I’ve never really been one to watch reality singing competition shows with any kind of consistency. Sure, I turned on a few episodes of “America’s Got Talent” and “American Idol” over the years, but recently there’s a show which seems to have broken through my general apathy toward the genre. This is about the ridiculous and glorious annoyance that is “The Masked Singer” airing Wednesdays on Fox (and available Thursdays to stream on Hulu).

The premise is pretty simple — actors, comedians, athletes, singers and other celebrities who are looking to get a little more recognition after years of dormancy don opulent and outrageous costumes and sing for a panel of four regular judges (Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke) who then try and guess their identities. With full costumed heads/masks and a voice alteration, the only thing the panelists have to go off of are clues given prior to each performance. The audience then votes for their favorites and the singer with the least amount of votes is then unmasked and leaves the show.

It would be easy to assume that the fix is in. After all, between social media, paparazzi and a host of other loose-lipped sources, how could one show keep such a tight secret? Well, they do. The whole process is fascinating on how they keep the celebrities’ identities secret until they’re revealed on the show. It’s also surprising the caliber of some of the performers they get including Patti LaBelle, Mickey Rourke, Busta Rhymes and Seal.

Based on the South Korean series “King of Mask Singer,” the U.S. take mixes some elements of the “Gong Show” into it to make a soup that has been changing slightly every season, getting tighter and a little more interesting each time.

What baffles me is why I stick with it season after season. The panelists get on my nerves, I have no clue who some of the contestants are (usually the athletes), I find some elements annoying and I really don’t care for the whole premise of this kind of reality competition show.

And yet, I make sure to watch every week to see what new clues are revealed and who gets unmasked.

I am constantly asking myself why I do seem to like something that also annoys me so much and the answer is as surprising as my love for the show. For one, the costumes are amazing. The craftsmanship that is put into each and every one-of-a-kind creation is worthy of all praise.

Another reason is that the winners of the seasons, only win a trophy. They’re not in it for a cash prize or a record deal and the show doesn’t make it feel exploitative for the sake of drama like every other singing competition show does to its contestants. The performers instead are doing it because it’s either in promotion of something they’re working on, a way to stoke some life back into their careers or they do it just because it seems like fun. And it does genuinely seem like fun.

The most recent case of this was in episode five of this current season when a performer dressed as a giant pair of red lips took the stage. The singer who was revealed to be daytime talk show host Wendy Williams went out and sang with gusto knowing full well that she was not a signer. But she gave it her all and her off-key performance was wonderful because of it.

While the concept of masking people this year is en trend, the show had to make their own adjustments including using a “virtual” audience using special effects and previous footage from other tapings. As obnoxious as the random shots to audiences are, it’s oddly comforting. There is new content and it seems like everything is normal when everything is not.

The show manages to keep it all contained and together in the face of everything that is happening and bring some amount of joy. Kind of like a new puppy, annoying and obnoxious but full of bounding optimism and joy. And that is the gift “The Masked Singer” brings every week.

“The Masked Singer”

Airing 8 p.m. Wednesdays on Fox, available to stream on Hulu Thursdays

Rating: TV-PG

2.5 stars