# The Masked Singer (Belgian TV series) season 3

The third season of The Masked Singer based on the Masked Singer franchise which originated from the South Korean version of the show King of Mask Singer. It premiered on VTM on 3 February 2023 and is hosted by Jens Dendoncker.
The season started with the best ratings since its debut, with almost 2 million viewers. Big surprise came when the prima ballerina Hippo had a male singing voice. The singer made it to the finale, and turned out to be actor Boris Van Severen. For the first time, no professional singer won, but actor and presenter Aaron Blommaert who did have singing experience. Blommaert did launch a singing career through his victory.
The program was the best-watched program in 2023 in Flanders, repeating the success of the previous seasons.

## Production

After the success of the first two seasons, even named the biggest success of broadcoaster VTM ever, a third season was ordered. It was announced that Jens Dendoncker, who was a judge in the previous seasons, would be the new host. A first trailer of the season was released 6 January 2023. It was filmed in a castle.
There were some changes. There were fourteen contestants this season, more than the previous seasons. For the first time the contestants were split into two groups of seven. Only the last remaining four contestants of each group, would join the final group of eight contestants towards the final.
Before the first episode, the audience could already hear the voices of the contestants since audio fragments were released.

## Cast
### Panelists

Panel members Julie Van den Steen, Andy Peelman and Kevin Janssens returned. Bart Cannaerts and Tine Embrechts, who participated at the previous season as masked singers, joined the panel. Of this group of 5 judges, a few of them would be selected for each episode.
The Masked Singer Judges :
| Judge | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes |
| Judge | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| Andy Peelman | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bart Cannaerts | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Julie Van den Steen | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Kevin Janssens | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tine Embrechts | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Karen Damen | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Guest Judge | | Astrid Coppens | Kürt Rogiers | Maaike Cafmeyer | Nina Derwael | Margriet Hermans | | Kamal Khamarch | Jelle De Beule | | Belle Perez | |

## Contestants

The first eight contestants were introduced on 13 January.
The other six characters were revealed in many ways. A new character, Cosmos, appeared on a mural in Antwerp on 17 January 2023. Three new characters performed at an exclusive party on 21 January. On 25 January a new character, Mummy, was heard on several radio stations. The last contestant, Butterfly, was revealed in Leuven on 1 February and on 2 February online.
The season started in two groups. The remaining singers were brought together for the first time in the seventh episode, the long-announced Big Bang.
| Stage name | Celebrity | Occupation | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes | Episodes |
| Stage name | Celebrity | Occupation | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| Tovenaar ("Wizard") | Aaron Blommaert | Actor | | RISK | | WIN | | WIN | WIN | RISK | WIN | RISK | SAFE | WINNER |
| Champignon ("Mushroom") | Miguel Wiels | Composer | WIN | | WIN | | WIN | | WIN | RISK | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | RUNNER-UP |
| Raaf ("Raven") | Coely | Singer | WIN | | RISK | | SAFE | | RISK | WIN | RISK | SAFE | SAFE | THIRD |
| Hippo | Boris Van Severen | Actor | | WIN | | WIN | | SAFE | RISK | WIN | WIN | SAFE | OUT | |
| Foxy Lady | Danira Boukhriss | TV Presenter | | WIN | | RISK | | SAFE | WIN | RISK | RISK | OUT | | |
| Leeuw ("Lion") | Maksim Stojanac | Singer | WIN | | WIN | | RISK | | RISK | WIN | OUT | | | |
| Minotaurus ("Minotaur") | Jan Van Looveren | Actor | | WIN | | WIN | | RISK | WIN | OUT | | | | |
| Mummie ("Mummy") | Véronique De Kock | TV Presenter | RISK | | RISK | | SAFE | | OUT | | | | | |
| Kosmos ("Cosmos") | Siska Schoeters | Radio Host | | RISK | | RISK | | OUT | | | | | | |
| Soaperstar | Kat Kerkhofs | Program Maker | RISK | | WIN | | OUT | | | | | | | |
| Vlinder ("Butterfly") | MATTN | DJ | | RISK | | OUT | | | | | | | | |
| Groot Licht ("Big Light") | Timmy Simons | Footballer | RISK | | OUT | | | | | | | | | |
| Kolonel Mops ("Colonel Pug") | Marc Coucke | Businessman | | OUT | | | | | | | | | | |
| Skiwi | Herman Verbruggen | Actor | OUT | | | | | | | | | | | |
Herman Verbruggen ("Skiwi"), Mark Coucke ("Kolonel Mops"), Timmy Simons ("Groot Licht"), Siska Schoeters ("Kosmos"), Véronique de Kock ("Mummie"), Jan Van Looveren ("Minotaurus"), Maksim Stojanac ("Leeuw"), Danira Boukhriss ("Foxy Lady"), Boris Van Severen ("Hippo"), Coely ("Raaf"), Miguel Wiels ("Champignon"), and Aaron Blommaert ("Tovenaar")

## Episodes
### Episode 1 (3 February)

* Group number: "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars

### Episode 2 (10 February)

* Group number: "Take On Me" by A-ha

### Episode 10 (14 April)

* Group number (with Queen and Wolf from Season 1 and Miss Kitty, Knight, and Rabbit from Season 2): "Firework" by Katy Perry

### Episode 11 (21 April)

Each contestant performed two songs. Two contestants were saved from elimination by the judges, one contestant was saved by the audience. The remaining contestant was unmasked.

### Episode 12 (28 April) - Finale

* Group number: "Spectrum (Say My Name)" by Florence + The Machine
After each contestant performed two songs, two of them were saved by the audience and the third one was unmasked. The remaining two contestants went up against each other in a sing-off. The audience chose the winner, after which both the runner-up and the winner were unmasked.