The Masked Singer Super Nine contestants identities, winning chances

Now that T-Rex has gone extinct on The Masked Singer's Group C championships, Astronaut, Night Angel, and Rhino have joined the Super Nine that will compete next week. One of these contestants will go all the way and earn the coveted trophy.

From our tireless work watching the show every week (just kidding, it's pure fun), EW has the insight on which masked singers could win the whole competition — and which celebrity could be under each costume. And, just for giggles, we've included some of the panelists' most, uh, inspired, guesses for each of the Super Nine competitors (Warning: it's 90 percent Ken Jeong).

White Tiger

Who we think they are: Former New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski. There were tons of clues referencing the Patriots and the Super Bowl. Read more about our prediction here.

Who the panelists think they are: While most of the panelists agree with us and think White Tiger is Gronk (or Joe Manganiello, which is reasonable), Jeong, ever the contrarian, was dead set on Fabio being the big cat.

Best performance: We'll get back to you on that.

Do they have a shot at winning? We hope not. What can you say about White Tiger that we haven't said already? He's fun, he gets the crowd going, and he .... picked a great costume. We'll be honest, we can't see White Tiger going all the way, given his lack of rapping, singing, or even staying on key abilities, but at least it seems his goal is to have fun and not to take the crown. Panelist Nicole Scherzinger said it best: "You go for any note. It doesn’t even matter."

Turtle

Who we think they are: Singer and former Summerland star Jesse McCartney. Between the hints about being a heartthrob and "beautiful soul," we're all in on McCartney.

Who the panelists think they are: The panel has thrown around a lot of former boybanders, and guest panelist Jason Biggs offered up the name Darius Rucker, who Jeong thought was a great guess despite the former Hootie & the Blowfish frontman's voice sounding nothing like Turtle's.

Best performance: Turtle brought energy, his great pipes, and some dance moves to his rousing performance of Shawn Mendes' "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back."

Do they have a shot at winning? Turtle-y. He's uber-talented and he exudes the charisma of a heartthrob. Turtle is definitely one to watch in this competition.

Kangaroo

Who we think they are: She was a toughie to figure out, but we're feeling more and more certain Kangaroo is social media star Jordyn Woods, also known as Kylie Jenner's former BFF.

Who the panelists think they are: Jeong guessed model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, for some reason.

Best performance: Her first time on stage, Kangaroo wowed with a memorable and stripped-down cover of Robyn's "Dancing on My Own," showing us that a performance doesn't require fanfare to be great. Instead, she let her wonderful vocals do all the talking (err, singing).

Do they have a shot at winning? Absolutely. Her sultry voice combined with a magnetic stage presence gives Kangaroo a leg up in the competition. Plus, if Woods is under the mask, Kangaroo winning would set up a compelling redemption arc for her to go from hiding under someone else's spotlight to becoming a recording star in her own right after The Masked Singer. And we know the show loves a good narrative, given that Thingamajig's chemistry with Scherzinger certainly helped him stick around so long last season.

Banana

Who we think they are: The signs involving partying, TV shows, snakes, and even laundry made us realize that Banana has to be Poison frontman Bret Michaels.

Who the panelists think they are: Guest panelist — and season 1 winner — T-Pain guessed it was Johnny Knoxville, who was also guessed to be Llama and Robot. He was neither. We wonder if they say his name enough, like in Beetlejuice, Knoxville will actually eventually appear.

Best performance: Banana gave it his all in his performance of Bill Withers' "Lean on Me." It was the perfect balance of entertaining and heartfelt, plus he got to show off his vocal chops, and best of all, the crowd ate it up.

Do they have a shot at winning? It's too soon to tell at this point. Banana hasn't made us groan, but he also hasn't outshined his competitors either. And there was that time he forgot the lyrics to "Achy Breaky Heart," which didn't do him any favors. He could still turn it around and win the whole thing, but we think it might be a long shot.

Kitty

Who we think they are: It took us a while, but we finally figured out that Kitty is singer Jackie Evancho. The feline's hints about pirates, Christmas, and even her connection with one of the panelists sold us on the former America's Got Talent contestant.

Who the panelists think they are: Funny enough, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie were both hypotheses for Kitty.

