Episode 6 of ‘The Masked Dancer’ reveals the identity of the exotic bird

“The Masked Dancer” staged an “American Idol” reunion on Wednesday night, as the winner of Season 6 of “Idol”, Jordin Sparks, was the next celebrity to be revealed on the show. And guessing correctly? Former “Idol” judge and current speaker of the “Masked Dancer”, Paula Abdul.

Sparks was revealed to be the person under the fantasy of Exotic Bird in Wednesday’s edition of the hit series. Here’s what it may have revealed: she was unmasked after dancing Abdul’s “Opposites Attract”.

“When they told me that [Abdul] I was judging, the first thing that came to my mind was that I cannot believe that all this time now I will be on another competition stage with her sitting on the panel of judges ”, said Sparks Variety. “It surprised me. And I thought, she’ll know. When she guessed it, I was shocked, but actually I was very happy that it was she who guessed it. It was a really cool moment. “

Sparks noticed that during the 4th season of “The Masked Singer”, many fans thought that Seahorse was her (after all, it was Tori Kelly). “I can’t tell you how many times my friends thought I was the seahorse,” said Sparks. “Every week, I was bombarded with texts like ‘we know it’s you’. And because I love the program, I didn’t tell them, I never confirmed or denied it. And it was interesting, because Tori Kelly is one of our good friends too. So, we had a good laugh. “

When the opportunity “The Masked Dancer” came up, Sparks said she hesitated because she was not known for dancing.

“It’s not my bread and butter,” she said. “Give me a microphone and I’m ready to go. But with the dance, it was a little desperate. Everyone was encouraging me to do this and then I realized that it was me who was telling me that I couldn’t. And so, I wanted to do the show and I said yes because I want to do that and prove to myself that I can face challenges and things, even if they scare me a little. “

Sparks said he was also inspired by his son, who is about to turn 3, doing it: “I wanted to show him that I can do things even if they scare me. He was very helpful in inspiring me to go, and so was my husband. “

She also saw “Masked Dancer” as an opportunity to perform again, after spending most of the year at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was so great to be able to get out of the four walls of my house and see a different space,” she said. “And it was great to be around people to be honest, like, even if we couldn’t talk. It was nice to be around the hustle and bustle of being in a workspace again. “

In addition to her son and husband, Sparks kept her “Masked Dancer” passage a secret. “I’ve been waiting so long to talk about it. I didn’t really tell anyone, so I’m excited because tonight I’m sure I’m going to get a flood of text messages from my family because I didn’t even tell them I was doing this. “

Sparks hopes to take advantage of the “Masked Dancer” exhibition to promote her new single, “You Still Think of Me”, which she wrote with Lisa Goe, Savvy Giersch and Marc David Schneider.

“It is the first of many songs to be released this year,” said Sparks.

Among the speakers, while Abdul discovered it was Sparks, Ashley Tisdale joined her to guess Sparks as well. Ken Jeong thought he was another “Idol” contestant, Jennifer Hudson; Brian Austin Green guessed model Ashley Graham; and guest speaker Mayim Bialik thought it was the day before.

Sparks had already danced “Rush”, by Lewis Capaldi feat. Jessie Reyez, “Con Calma”, by Daddy Yankee and Katy Perry feat. Snow; and “Latch”, by Disclosure feat. Sam Smith. Previous speakers’ assumptions included Kat Von D, Dita Von Teese, Ashley Graham, Kate Upton, Hope Solo, Jennifer Hudson, Venus Williams, Janet Jackson, Kate Hudson, Megan Thee Stallion and Sparks herself.

“The Masked Dancer” includes the “Word Up” feature, in which each competitor says a clue of a word about their identity. Sparks’ first “Word Up” was “” Scored “and the second” Word Up “was” Number One. “On Wednesday, his last” Word Up “was” Circus “.

This season’s costumes include Zebra, Tulip, Sloth, Exotic Bird, Cotton Candy, Cricket, Disco Ball, Moth, Ice Cube and Hammerhead. Previously unmasked were Vinny Guadagnino as Hammerhead, Brian McKnight as Cricket, Elizabeth Smart as Moth, Bill Nye the Science Guy as Ice Cube and Ice-T as Disco Ball.

The show features a cast of 10 celebrities who “have accumulated more than 38 million albums sold worldwide, 20 Emmy awards, 20 Grammy nominations, 10 World Dancing titles, five New York Times best-selling titles, four Olympic gold medals and three performances at Broadway shows. “

Here were the other contestants and their performances in episode six, “Top Five – Mask the Night Away!”:

Tulip

Dance: “My Boyfriend’s Back,” by The Chiffons
Word Up: “Life Achievements”
Bonus clue: “I am not a stranger on stage, I have been representing my entire life.”
Panel guesses: Liza Koshy, Haylie Duff, Jamie Lyn Spears
Previous dances: “Fergalicious”, by Fergie; “Fields of Gold”, by Eva Cassidy; “Obrigado, Avançar”, by Ariana Grande
Previous Word Ups: “Triple”; “Princess”
Previous panel guesses: Charli D’Amelio, Ariana Grande, Heather Morris, Sarah Hyland, Hayden Panettiere, Kristen Bell, Charli D’Amelio, Simone Biles, Julianne Hough

Zebra

Dance: “Take You Dancing,” by Jason Derulo
Bonus clue: “He has two countries rooting for him.”
Word Up: “Author”
Panel guesses: Oscar de la Hoya, Conor McGregor, Barry Bonds
Previous dances: “Magalehna”, by Sergio Mendes; “All My Life”, by K-Ci and Jojo; “Mi Gente”, by J Balvin and Willy William
Previous Word Ups: “Come back”; “Champion”
Previous panel guesses: Ricky Martin, Kevin Richardson, Pitbull, Floyd Mayweather, Mario Lopez, Tito Ortiz, Tony Robbins, LL Cool J, Oscar de la Hoya.

Sloth

Dance: “Twist Remix,” by Neeraj Shridhar
Bonus clue: “I’m all drama.”
Word Up: “Pink”
Panel guesses: Harry Shum Jr., Hugh Jackman, Jack Black
Previous dances: “What I Like About You”, by Românticos; “Up Where We Belong”, by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes; “This is not a kick to the head” by Dean Martin
Previous Word Ups: “Broadway”; “Leader man”
Previous panel guesses: Matthew Morrison, Kevin Federline, Jason Derulo, Jonathan Groff, Keegan-Michael Key, Will Ferrell, Bradley Cooper, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen

Cotton Candy

Dance: “Swan Lake Opus 20, Act 1 Finale,” by Tchaikovsky
Bonus clue: “You have seen me play for many years and, hopefully, many more to come.”
Word Up: “Prayer”
Panel guesses: Julianne Hough, Kristi Yamaguchi, Simone Biles, Hayden Panettiere
Previous dances: Pink’s “Glitter in the Air”; “Sour Candy,” by Lady Gaga feat. Blackpink; “Great Balls of Fire,” by Jerry Lee Lewis
Previous Word Ups: “Prime time”; “Team player”
Previous panel guesses: Jenna Dewan, Pink, Julianne Hough, Tara Lipinski, Kristi Yamaguchi, Gabby Butler, Simone Biles