The Masked Singer Australia: Meet the star-studded judging panel

We're just hours away from the launch of this year's The Masked Singer and we just can't wait for all the glitz and family fun of this song contest.

And, of course, the constant guessing game while voting for our favourite and hoping it's who we think it is - because let's face it, that's half the reason we're voting for them.

And while the celebrity panellists may not have a say in who gets put through to the next round on The Masked Singer, they do help us guess just who could be under that mask.

So who are the judges who will be trying to work out whether they recognise the voice under the costume as one of their celeb pals?

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Dannii Minogue

Danni is part of the Minogue royalty. She may be the Harry to big sister Kylie's William (that analogy worked better before Harry left the firm of course!) but we love her just the same.

And given Danni started out in Australian showbiz at the tender age of seven and was already well known by the age of 12 from appearing on Young Talent Time, there are probably few people in Aussie showbiz that she hasn't met.

She can also tick off the UK celebs after spending part of her career there hosting TV programmes such as The Big Breakfast and Top Of The Pops in the 90s. Since then she has spent her career between the UK and Australia continuing her singing career, TV presenting (she was a judge on both The X Factor in the UK and Australia's Got Talent) and acting.

During that time Dannii also proved herself to be as much a fashion icon as Kylie and was courted by designers on both sides of the world.

So we'll certainly be looking to Dannii to recognise the singers, UK artists and fellow Aussie celeb royalty, as well as looking to her for inspiration on what to wear post lockdown because we will certainly need some party dresses after all this time in sweats.

Dave Hughes

Can comedians sing because if they can Dave will pick them – won't he? He may have started out of the stand-up circuit but Hughsey's TV work on panel, comedy and talk shows has had him crossing paths with most of Australia's local celebs and a few overseas ones too.

He can also cross off the celebs that Dannii won't know so well because she was over in London but don't discount him with the big players. After all, he is one of the few people who will be able to tell us if the Dalai Lama is in one of the costumes as Hughsey was one of the few people granted a one-on-one interview with the spiritual leader in 2011.

His position on the TV show Before The Game means he knows the AFL players pretty well too – but most of all he will keep us laughing while we are guessing.

Jackie O

As the co-host of one of the biggest radio shows in the country, Jackie O has probably interviewed everyone from A-listers to reality show contestants and influencer wannabes. And the best thing is she knows them all by voice.

If she thinks a voice sounds familiar, she can always call her co-host of over 20 years, shock jock Kyle Sandilands, to see if he recognises it as well.

But Jackie's favourite part of being on the show is that she gets a whole new wardrobe out of it.

"We actually get a budget," Jackie explained to Kyle one morning on their show. "So we buy the [outfits] and I get to keep them – which is really... that never happens."

"I've got a wardrobe of really amazing clothes that I never wear from Masked Singer," she added

Urzila Carlson

When New Zealand comedian Urzila took over from Lindsay Lohan after Covid prevented the American actress from returning to the show most people probably thought 'who?'

"It was really weird because I wouldn’t have thought I would have been a natural back up for Lindsay," Urzila told Star Observer. "You know like 'Lindsay Lohan can’t make it, who should we get? Oh Urzila Carlson', it’s not a natural slide in, even for wardrobe it’s a bit of a stretch.

"But it’s amazing, there is nothing negative about the show," she added. "I don’t want to be on anything where I have to give anyone judgment, because a) I don’t know anything about music and b) it’s just not my buzz."

So while it's good to know she'll be of little help in the guessing part of the programme, she is going to once again keep her fellow panellists and us at home thoroughly entertained.

And she's taking her role as a guesser more seriously this year too. "This year I only picked actual people, and all of them were alive so I think this year was a lot better for me guess-wise," she told 10. "Not success-wise, just guessing. I’m doing better with guessing."

As long as she doesn't take things too seriously...

The Masked Singer Australia starts on Monday September 13 on Channel 10 and 10 Play On Demand.

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