Nadine Lustre, Arthur Nery tapped as panelists in ‘Masked Singer Pilipinas’ S3

ACTRESS Nadine Lustre and “Isa Lang” hitmaker Arthur Nery were named panelists of the third season of the reality competition “Masked Singer Pilipinas,” joining singer-songwriter Janno Gibbs and the Philippines’ “Concert Queen” Pops Fernandez.

This was announced in a media conference of the singing competition, graced by Fernandez, Gibbs, Nery, and Billy Crawford, who will reprise his role as “Masked Singer Pilipinas” host. Lustre, on the other hand, joined the event through a video call.

Lustre shared that “Masked Singer Pilipinas” is one of her most memorable projects when she was asked to share some notable moments while filming for the show’s new season.

“Honestly, it’s really hard to pick kasi ang daming memories and ang daming masasayang moments habang nagshu-shoot kami. So, talaga namang nag-enjoy lang kaming lahat and nag-bonding kaming lahat,” the multi-award-winning actress said.

Meanwhile, Nery, who first joined “Masked Singer Pilipinas” as a contestant in 2022, shared that he got nervous when he was chosen to judge in the show’s third season. Nery is one of the fast-rising OPM singers today, with his soulful songs like “Pagsamo” and “Binhi” dominating music charts.

“At first, kabado talaga ako pero nung nakita ko ‘yung mga kasama kong judges, talagang winelcome nila ako,” he said.

“Sobrang iba ‘yung feeling contestant ako kasi bawal kami magsalita eh, like nakatago lang kami,” he added. “Sobrang iba po siya kasi may nakakausap na po ako tapos ang saya lang po talaga namin.”

Lustre, fondly called by her millennial and Gen Z fans as “President Nadine,” last appeared as a judge in the hit reality competition series “Drag Race Philippines” in 2022. For Nery, “Masked Singer Pilipinas” is the first national television competition for which he will serve as a judge.

What to look forward to in S3?

“Masked Singer Pilipinas” is based on the South Korean singing competition “King of Mask Singer,” where panelists are given clues to guess the identity of singers hiding behind masks. The singers will conceal their identities until they are eliminated from the competition.

The third season of “Masked Singer Pilipinas” will feature 16 singers who will compete in four elimination rounds: “Battle of 4,” “War of 3,” “Quad Wars,” and “The Final Battle.”

The judges and studio audience will vote for their favorite singer every week. The contestant with the fewest votes will be eliminated and will have to remove their mask to reveal their identity. Only one will be named grand champion of “Masked Singer Pilipinas” season three.

The singing competition first aired on Philippine television in 2020, with OPM singer Daryl Ong being the first grand champion. R&B singer Kris Lawrence emerged victorious in the show’s second season in 2022.

“Masked Singer Pilipinas” season three will premiere on May 17 on TV5.