown as Goldfish, defeating Scott Porter, who appeared as Gumball. Other cast members included Thelma Houston (Clock), Chrissy Metz (Poodle Moth), Corey Feldman (Seal) and Clay Aiken/Ruben Studdard (Beets), Jenifer Lewis (Miss Cleocatra), Kate Flannery (Starfish), Charlie Wilson (Ugly Sweater) . , DeMarcus Ware (Koala), Colton Underwood (Love Bird), Sisqó (Lizard), Billy Bush (Sir Lion), Joe Bastianich (Spaghetti & Meatballs), Savannah Chrisley (Afghan Hound) and Kevin Hart (Book).

“The Masked Singer” comes from Fox Alternative Entertainment. Rosie Seitchik, Craig Plestis and Cannon are executive producers, while Seitchik serves as showrunner. The series is based on the South Korean format of Mun Hwa Broadcasting Corp.