'The Masked Singer': T-Pain flies under the radar to grab Golden Mask

And “The Masked Singer” is …

T-Pain?!

Much to everyone’s surprise, the rapper was revealed to be the voice behind the Monster mask on last night’s season finale on the Fox singing competition in which celebrity contestants concealed their identities under elaborate costumes.

Nobody was more surprised than the Florida-born rapper, who was criticized early in his career for relying too much on autotune.

Wow. TPain just beat Gladys Knight in a singing contest. Let that sink in. Props to both tho! #maskedsinger pic.twitter.com/qfe6IqKfg4

— Kelly Kay (@nygatoralumni) February 28, 2019

After the show, T-Pain commented that he thought he’d be the first singer to go, because he’s often told that his voice is so recognizable.

Also revealed in the season-ending episode were runners-up Gladys Knight (Bee), who sang Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” and Donnie Osmond (Peacock), whose final song was Ray Charles’ “Shake a Tail Feather.”

Host Nick Cannon, judges Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Robin Thicke and Nicole Scherzinger and viewers had correctly speculated during the season on the identities of Knight and Osmond, while T-Pain flew under everyone’s radar.

If anyone had been paying attention, they might have made a connection between the win and yesterday’s release of T-Pain’s new album, “1UP,” and an upcoming tour to support it.

Strike while the iron is hot, right?

The song that put the man in the blue Monster suit over the top was Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It.”

Errant Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown was the first contestant eliminated after the show’s Jan. 2 debut episode. Clad as the Hippo, Brown’s fancy footwork on the field didn’t translate in his clunky version of Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative.”

Park the Porsche and stick to football, if you can find a team willing to take you, Mr. Big Chest.

This guy couldn’t last more than 1 week on the Masked Singer. Tori Spelling lasted longer. Hmmm.... I wonder if Tori Spelling can run pass routes??? #packers #antoniobrown #maskedsinger #torispelling #nfl https://t.co/bjzI08nE6O

— Sean Franken (@IamSeanFranken) February 24, 2019

Brown wasn’t the only wearer of the black and gold to take to the stage. Other contestants, in order of elimination, were:

2. Tommy Chong, Pineapple

3. Terry Bradshaw, Deer

4. Tori Spelling, Unicorn

5. Margaret Cho, Poodle

6. Rikki Lake, Raven

7. La Toya Jackson, Alien

8. Rumer Willis, Lion

9. Joey Fatone, Rabbit

“The Masked Singer” will return for a second season, though Fox hasn’t announced a date. There is speculation that it will be part of the network’s summer schedule.

I went 3/3 on my #MaskedSinger final 3 predictions. And figured out 3 others throughout the show. Ready for season two ?

— Kirsten Moses (@kirstenmoses) February 28, 2019

The show is based on the South Korean program, “The King of Mask Singer,” which has been airing since 2015.