Actress revealed as Masked Singer's Royal Knight gives update on beloved TV reboot, shares pressure of DWTS

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Masked Singer season 12, episode 9, "Peanuts Night."

There was a lot to be thankful for on this week's Masked Singer episode — not only was it the Group C finale complete with epic performances and a Battle Royale, but the entire Peanuts gang hung around for all of the Thanksgiving festivities as well.

After all, nothing says “Thanksgiving” like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, which has served up over 50 years of family fun, traditions, and memories. To kick off the episode, the Peanuts characters joined panelists Rita Ora and Robin Thicke on stage as they celebrated turkey day with their falsetto-filled rendition of Daryl Hall and John Oates’ “You Make My Dreams Come True.”

In one of the season's sweetest moments, the panelists' families — including Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg's husband Donnie, Ora's husband Taika Waititi, Ken Jeong's wife Ho and dog Mocha, Thicke's kids, and some of host Nick Cannon's brood (after all, we didn't have all day) — sent in heartwarming and hilarious videos celebrating the holiday and their respective Masked cast member.

The rest of the episode featured the Group C finale, and the celebrities fittingly gave Thanksgiving-themed clues and belted out hits like, “I Hope You Dance” (Strawberry Shortcake), “Holiday” (Royal Knight) and “Ho Hey” (Sherlock Hound).

Since the Ding Dong Keep It On Bell was already used, two people had to go home to make way for one final quarterfinalist, and Royal Knight was the first contestant to get sent home. Guesses for her were a little all over the place — Ora picked Anna Faris, Jeong chose Kelly Ripa, and Thicke guessed Busy Philipps. In the end, McCarthy-Wahlberg earned herself a second Thanksgiving helping, because she correctly pegged that Royal Knight was singer, bestselling author, and One Tree Hill star Jana Kramer (see our interview with her below).

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This sent Sherlock Hound and Strawberry Shortcake to the season's final Battle Royale to each perform their version of “Shivers” by Ed Sheeran. In the end, Sherlock Hound got sent to the pound, and some panelists had even more to be thankful for when it came to their guesses. Although McCarthy-Wahlberg and Ora were incorrect with their guesses of Scott Stapp and Hozier respectively, both Jeong and Thicke correctly picked former professional baseball pitcher and musician Bronson Arroyo.

Thus concluded the Group C finale, which means Strawberry Shortcake is the final quarterfinalist joining Goo, Buffalo, and Wasp in next week's "Quarterfinals" episode. Ahead of that, Entertainment Weekly caught up with Kramer to digest her Masked Singer experience, dish on how it compared to Dancing With the Stars, and what the latest update is on the One Tree Hill reboot.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: As a recording artist yourself, what made you want to do The Masked Singer?

JANA KRAMER: I just thought it would be so much fun. My kids and I loved watching the show together as a family. It was just one of those shows where I just thought, man, it'd be so fun to just go up there and it's such a wild idea, such a wild show, but just have fun.

Did your kids know you were doing it or is it going to be a big Thanksgiving surprise for them this week?

No, I told them, I obviously had to tell them that I was going to Los Angeles to film and they were going to be on their beach trip with their dad. And so they were so excited and I wanted them to feel a part of it too, and to see me in the costume, or help with any ideas and stuff like that. So it was fun to let them be a part of it.

Your Masked Ambassador was Savannah Chrisley. Did you get to speak with her or compare notes before doing the show?

Savannah and I have been friends for a long time and we're both crazy busy. But I did text her and was like, "Hey girl, they showed me a list of people that could be my ambassador. You cool if you do it?" And she's like, "Absolutely." So we just kind of texted and chatted about it because she's so crazy with everything, and I've got the kids, too. So it's kind of one of those things where it's just a text thing, but I love her and she's a great girl. She was just like, "Have so much fun, it's a blast."

You also did Dancing With the Stars. How did that experience compare to The Masked Singer?

They were, in my opinion, lightyears different just because I felt like there was more pressure on Dancing With the Stars than with Masked Singer. I mean, from the very beginning the experience was so much fun. And I'm not saying Dancing With the Stars wasn't fun, it was just more pressure. With Masked Singer, it was like even the producers were like, "Go out there and have a great time. Just go pump up the crowd. Have fun." And that's what that was about. And also you're in a mask, so people don't really know who you are. So it's like you truly can go out there and not really, I mean you still care, but you're also going out there and not being all eyes just on you because you can kind of hide underneath the mask a little bit, which is kind of nice. And then Dancing With the Stars, it's all you and all eyes on you. Everyone knows it's you, and so they're already picking you apart from the first step you take. With Masked Singer, it's like as long as you go out there and have fun — I mean, some of the best singers have gone home soon because they didn't have fun — so I think it's one of those things where it was definitely just more fun.

Contestants usually tell me that it's oddly freeing to sing with a mask on, even for the professional singers.

For sure. When I'm doing shows and stuff, I judge myself and I know I'm being judged on stage. And then with The Masked Singer, I was like, I can just actually go out there and have a good time and not care what anyone thinks. And if I don't hit a perfect note, that's fine, because it's all good. And I feel like I was better with singing with a mask on because I just didn't have that insecurity.

What's next for you, and do you have any more updates on the One Tree Hill reboot?

I mean, I'm not sure. Sophia [Bush] and I have definitely talked about it and they've got some great plans for the show, so hopefully one day my character [Alex Dupre] can come back. But we'll see. And I've got two movies next year at the top of the year. I can't talk about 'em yet, but I'm really excited. So I've got some really cool projects coming up that I've got to get ready for. And then we will see what's next, and then the podcast [Whine Down With Jana Kramer] always is running in the background.

What did you take away from your Masked Singer experience?

I think just to go out there, whether you've got a mask on or not, just to go out there and have fun. I think we take things really serious a lot. And the show is about just having fun and lifting people up and putting smiles on people's faces. And we can do that. We can do that at any time, not just on that stage. So I think it's just about remembering how much fun that was and that we can still do that [in life].

The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.