‘The Masked Singer’ season 4 episode 7 recap: snow owls revealed

Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black made “The Masked Singer” history on Wednesday, becoming the first duo to be unmasked in the series.

The couple, who starred together as Snow Owls, became the seventh elimination of Season 4, after performing “The Prayer,” by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion. (Scroll down to see their unmasking below.)

Panelist Nicole Scherzinger was the only one to understand this, naming the married couple as her choice.

“It took about three minutes to decide to do it,” Black said. “And then it was, ‘Oh my God, what have we done?’ It’s starting to sound like more than you can chew on. We really had no idea how difficult that would be. But it was fun. We are glad we did.

Hartman Black said she was immediately drawn to the costume, two owls in a Faberge egg. But she and Black realized they should learn how to make it work.

“The first day on the set to see this egg and get inside the egg and see if we can make it work,” she said. “We had hand brakes and bars and I mean it was pretty intimidating… We tried to take baby steps and he had his own mind inside that egg. He didn’t want to go where we wanted him to go. I held Clint’s hand a lot, we kind of leaned on each other.

The physical costumes also presented a challenge – “It’s like hot yoga without the yoga,” Black said – but Hartman Black was won over by the design.

“When they walked in with these beautiful owls and I started to cry,” she says. “They were so beautiful. And then we put them on and that changed everything. Holy cow.

Black added, “My biggest concern was that it was going to be weird singing hard that way. But you can hear the music very well. And I think it’s half. The producers, engineers and music director go to great lengths to make you feel comfortable and make sure you hear what you need to hear.

If they had continued the contest, the couple had planned to “hatch” and perform outside of the egg next time around. Instead, they left the egg before the panelists revealed their final guesses.

Black and Hartman Black said they were inspired by their stint on “The Masked Singer” to record a new track, “Till The End of Time,” which will be streaming on December 3rd.

“We thought for a minute after, maybe we could record one of those songs that we did on the show,” Black said. “And I said, ‘Or I could write something.’ I bang my head against the wall for three days and thought I was going to go nowhere and then on the fourth day. It started to happen and I wrote what I think is one of my best songs. It’s great to hear Lisa sing again. It’s not always easy to get him to record another song with me!

Hartman Black added, “It’s a creepy song, I call it.”

Black also performs at the Ryman in Nashville, with Hartman Black as a special guest for part of the show. Their daughter Lily, who recently made her Grand Ol Opry debut, will also be performing.

As for the panelist’s other guesses, Robin Thicke and Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg got closer to Amy Grant and Vince Gill, while Ken Jeong went with a joke guess: Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman. Guest panelist Niecy Nash chose Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna.

New this season, the show’s panelists are also competing for a “Golden Ear” trophy based on their first impressions of each masked performer – and at the start of the episode, McCarthy Wahlberg was leading with three, while Thicke and Scherzinger had two points each, and Jeong had so far zero.

Thicke’s first impression was also Amy Grant and Vince Gill; McCarthy Wahlberg went with Maureen McCormick and Barry Williams; Jeong chose Derek Hough and Julianne Hough; Scherzinger chose Donnie Osmond and Marie Osmond. No one raised another point.

This season’s costumes include Baby Alien, Crocodile, Broccoli, Gremlin, Mushroom, Medusa, Whatchamacalit, Lips, Squiggly Monster, Popcorn, Sun, Dragon, Giraffe, Seahorse, Snow Owls and Serpent.

Bob Saget (Squiggly Monster), Wendy Williams (Lips), Mark Sanchez (Baby Alien), Brian Austin Green (Giraffe), Mickey Rourke (Gremlin) and Busta Rhymes (Dragon) have been unmasked.

Sun, Popcorn and the Snow Owls opened the “Group A Final – The Masked Frontier” with a group performance of “Raise Your Glass” by Pink. The Sun won the night, going straight to the next round – leading to a Smackdown round between Snow Owls and Popcorn.

The Snow Owls kicked off the Smackdown with Celine Dion’s “Because you loved me”. Popcorn then performed “(Everything I Do) I Do For You” by Bryan Adams.

Here are the other contestants and their performances on the seventh night:

The sun

Song: “Piece of My Heat”, by Janis Joplin
The panel assumes: Katharine McPhee, Jewel, Demi Lovato
Friend Index: “The sun is actually golden. She has at least one single that has been certified gold.
Voice over from a friend: “Like many people, the last few months of isolation have been a challenge for me and for Sun. We tried to make the most of our unexpected time off by taking our campervan on road trips. Although I still waste fuel blowing the air conditioner because it is always so hot! We realized that we don’t need a lot to be happy, we just need each other. But I know Sun fails to entertain people. She never took such a long break to spread her light to the rest of the world.
Previous songs: “Because I love you”, from Lizzo; “Pray”, by Kesha
The previous panel guesses: Katharine McPhee, Demi Lovato, Madonna, Mandy Moore, Katharine McPhee, Carrie Underwood

Pop corn

Song: “Domino”, by Jessie J
The panel assumes: Taylor Dayne, Cyndi Lauper, Anita Baker, Anika Noni Rose
Friend Index: “To my friends up there, not only have I been here before, but in the history of the show, one of you guessed Popcorn.”
Voice over from a friend: “I know Popcorn from a mutual friend. Technically, an associate queen. I don’t have to tell you, my best friend has an amazing voice. But I will never be able to get her to sing at my famous karaoke parties. Such royal pain. At least she sings for all of you here on a stage I’ve been to before. Now everyone can revel in her majesty. Popcorn, I’m still in your backyard.
Previous songs: “What About Us”, by Pink; “Falling”, by Harry Styles
Previous estimates: Tina Turner, Carole Baskin, Mary J. Blige, Gloria Gaynor, Katy Perry, Vanessa Williams

Here is a video of the Snow Owls unmasking: