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Fox’s The Masked Singer premiered on January 2 and was an immediate success. The show, which originated in South Korea, asks celebrities to face off in a singing competition while disguised in head to toe costuming as a character of the celebrity’s choice. Nick Cannon hosts, and Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong, and Nicole Scherzinger offer input and commentary as the show’s judges.
Throughout the season, while the Masked Deer competes, clues will be given and guesses will be made until his identity is revealed. Since the show allows its masked celebrities to give vague and confusing clues to try and throw off viewers and the judges’ panel, many of the clues are left open to interpretation.
Here is what we know for certain about the Deer on The Masked Singer:
1. The Deer’s Height Is 6’3″
Here’s looking at you, Deer! 🦌 #TheMaskedSinger
When the Deer was first introduced on stage, the title card revealed that he was 6’3″; it also said his strength was “longevity.” That makes the Deer one of the tallest, if not the tallest, competitors on the show.
After the premiere episode, the show removed the contestants’ heights from their title cards, presumably because it made it easier for viewers to guess what celebrity might be beneath the mask by process of elimination; however, that first episode broadcast the Deer’s height, so it should be taken into consideration as one of the concrete clues.
2. He Is ‘Incredibly Competitive’
During the Deer’s first video clue package, he gave a number of vague clues about his identity, both with images and in a disguised narration. Those clues included “In the wild, wild west you learn how to get up and get back in the saddle” and “Ravens, beware! I’m here to win.”
The most concrete clue he gave was at the start of the package when he said “I’m incredibly competitive” and held up a trophy. This immediately suggested to the judges and viewers that he is or was a professional athlete; that clue has served as the foundation for guesses on the Deer’s celebrity identity.
3. He Likes Horses
Oh, Deer! 🦌 #DeerMask brings it to the stage tonight at 9/8c on @FOXTV. #TheMaskedSinger
After his first performance, the judges had an opportunity to take guesses about his identity, prompting him to give them some direction. While the judges started to consider his comment about the “wild, wild West,” the Deer spoke up and said “I like horses.”
At first, the judges were confused by this seemingly unhelpful hint, until Ken Jeong considered that maybe this meant he was from a sports team with a horse mascot. In the NFL, this could apply to either the Denver Broncos or the Indianapolis Colts. When they asked if he plays or has played for the NFL, to which the Deer replied “I would have to plead the 5th on that,” which the judges interpreted as a “big fat yes.”
4. He Sang ‘Thunder’ By Imagine Dragons in the Premiere Episode
The song the deer chose to sing during his first performance was “Thunder” by the band Imagine Dragons. He took to the center of the stage when the song began and unlike some of the other contestants, did not use the whole stage to dance around. He instead bounced around in place, turn to point to the audience, who seemed to be loving the performance.
While he sang, Jenny McCarthy said that he sounded “kind of familiar,” later adding that he is “not a singer,” suggesting he was possibly an athlete.
5. Costume Designer Marina Toybina Brought the ‘Deer’ Look to Life
Grainne O’Sullivan and Marina Toybina pose during the 2014 Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
Emmy-award winning costume designer Marina Toybina is the woman behind all of the elaborate costumes this season. In an interview with Variety, Toybina shared that some of the factors that went into designing costumes such as the Deer were the technical ability to see, hear, breathe and sing, but also the performer’s ability to dance and move around based on their personal stage presence and stature.
Later in the interview, she revealed “there were a few gender mixes within the costumes. I had such creative freedom from my network and the producers that we were able to play around … and the cast was so open-minded as to who would go into a female costume or who would go into a male and how we’d adjust the build based on that.”