'Masked Singer' double elimination reveals two big celebrities

This week on The Masked Singer, it was time to bid farewell to two more furry friends: Rumer “The Lion” Willis and Joey “The Rabbit” Fatone. While it was shocking that the Lion was eliminated before next week’s finale -- she was this season’s frontrunner, with her “California Dreamin’” performance, used in Fox’s buzzy early promos, once having viewers speculate that she was Lady Gaga or Ariana Grande -- I don’t know why the judges were sooooooo shocked by this reveal. All the clues were there: The fact that the Lion comes from a “pride of women,” “Hollywood royalty” (Rumer is the daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis), and “Hailey, Idaho”; the references to Chicago, the “Bluegrass State,” and Empire; even her anti-bullying advocacy. And yet, the judges kept thinking the Lion was Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, Fergie, Hailey Steinfeld, or some member of Wilson Phillips, TLC, or En Vogue. (Can we get new judges next season, please -- ones that know how to use Google and Wikipedia?) It was also obvious pretty early on that the Rabbit was a former *NSYNC member -- even his straitjacket, straight out of the “I Drive Myself Crazy” video, was a clue. Fatone, like Willis, took his elimination in stride, crooning “My Girl” one last time before hopping offstage. So that leaves us with the Peacock, Monster, and Bee, the three best non-Lion vocalists in the Masked Singer game. Let’s take a look at these surviving semifinalists’ performances from Wednesday, and keep the guessing game going before next week’s final, literal face-off.