‘The Masked Singer’ Panelist Nicole Scherzinger Exits Series, Replaced By Rita Ora

Next year, The Masked Singer is getting a new (unmasked) face!

According to Entertainment Weekly, Rita Ora is set to replace Nicole Scherzinger on the FOX series’ Season 11, which is slated to air in 2024.

Scherzinger returned to the show as a panelist during Sunday’s (Sept. 10) Season 10 special kickoff episode, alongside fellow panelists Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, and Robin Thicke. Season 11 will see the return of the latter three panelists, as well as longtime host Nick Cannon.

Scherzinger’s Season 11 departure is the first instance of a panelist leaving the show since its 2019 inception, per EW.

Scherzinger, who will be spending her time away from The Masked Singer by performing on London’s West End as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, told the outlet that she “would love to” continue taking part in the series, should it be renewed past Season 11.

“Oh my gosh, I would love to, are you kidding me?” she gushed. “I love my [Masked Singer] family. And it’s such a great job. Are you kidding? I love it. Yes.”

According to Variety, the “Hot Right Now” singer is no newbie to this kind of show, as she has served as a panelist on The Masked Singer UK.

The British singer-songwriter just released her third album You & I in July, and just announced a collaboration with Primark on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) yesterday (Sept. 12). The collab, which reportedly “has been 2 years in the making,” will hit stores globally on Tuesday, Sept. 19.

Season 10 of The Masked Singer premieres on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.