Rita Ora to Replace Nicole Scherzinger on ‘The Masked Singer’ Season 11
CR: Michael Becker / FOX. ©2023 FOX Media LLC. Reading Time: 2 minutes
The Masked Singer panel will look a little bit different in Season 11, as Rita Ora fills in for longtime panelist Nicole Scherzinger. Ora has past experience as a panelist on the UK version of the show.
Rita Ora Replaces Nicole Scherzinger on The Masked Singer
On Wednesday, The Masked Singer announced Ora as a new Season 11 panelist on social media. According to Deadline, Ora will be stepping in while Scherzinger is starring in London’s West End. (She’s playing Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard.)
The rest of the judging panel (Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, and Robin Thicke) will reportedly stay the same. As for Season 10, which premieres September 27, fans can expect to see Scherzinger on the panel as usual.
Scherzinger isn’t the only judge to have a scheduling conflict with Season 11, which is filming this fall for an expected 2024 premiere. In August, Thicke announced that he would be dropping out of his tour with Ne-Yo and Mario because taping for the show was “moving up.”
SEE ALSO: ROBIN THICKE, JENNY MCCARTHY TALK ABOUT DEPARTING ‘THE MASKED SINGER’
🚨 New panelist alert! 🚨 The incredible @RitaOra will be joining #TheMaskedSinger panel for Season 11! pic.twitter.com/qsMyV8nK5R
— The Masked Singer (@MaskedSingerFOX) September 13, 2023
Ora Appeared on the UK Version of the Show
Ora isn’t a newbie in the world of The Masked Singer. She’s been a panelist on the UK version of the show since 2020. During the first season, she even appeared on the panel alongside Ken Jeong. The singer also has plenty of other talent show experience.
Ora was previously a coach on The Voice UK, and she appeared on the judging panel for one season of The X Factor UK. Since 2021, she’s been a coach on The Voice Australia. Last season, her artist Lachie Gill won the show.
On Wednesday, Ora took to Instagram stories to share her excitement about joining The Masked Singer for Season 11, writing, “So happy the secret is finally out!!” She added that she “can’t wait to try and guess who’s behind the mask.”
