The Masked Singer ended its season 8 premiere episode on a cliffhanger, making fans wait another week before unmasking Hummingbird, though NSYNC member Chris Kirkpatrick seems like the obvious guess for who’s under the costume. There’s nothing fans of the show love more than seeing former boy banders and girl group singers on the show. During season 7, En Vogue competed as Queen Cobra, and fans were thrilled to see them perform together. Chris’ NSYNC bandmate Joey Fatone was also on the show during season 1, and fans figured out his identity long before he was unmasked as the Rabbit.
Some other boy banders on The Masked Singer included The Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter, all three members of Hanson, and 98 degrees singer Nick Lachey, who won the masked trophy for season 5 of The Masked Singer. The show’s eighth season premiered on Sept. 21, and no one was disappointed with the talent or the reveals. Harp sang her heart out, rightfully earning herself a spot in the next round while her three competitors were eliminated. Knight was revealed as Star Trek actor William Shatner while Hedgehog was unmasked as English actor Eric Idle. While Harp’s identity remains a secret, fans are sure Glee actress Amber Riley is behind the Harp mask.
While The Masked Singer tried to keep fans waiting with their Hummingbird reveal, unsurprisingly it seems like everyone’s figured out Chris is the one behind the colorful costume. The most obvious evidence lies in Hummingbird’s recognizable singing voice. The contestant did a rendition of Gavin Degraw’s “I Don’t Want To Be,” best known as the theme song from One Tree Hill. A listen to Hummingbird’s performance compared with a video of Chris singing makes it impossible to deny the NSYNC member is behind the costume. For a deeper look into Hummingbird’s identity, like all contestants, he provided fans with a clue package. One of the first things The Masked Singer contestant said in his clue package was, “I promise you this Hummingbird knows a thing or two about competition,” which seems like an obvious Easter egg for the NSYNC song “This I Promise You.”
He then referenced how NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal helped launch his career. In 2018, NSYNC member Lance Bass revealed that he and his band members recorded their early demos at Shaq’s home recording studio. The clue video took place on a football field, and Hummingbird even admitted, “together we dominated the SuperBowl,” leading panelist Ken Jeong to believe Tom Brady was in the costume. However, any NSYNC fan would remember when the boy group performed at the 2001 Super Bowl alongside Aerosmith and Britney Spears. Then, toward the end of the video, one of The Masked Singer‘s men in black wore some ring pops on his fingers. While the clue is a little abstract, it may point to the well-known NSYNC song “Dirty Pop.”
With the recognizable voice and all the clues, it seems impossible that anyone else could be behind Hummingbird on The Masked Singer. So far, panelists have not guessed the boy bander, but they’ll be excited to see him on the stage next week during his reveal. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Chris snuck in any clues about his role as Chip Skylark on Nickelodeon’s The Fairly OddParents. Perhaps he was saving the “My Shiny Teeth and Me,” references for future clue packages in case he made it further into the show. While it’s unfortunate Hummingbird had to go so soon, it will be exciting to see if Chris really is the celebrity behind The Masked Singer costume.
The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8pm EST on Fox.
