On the latest episode of “The King of Mask Singer,” “Catnip” was revealed to be a member of a popular boy group!
During the July 14 broadcast of the MBC singing competition, four contestants moved on to the next round in their quest to challenge the reigning champion for the throne.
In the first match-up of Round 2, Catnip delivered a moving rendition of Kim Yeon Woo’s classic ballad “Love, that common word.”
After watching his performance, the celebrity panelists praised Catnip for his skillful singing and charming vocal tone.
Im Han Byul pointed out, “He’s definitely not a rookie. ’Love, that common word’ is a ballad where it’s very difficult to control your breathing. The range as you go up while heading into the chorus makes you run out of breath, but Catnip didn’t make any mistakes and showed us everything he’d prepared. Seeing that, I thought to myself that he must have performed on some big stages before. He has nerves of steel.”
Before the results of the round were announced, Catnip offered an additional hint to his identity with a special cat-themed performance. After briefly doing the viral “cat walking on the Han River” challenge, Catnip danced to the chorus of SuperM’s “Tiger Inside.” (You can check out a clip of his performance later in the article.)
Spoilers
Despite earning praise for his vocals, Catnip ultimately lost the round to his opponent. When he took off his mask to reveal his identity, he turned out to be none other than Stray Kids’ youngest member I.N.
Once I.N had taken off his mask, host Kim Sung Joo asked him to sing a brief snippet of the song he’d just sung in Round 2. After hearing him sing a cappella, Im Han Byul exclaimed, “He sounds even better without any accompanying instrumentals!”
Kim Sung Joo also asked I.N for a reprise of his cat-themed dance performance from earlier, and the show later posted a clip of both versions (with his mask on and with his mask off) online.
As a gift to the many viewers who had been hoping to see I.N’s performance for the final round, “The King of Mask Singer” also released footage of his rehearsal for Round 3, during which he was planning to sing BOL4’s “Mermaid.”
Watch the full episode of “The King of Mask Singer” with English subtitles on Viki below!
