Flower was one of six masked singers who performed last night on the first new episode of The Masked Singer. FOX aired two episodes on Wednesday night to make up for pre-empting it the previous week.
Rottweiler, Ladybug, Tree, Fox, and Penguin also performed during Episode 5 for Season 2.
Flower had previously bragged that she was “going to put [her] petals to the metal and make the other singers wilt.”
“I blossom in every field I plant myself in, and I am here to branch out yet again,” she added.
The standing ovation she received after her performance of Sia’s Cheap Thrills showed that the judges Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke, and the audience all agreed she fulfilled her promise to “make other singers wilt.”
The Flower clues
While presenting clues, she said that although the judges believe she is a professional singer, she has never taken a voice lesson in her life.
“I’m just a girl who never left her garden,” she said. “My talent bloomed early on… and I must have had that X-Factor. Ain’t nobody gonna tell me when to stop growing…”
The clue video also showed a French flag, a clock at 12:00, and the number 524 on a locked door.
Before her performance last night, she said she was going to throw off the judges even more by singing a song that is “not usually in her wheelhouse.” Displaying a price tag for $13 on her finger, she said you couldn’t put a price tag on what you love.
When asked for an extra clue, Flower said that her favorite band is Kings of Leon.
Who is Flower?
After Flower gave some tantalizing clues on last night’s episode of the show, the judges made their guesses.
Jeong doubled down on his first guess that Flower is Bjork. Nicole Scherzinger said she previously thought she was LaBelle, but now she thinks she could be Shirley Bassey. Jenny McCarthy suggested that Flower is Anita Baker.
Does 524 clue reveal Flower is Patti LaBelle?
Fans have also been trying to guess who Flower is.
@MaskedSingerFOX #TheMaskedSinger #FlowerMask France, $13, 524, roses, 12:00, X factor…someone tell me what all this means?
— LALA_3_3_3⁷ №¹ (@LALA_3_3_3) November 7, 2019
The overwhelming consensus among fans on Twitter is that Flower is Patti LaBelle. Fans are convinced that all the major clues we’ve had so far point to LaBelle.
Many fans think that the number 524 displayed on a door in the clue video is a reference to LaBelle’s birthday, May 24.
The Flower is Patti Labelle the 524 from the clue package is her birthday ??♀️ #TheMaskedSinger
— blairwaldorf✨ (@_vintageVandal) November 7, 2019
Flower is Patti LaBelle. Next. 524 (her birthday). French flag (Lady Marmalade) #maskedsinger
— Emma (@Emmy415) November 7, 2019
100% a red herring. The flower may have never taken a voice lesson, however, that doesn't mean she's not a professional singer! 524…..Patti Labelle's birthday is May 24th!
— ?Broadway Unicorn? (@joymichelle) November 7, 2019
524 is Patti Labelle’s bday and she was on jazz fest with kings of leon
— Raizy (@Raizy94743365) November 7, 2019
While there is a consensus among fans that 524 refers to LaBelle’s birthday, fans struggled to guess what the $13 price tag could mean.
Some suggested it could refer to the number of awards she’s won or has been nominated for. Fans also said that the French flag in Flower’s clue package was a reference to LaBelle’s 1974 smash hit song Lady Marmalade which has a French-language chorus.
@MaskedSingerFOX the flower is Patti Labelle. The number 524 is her birthday. The number 13 is the number of awards she's won.! I guessed it, mic drop.
— George Paredes (@TinyPotatoChip2) November 7, 2019
Other clues we’ve had so far about Flower also strongly indicate that she is LaBelle: an honorary doctorate from Philadelphia’s Temple University and success in diverse fields, including “cooking, clothes, and crafts.”
LaBelle received an honorary doctorate from Temple University in 2010. She is also a cooking enthusiast and had a show on Cooking Channel (2015). She also has a clothing line, a cosmetics line, and a perfume line.
Fans also noted that her previous reference to Vision of Love, the title of a song by Mariah Carey, links back to LaBelle, who is Carey’s godmother.
The Masked Singer airs on Wednesdays at 8/7c on Fox.