You can’t fool a Gleek. Glee fans have absolutely no doubts about who the Harp on FOX’s The Masked Singer is, and her latest performance has brought back to the surface some unresolved pent up anger towards the makers of what was once the most famous show about a teenage choir group on television.
Anyone who has watched all six seasons of Glee can spot Amber Riley‘s unmatched vocals in a second, which is why the The Masked Singer contestant has been found out all over the internet, long before the competition’s judges figured out her identity. Riley’s performance of “I Have Nothing” on Wednesday’s episode of the show took Glee fans all the way back to the time the Ryan Murphy show aired a Whitney Houston tribute episode after the passing of the legendary singer.
Riley was the protagonist of some of the most memorable moments of the episode, aptly titled “Dance with Somebody,” particularly her rendition of “How Will I Know,” alongside Chris Colfer, Lea Michele, and the late Naya Rivera, which doubled as the show’s opening scene, showing the characters mourning one of their musical references.
Surprisingly, despite being Glee‘s best vocalist, Riley wasn’t given a solo song in “Dance with Somebody,” which was justified at the time by the fact she had sang Houston’s most emblematic song “I Will Always Love You” only four episodes prior. The song Riley sang on The Masked Singer all these years later was given to Colfer, who played Kurt Hummel on the show.
One Gleek still hasn’t quite gotten over the song distribution for that episode, even though “I Have Nothing” served Kurt’s story line much better than Amber’s character Mercedes Jones’ at the time.
Colfer is a great singer, as some of his other performances on the show can prove, like “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” or “Being Alive.” However, it is true he was a bit out of his depth vocally during “I Have Nothing,” and once you compare it to Riley’s powerful version, it’s hard to state otherwise.
The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays on Fox while Glee is available to stream on Disney Plus or Hulu Plus.