Mystery Music Show: King of Mask Singer

A closer look at the story

King of Mask Singer is a South Korean singing competition in which contestants perform wearing elaborate masks that hide who they are. The masks are meant to remove any bias that might sway the vote: how famous a contestant is, their career or their age makes no difference to anyone's decision. That way, only their singing counts. The competition is made up of several rounds. In the first, two contestants perform the same song together. In the second and third rounds, each one sings a solo. Whoever wins round three gets to challenge the reigning Mask King. Depending on the live vote, the challenger is either knocked out or takes over the throne as the new Mask King. A contestant's identity is only revealed once they are eliminated. Kim Sung-joo is the host, and the panel includes Kim Gu-ra, Shin Bong-sun, Lee Yoon-suk and Kim Hyun-chul. MBC has broadcast the programme since 2015.