Clock is out of time on The Masked Singer, as the fancy timepiece was unmasked and the Grammy Award-winning artist behind it was ousted Wednesday night (May 15).
With her elimination, Clock completes a podium finish for this 11th season of Fox’s whacky singing contest, ending up in third place behind Gumball and Goldfish in this semi-final.
The episode opened this week with each of the three remaining celebrities in a battle royal to “Higher Love” by Kygo featuring the vocals of the late Whitney Houston (“Higher Love” was originally recorded by Steve Winwood). Clock went on to perform “Dancing In The Street” by Martha and The Vandellas for a spot in the finale, Goldfish hit “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette.
When the votes were counted, time was up for Clock. Behind the mask was Thelma Houston, the“Don’t Leave Me This Way” singer.
Panelist Rita Ora guessed right.
Houston admitted she came on the show to introduce herself to a new generation. “I would like to just say I had a wonderful time,” she told the audience following the big reveal. “I do thank my family for being my support system for all these years. And I’m amazed at the reception I got through these weeks, it’s been wonderful.”
The Motown legend also confirmed a rumor that, during the night of the Grammys, for which she was nominated, Houston stayed home to clean. It was the wrong job on the wrong night; she won for best female R&B vocal performance, back in 1978.
Gumball and Goldfish progress to the final of The Masked Singer.
Houston as Clock follows the exit of Chrissy Metz (as Poodle Moth), Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken (as The Beets), Jenifer Lewis (Miss Cleocatra), Kevin Hart (Book); restauranteur Joe Bastianich (Spaghetti & Meatballs); TV personalities Savannah Chrisley (Afghan Hound), Billy Bush (Sir Lion) and Colton Underwood (Lovebird); NFL Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware (Koala); singer Sisqó (Lizard) and others.
According to producers, constants for the current season boast a combined 22 Grammy nominations, 11 platinum albums, 33 Teen Choice nominations, 108 million records sold, 326 film appearances and 1.7 billion streams accumulated on Spotify.
Watch Clock’s performances and unmasking below.