‘The Masked Singer’ spoilers: Who is California Roll

Paul Sheehan
·4 min read
3

It took till season 9 of “The Masked Singer” but we’ve finally got a costume that features five performers: the California Roll. They took to the stage on March 1 to deliver a soaring cover of the hit “Paparazzi” by Lady Gaga. After Polar Bear lost the audience vote and was revealed to be rapper Grandmaster Flash, California Roll was pitted in a Battle Royale with Medusa.

Each put their own spin on the classic tune “Uptown Girl” by Billie Joel. Medusa delivered a traditional take on the tune while California Roll turned it into a haunting ballad. After Medusa won the vote, we thought this was the last we’d see of California Roll but Nicole Scherzinger sounded the Ding Dong bell and saved them.

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We’ve been rewatching both of these performances and have all your “The Masked Singer” spoilers, including the answer to the question, “Who is California Roll”?

California Roll has a distinctive sound, with five voices that blend together so effortlessly. While Ken Jeong and Nicole speculated that they were the cast from the likes of “High School Musical,” “The Lion King” or “Pitch Perfect,” Jenny McCarthy and Robin Thicke nailed it with their guess that California Roll is Pentatonix.

Disagree? Consider the overwhelming amount of evidence from the clues. First off, “penta” means five and the map seen in the clues video has a red “X,” which is the last letter of their name. Add to that the fact that one of the rolls is seen reading a book called “Group Project.”

Pentatonix came to fame on “The Sing Off.” The vocal group won season 3 of this reality competition series back in 2011. The song that clinched them the title was “Eye of the Tiger,” the theme to “Rocky 3.” The clues package includes a picture of a tiger.

Pentatonix account for three of the six Grammys won by the season 9 contestants on “The Masked Singer.” They picked up prizes as the best a cappella group in both 2015 (“Daft Punk”) and 2016 (“Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”). Then their collaboration with Dolly Parton on her hit “Jolene” in 2017 won them the country group award; the clue package includes a caricature of Dolly.

Pentatonix has racked up album sales of 5 million; this season’s crop of contenders for the Golden Mask has moved 95 million discs.

Even more impressive, Pentatonix has amassed a whopping 5.9 billion views on their YouTube channel; Pizza Rat brings out a clue that reads “5 Billion.”

The California Roll mentions being on the silver screen; Pentatonix had a cameo in “Pitch Perfect 2” as a rival group to the Bellas.

And each of the five members of Pentatonix is referenced in one of the clues:

Mitch Grassi: He occasionally works solo as a DJ, something that California Roll is known to do.

Scott Hoying: As part of the original trio with Mitch and Kristin, he entered a radio contest to meet the cast of “Glee”; California Roll talks of catching some “gleeful rays.”

Kirstin Maldonado: She took a break from the group in 2018 to star on Broadway in the Tony-winning musical “Kinky Boots”; California Roll says they’ve been on the Great White Way.

Kevin Olusola: He graduated from Yale in 2011 with a B.A. in East Asian Studies; California Roll says they’ve got a degree from an Ivy League school.

Matt Sallee: He married Sarah Bishop in 2022; California Roll reveals that they are wed as well.

‘The Masked Singer’ spoilers
California Roll | Gargoyle| Macaw | Mantis | Medusa | UFO

Don’t believe us that the California Roll is Pentatonix? Then sound off in the comments section below with your best guesses. We will only find out if we are right that Pentatonix is California Roll when they are unmasked. That will happen when they lose a vote or win the show.

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