Best performance: Kitty has been so good she earned two places on our list of top performances of season 3. She showed us her poppy, sultry side with Ariana Grande's "Dangerous Woman," in episode 4, and the next week slowed it down with an emotional rendition of Brett Young's "Mercy."

Do they have a shot at winning? Yes — in fact, we might call Kitty one of the front-runners right now. She's got a stunning voice, versatility, and she's certainly earned the panelists' approval. After her passionate performance of "Dangerous Woman," Robin Thicke even said Kitty was "already a fan-favorite." She also impressed guest panelist Gabriel Iglesias with her moving interpretation of "Mercy" by Brett Young. "I was blown away. Honestly, I did not expect that to come out of you,” Iglesias told the fab feline.

Frog

Who we think they are: It's totally Bow Wow. There were so many nods to his music, his home base of Atlanta, and even his acting career. Not convinced? Dive deep into our reasoning.

Who the panelists think they are: Both Scherzinger and Jeong guessed Frog was really Kevin Hart. Don't they know the comedian is way too busy to be on this show?

Best performance: Frog nailed it with his version of the Gap Band's "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" in episode 6. He fully used the stage, got the audience participating, danced his tushy off — and he capped it all off by making it rain on stage. It was an unforgettable performance.

Do they have a shot at winning? Few contestants know how to move it like Frog, who's busted out numerous high-energy performances this season. He can rap, sing, and dance — which is exactly what earned multi-talent Fox — a.k.a. Wayne Brady — the trophy on season 2. Can Frog live up to the comparisons and hype to become the winner? We think it's absolutely possible.

Night Angel

Who we think they are: We're confident that Night Angel is singer and Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss. The clue packages referenced her notable songwriting credits as well as her many business endeavors.

Who the panelists think they are: Guest panelist Will Arnett picked up on a Janet Jackson clue, only for that to lead him to guess ... former Blossom star Mayim Bialik? Big Bang theory, that wasn't.

Best performance: Night Angel also notched two spots on our list of best season 3 performances. She killed it with those high notes at the end of "Shout!" by the Isley Brothers, and she also did a great job with "You Give Love a Bad Name." Jenny McCarthy dubbed Night Angel's rendition of Bon Jovi's famous party-starting tune the "best performance all season." High praise, but very much earned.

Do they have a shot at winning? Although she was one of the last contestants the audiences met, Night Angel has moved to the front of our minds with her powerful vocals. She hasn't had a bad week yet, and she's a pro at making classic songs her own. We think she has a chance at the trophy.

Rhino

Who we think they are: Former MLB pitcher Barry Zito is definitely under the Rhino costume. The clues about baseball, Nashville, finding faith after struggle, and more all fit Zito.

Who the panelists think they are: Jeong guessed Rhino was David Hasselhoff. It was a great moment, only because of Arnett's burn after the terrible guess. "I just figured out why you’re not a practicing doctor anymore," he told Jeong. Ouch.

Best performance: Rhino's performance of "Tracks of My Tears" was sincere and sweet, and the slow song also gave him a chance to show off his voice.

Do they have a shot at winning? Rhino has the talent, but going up against strong vocalists like Night Angel and Astronaut in Group C didn't do the horned contestant any favors. He sang well, but faded into the background a bit. We won't rule out him making it far, but Rhino's got to step it up if he wants to be the last one standing.

Astronaut

Who we think they are: The spaceman is totally country star Hunter Hayes. There were too many specific clues involving a Guinness World Record and a very specific clue involving an "organized crime family" for it not to be Hayes. We're so sure we even wrote a separate article making our case.

Who the panelists think they are: Jeong guessed it was Eddie Vedder, despite there being virtually no clues that matched Astronaut with the Pearl Jam rocker.

Best performance: Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" has been covered countless times, but Astronaut managed to give it a fresh twist in episode 8.

Do they have a shot at winning? It's not a leap to say Astronaut can land the mission of grabbing the Masked Singer trophy. He's got the vocal range, plus the confidence of a seasoned performer, so we think he's going to do well on the show. Scherzinger agreed too — after Astronaut covered the Wonder hit she declared the contestant "by far my favorite."

Related content:

Here are The Masked Singer Super Nine contestants — and their chances of winning