The Masked Singer blows fans away by revealing Pangolin is the singer behind an iconic inspirational hit song
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The Masked Singer had another shock in store when it revealed the identity of Pangolin on its March 25 episode.
The masked performer turned out to be a pro singer and songwriter.
She's been known for writing and singing an iconic tune that became a top ten hit more than a decade ago.
Her song has had a remarkable reach, having soundtracked numerous films, commercials and even political campaigns since it was released in 2015.
She was competing against Galaxy Girl, Crane, Pugcasso and Cat Witch as they tried to secure one of the four spots for the show's upcoming finals.
Wednesday's episode also marked a rare instance in which one of the Masked Singer detectives — Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy and Rita Ora — managed to guess the identity of the disguised singer.
The Masked Singer had another shock in store when it revealed the identity of Pangolin on its March 25 episode. The masked performer turned out to be a pro singer and songwriter
She's been known for writing and singing an iconic tune that became a top ten hit more than a decade ago. Her song has had a remarkable reach, having soundtracked numerous films, commercials and even political campaigns since it was released in 2015
Wednesday's episode also marked a rare instance in which one of the Masked Singer detectives — Robin Thicke , Ken Jeong , Jenny McCarthy and Rita Ora — managed to guess the identity of the disguised singer
After Pangolin ended up getting the fewest votes of the evening, she was unmasked as the singer–songwriter and author Rachel Platten, 44.
Platten is best known for singing the anthemic Fight Song, which she co-wrote with Dave Bassett.
Platten was still fighting to make a living as a performer when the tune was released on her debut Fight Song EP, and the song was rereleased later in 2015 on her sophomore studio album — and major label debut — Wildfire.
The song rocketed up the charts, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, a shocking performance for a virtually unknown singer.
Fight Song went on to be certified Platinum six times by the Recording Industry Association of America, indicating sales and streaming equivalents of more than six million units.
Platten won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program for her performance of the song on Good Morning America, and it was adopted as the campaign song for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.
Platten, who performed Fight Song on stage with Taylor Swift in 2015 at a Philadelphia stop of her 1989 tour, later released Fight Song (Rachel's Version), an album of rerecorded songs — including the title track — that were inspired by Swift's crusade to rerecord her early songs.
In her clue video, Platten said her best friend when she was a child was her grandmother, who would clip stories about her rise to fame and brag about her granddaughter's success to friends.
After Pangolin ended up getting the fewest votes of the evening, she was unmasked as the singer–songwriter and author Rachel Platten, 44; pictured in 2017 in LA
Platten is best known for singing the anthemic Fight Song, which was released on her debut EP of the same name in 2015
The song rocketed up the charts, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, and it was later adopted as the campaign song for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential run
Fight Song went on to be certified Platinum six times by the Recording Industry Association of America, indicating sales and streaming equivalents of more than six million units
Platten won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program for her performance of the song on Good Morning America
Platten recalled her grandmother bragging that she had been 'on the Emmys,' which was a clue about her Emmy win.
She also mentioned the struggles of raising children, which coincided with Platten's struggles with postpartum depression after welcoming her daughters Violet Skye, seven, and Sophie Jo, four, both of whom she shares with her husband Kevin Lazan, whom she tied the knot with in 2010.
Platten also teased Jeong when she revealed that she had appeared on camera with him, though he seemed determined to only ask questions that were of no help in determining her identity, as if he was intentionally sabotaging the show.
The detectives proved to be on the trail of Pangolin's identity, as Jenny McCarthy correctly guessed that she was Platten, while the other final guess was that she might be Glee star Lea Michele.
Platten's song for the semi-finals was Roxette's It Must Have Been Love, which opened with a sketch inspired by telenovelas, in which her character walked in on her lover in the midst of an affair with another woman.
Afterward, Ken quizzed her about what they had appeared in together, but Platten said she wasn't in Kpop Demon Hunters or Crazy Rich Asians, both of which he asked about.
Although he didn't get any help from his questions, he guessed that Pangolin might have been Lea Michele, as he had guest-starred with her on Glee.
Jenny McCarthy offered up her guess next, and she admitted that she originally thought Pangolin could have been Christina Perri, but she had to recalibrate after Pangolin revealed that she and Perri were friends, so McCarthy guessed that it was Platten under the costume.
In her clue video, Platten said her best friend when she was a child was her grandmother, who would clip stories about her rise to fame and brag about her granddaughter's success to friends
Platten recalled her grandmother bragging that she had been 'on the Emmys,' which was a clue about her Emmy win
Platten also teased Jeong when she revealed that she had appeared on camera with him. However, he guess it was in KPop Demon Hunters or Crazy Rich Asians, but neither film was the right answer
The detectives proved to be on the trail of Pangolin's identity, as Jenny McCarthy correctly guessed that she was Platten
Jenny McCarthy admitted that she originally thought Pangolin could have been Christina Perri, but she had to recalibrate after Pangolin revealed that she and Perri were friends, so McCarthy guessed that it was Platten under the costume
'I worked with Rachel Platten once,' Jeong added after her guess. 'Well, then I'm a little bit closer,' Jenny said proudly
'I worked with Rachel Platten once,' Jeong added after her guess.
'Well, then I'm a little bit closer,' Jenny said proudly.
At the end of the episode, it was down to just Pangolin and Galaxy Girl, before Galaxy Girl got the good news that she was advancing to the finals.
Before her unmasking, Pangolin offered up one last clue: a pair of golden boxing gloves.
'I like to stand strong in a fight, especially when it counts,' Platten said with her voice disguised as she teased her biggest hit. 'And honestly, this whole thing represents such a huge win for me.'
For the final round of guesses, Rita Ora suggested Pangolin was Vanessa Carlton, while Jeong doubled down on Lea Michele and Robin Thicke guessed that she was Michelle Branch.
But McCarthy stuck to her guns and pointed out that Platten was the singer of Fight Song, which perfectly fit with her final clue.
She proved to be on the money when Platten was unmasked amid a flood of golden confetti.
Before her unmasking, Pangolin offered up one last clue: a pair of golden boxing gloves. 'I like to stand strong in a fight, especially when it counts,' Platten said with her voice disguised as she teased her biggest hit. 'And honestly, this whole thing represents such a huge win for me'
Platten admitted that she didn't know what a pangolin was before she was cast as the character, though she did develop a closer connection to the animal — which is native to Asia and Africa — after watching a documentary about it
Fittingly, she signed off the episode by belting out her hit, Fight Song
Host Nick Cannon asked her if performing behind a mask changed her connection to music.
'You know, it brought me back to when I used to play — you know, for 13 years, I toured around the country and sold CDs out of my suitcase,' she recalled. 'And for all those years, I would just have to prove who I was. No one knew my name. And it was just about how I could make them feel. And it really brought me back to that.'
Platten also admitted that she didn't know what a pangolin was before she was cast as the character, though she did develop a closer connection to the animal — which is native to Asia and Africa — after watching a documentary about it.
Fittingly, she signed off the episode by belting out her hit, Fight Song.
