The Masked Singer season 14 (Image via Fox)
The Masked Singer season 14 officially arrived with the long-awaited premiere, delivering big performances by big names under heavy masks, and a new twist that premiered on Wednesday, January 7, 2026.
Host Nick Cannon returned to host 18 new masked celebrities in this wild game of guessing where panelists Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, and Rita Ora try to decipher clues and compete to crack identities before the masks fall.
The Masked Singer season 14’s two-hour premiere featured 10 contestants performing on stage. Instead of a straight round of performances, the new format paired the singers into head-to-head battles.
The winner of each battle advanced, while the losers were sent into a bottom-five “unusual suspects” round based on audience votes after each battle.
After a second audience vote, two contestants were eliminated in the premiere of The Masked Singer season 14.
Googly Eyes was the first character to lose his mask, and the baseball-heavy clues paid off as he revealed himself as Hall of Fame baseball player David “Big Papi” Ortiz.
The night’s second elimination was even more chaotic, as The Croissants took off their pastry-themed helmets only for producers to blur their faces and put question marks over the reveal.
Their identities will be officially unmasked in next week’s episode, leaving the premiere on a cliffhanger and fans buzzing online.
Handyman, a bright yellow, blue-collar character who moved onto the stage with gears, screws, and a full tool belt built directly into his costume, stood out, bringing that gritty, old-school vibe.
He was part of the first performance, facing off against Galaxy Girl, and while he put up a solid fight, she edged him out, landing him in the bottom five, but he survived the eliminations.
Handyman’s performance and clues on The Masked Singer season 14 premiere
Handyman chose a party-ready throwback for his performance in The Masked Singer premiere, “Shake Your Groove Thing” by Peaches & Herb.
He stood in bright yellow overalls over a tool-belt-loaded jumpsuit, covered in screws, nuts, gears, and that nostalgic DIY flair, while his stage presence was all personality: gravelly, soulful vibes with minimal dancing
To introduce the mystery singer, the clue package took the form of a retro “Handyman Show,” and the audio narration also teased a backstory rooted in the West Coast:
“I’m your host, Handyman, and today I’m going to teach you how to flip your life upside down. I grew up on the West Coast, and as a kid, I was scrappy. I was a tough guy, and I rode around with an interesting crew. It was fun. Wanna see my wild guy face? I was never lookin’ for trouble, so I used my image to shift gears. Suddenly, the crowd I was rollin’ with included everyone from De Niro to Courteney Cox. Turns out, I could still be scrappy, but use that attitude for something good. My street cred has never been higher.”
Visual clues included:
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A blueprint
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shift gears
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A hot cup of tea sign
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An old-school car with an “Ace of Spades” license plate
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A dancer as a Tool Time-style assistant gear
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And even a playful bull mask moment after the line, “Wanna see my wild guy face?”
When asked why he joined the show in the first place, Handyman made things personal, saying:
“My daughter dared me to actually do this, and I had a good time.”
Handyman’s raspy voice and Hollywood-adjacent clues had the panel all over the place. Ken Jeong focused on the tea clue and “Ace of Spades” imagery, landing on Idris Elba.
“Ace of Spades is a champagne…disguising his voice, this could be Idris Elba. Has his own champagne line. He’s British, hot tea—that’s British—and he has a daughter,” Ken argued.
Rita Ora went for movie-star power with Vin Diesel, explaining, “We’re dealing with an icon…the raspy voice, I’m just gonna say it: Vin Diesel.”
Robin Thicke, meanwhile, locked in on the vocal texture, confidently declaring, “I got the voice…I think that that is Wild Thing, Tone Lōc.”
Handyman went up against Galaxy Girl, who performed “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl” by Chappell Roan. Galaxy Girl ultimately won the audience vote, sending Handyman into the bottom-five pool and keeping him in jeopardy for the rest of the night.
While he was not ultimately unmasked, he’ll need to fight his way back next week.
The Masked Singer premieres every week on Wednesday at 8:00 pm ET/PT on Fox, with the episodes available to stream the next day on Hulu.
Stay tuned for more updates.
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