Billy Ray Cyrus Revealed as Owl on The Masked Singer

For one achy breaky contestant, The Masked Singer came to an abrupt end Wednesday night, Feb. 11, when Owl was eliminated from the Fox competition series.

The latest episode celebrated both Twilight and Valentine’s Day, with Christina Perri opening the show with a performance of “A Thousand Years,” her hit from the blockbuster vampire franchise.

As the competition unfolded, Cat Witch delivered Bruno Mars’ “It Will Rain,” 14 Karat Carrot performed Gloria Jones’ “Tainted Love,” Stingray tackled Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits,” and Owl chose Billy Idol’s “White Wedding.”

Owl and Stingray ultimately landed in the bottom two and faced off in a Battle Royale performance of Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield.” In the end, Owl had to fly.

Under the mask was country star Billy Ray Cyrus, whose 1992 smash “Achy Breaky Heart” peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a global phenomenon. The track helped define early ’90s country pop and remains his signature hit.

Cyrus, a two time Grammy Award winner, is also widely recognized by younger generations as the father of Miley and Noah Cyrus and as the collaborator with Lil Nas X on the record breaking “Old Town Road,” which spent 19 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019.

“It’s an honor to be with y’all,” Cyrus said following the reveal. “You know, it’s been a lot of fun. Music changes everything, music changes lives.”

Panelists Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Rita Ora and Robin Thicke all failed to correctly guess the singer’s identity.

“It’s very rare that none of us get it right,” Thicke remarked. “Especially for such a big name and a big star and somebody we’ve guessed so many times. So to be able to fool all of us, that’s quite an accomplishment.”

Looking back, the clues were there. A “1992” sign referenced both the year Miley Cyrus was born and the release of “Achy Breaky Heart.” A billy goat image nodded to his first name. And a Valentine themed “lady in red” clue pointed to Elizabeth Hurley, whom Cyrus described as “an angel” in his life.

With Cyrus’ departure, just 10 contestants remain in season 14 of The Masked Singer, including three wildcards.

Watch the unmasking below.