The Masked Singer 2024 Judges : [Spoiler] Is Replacing An OG Panelist

Rita Ora

Rita Ora joins The Masked Singer panelists after Nicole Scherzinger left in 2023.

She replaced original judge Nicole Scherzinger who is joining the cast of Sunset Boulevard on London’s West End. The show, presented by Andrew Lloyd Webber, opens September 20, 2023 at the Savoy Theatre in London and runs through January 4, 2024.

“We’re grateful to have the amazing @ritaora shine her light and join us as a panelist on #TheMaskedSinger Season 11!” the show announced on Instagram.

She took to her Instagram Story writing, “So happy the secret is finally out. I’m joining the @maskedsingerfox US! Can’t wait to try and guess who’s behind the mask with the other panelists.”

Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg

Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg returns to The Masked Singer season 11 as a panelist. She’s been a judge since the first season.

Nothing is going to stop her from continuing her appearance on the show. I have 30 more seasons in me,” she told Entertainment Tonight, saying that season 10 “literally feels like a little bit of a dream.” She continued, “I’m hoping this is a show that can go on and on, like American Idol. [And] why not? There are a lot of celebrities that can sing and are hiding it.” 

Ken Jeong

Ken Jeong returns to The Masked Singer as a panelist for season 11. He’s been on the show since the first season.

Like the other judges, he’s more than happy to be back at the show and how it’s still going strong. “It’s still surreal,” he told Parade. “I was talking to Robin Thicke about it, just like, “Can you believe we’ve had 10 seasons of this?” It does blow my mind; I’ve been so blessed to have been a part of so many things, whether it be Hangover, Community, Masked Singer, and everything in between that. It is almost an embarrassment of riches. I’m just very grateful, you know, and I’m very happy. And I’m continuing to have fun; I’m continuing to love what I do. And I think that I just want that feeling for the rest of my life. I remember Will Arnett when he was a guest judge. And I remember he was telling me, “You having fun makes me happy.” So I took a lot of pride in that. Seeing me genuinely having a good time on the show is just so important.”

Robin Thicke

Robin Thicke returns to The Masked Singer for season 11. He’s been on the show since the first season.

As for when he’ll stop appearing on the show, it isn’t anytime soon. “I’m down for 25 seasons. Absolutely,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “We shoot a couple months a year [and] I get the rest of the year to do whatever I want,” referring to bonding with his four children.  Robin became sentimental about the, saying, “It’s happened so fast. I can’t believe it, because it’s literally one of my favorite things to do in life, and that I’ve ever done in my career.”

Thicke told Billboard that in addition to his judging duties, he’s looking to release new music in the future. “My home burned down in the [2018] Malibu fires, so I’ve been on the road for four years and having children, so I have a big vault of unreleased music. Since we moved back to the Malibu house, the past eight or nine months have been the most productive I’ve been for years. I’m excited for new music at the top of 2024… I have 75 percent of the album done.”