“Masked Singer ”unveils Cuddle Monster as infamous NBA star in shockingly emotional episode

The latest episode has it all: Trolls, tears, and Engelbert Humperdinck references.

It was Trolls Night on The Masked Singer this week, and the deranged giggling from the aforementioned trolls aside, it was a surprisingly emotional episode.

The night kicked off with Trolls characters Poppy and Branch performing “Better Place,” NSYNC’s first single since 2002, which was released for the latest movie in the animated franchise, Trolls Band Together. In honor of that, Poppy and Branch starred in special (and by that we mean truly bizarre) pre-taped clue bits for each contestant, and the singers all had to sing songs by boy bands.

Anteater, Candelabra, and Donut gave their renditions of “I Want It That Way” by Backstreet Boys, “All My Life” by K-Ci & JoJo, and “I Do (Cherish You)” by 98 Degrees, respectively. The show also introduced its final wildcard of the season, Cuddle Monster, whom we were told is the biggest and furriest costume yet. Much to Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg's delight, he opted to sing “You Got It (The Right Stuff)” by her husband, Donnie Wahlberg's, own boyband, New Kids on the Block.

Things took an incredibly emotional turn when Donut took the stage, however. In his clue package, he revealed he's been part of the entertainment industry for decades, but recently he’s kept more to himself “because the love of [his] life is no longer here, and it has left a huge hole in [his] heart.” In what felt like a first for the show — or at least an extreme rarity — the contestant could be heard openly sobbing in his package as he told the audience, "I can’t believe she’s gone, and most days I just feel lost, but I try to honor her memory every day by doing something brave.”

Now, Scherzinger and even Ken Jeong are no strangers to crying on The Masked Singer, but Donut's clue package and subsequent performance of "I Do (Cherish You)" in honor of his late wife had the entire panel visibly wiping away tears, with McCarthy-Wahlberg declaring, "Ugh, my heart." (Same, to be honest.)

Robin Thicke also told the contestant, hand to his heart, "That was so powerful and so beautiful. I lost my father and I think we all have lost somebody very important to us at this point in our lives, and I understand what you’re feeling, what you’re going through… that song choice, your vocal, saying 'my smile' at the end, you got us all."

Between all of that, Nicole Scherzinger's out-of-nowhere guess that reminded us there is an actual human named Engelbert Humperdinck, and all the troll shenanigans — this episode truly had it all.

And, like any other episode of The Masked Singer, someone had to go home, too. To that end, Cuddle Monster and Anteater were sent to the smackdown, with Candelabra and Donut being chosen as this episode's champs. Cuddle Monster and Anteater were tasked with singing "Can’t Stop the Feeling!" by Justin Timberlake, and ultimately, it was Cuddle Monster who unfortunately got sent packing.

Everyone keyed in on the sports clues, with final guesses ranging from Dennis Rodman (Thicke's), Draymond Green (Jeong's), Tristan Thompson (McCarthy-Wahlberg's), and Shaquille O'Neal (Scherzinger's). While none of them were far off, no one got it right either, which is a surprise given that Jeong is almost always right about the sporty contestants. In the end, he didn't get to add to his impressive season 10 tally though — Cuddle Monster was revealed to be infamous former NBA star Metta Sandiford-Artest (a.k.a. Metta World Peace, a.k.a. Ron Artest).

And, with that, Anteater, Donut, and Candelabra are going to the Group C finals. Next week, the show will be taking a break due to the Thanksgiving holiday, but will pick back up again on Wednesday, Nov. 29, with the Group A finals.

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