Why Did Nicole Scherzinger Leave The Masked Singer?

The Gist:

• Nicole Scherzinger has been a panelist on The Masked Singer since the show’s premiere in 2019.
• She will be absent from Season 11 in order to fulfill another commitment.
• Her substitute was revealed back in September 2023.

For 10 seasons between 2019 and 2023, The Masked Singer has kept people on their toes with wacky costumes and jaw-dropping performances. The popular reality singing competition has celebrities dress up in bizarre outfits and sing some hit songs all while folks try to figure out who lies under the mask.

It’s a show that always keeps you guessing, but if there’s one thing you can always rely on, it’s the permanent panelists providing some solid entertainment as they provide their guesses.

Since the show first premiered, the same panel of celebrities has been front-row center of each performance trying to suss out which celebrities are under the masks. Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Robin Thicke, and Nicole Scherzinger (and the occasional guest panelist) have been at the forefront of each round of guesses.

Now after 10 seasons, Nicole is actually stepping down from The Masked Singer. Why did she leave the show? Let’s break it down.

Nicole Scherzinger has worn plenty of hats throughout her long-standing career as an entertainer. She’s best known as the former lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls and has previously appeared as a judge on other reality competitions like The X Factor.

Since 2019, the Grammy-nominated singer has been beholden to some wild mascot-like performers as a regular panelist on The Masked Singer.

However, she’s stepping away from the costumes for a little while in order to fulfill another performance-based commitment. In May 2023, Nicole revealed that she’d been cast in a West End stage revival of Sunset Boulevard. The show began running in London on Sept. 20 and runs through Jan. 4, 2024. As such, she stepped away from filming for The Masked Singer so that she could attend rehearsals and of course, be in the show during its run.