T-Pain shocked many fans of The Masked Singer when he won the show revealing that he was the singer in the monster costume. Now we’re learning that fellow contestants were just as surprised. Speaking to TMZ , Joey Fatone said that he had no idea that T-Pain was on the show.
“We didn’t know anything,” he said. “I was on the same stage singing with Gladys Knight, Rumer Willis, T-Pain and I had no idea.”
Fatone went on to say that they kept the contestants in dressing rooms where the doors only identified the characters they were disguised as, not their real names. They also had to wear masks everywhere they needed to go. Even managers, agents, and security guards had to wear disguises to make sure that contestants remained anonymous. The N’Sync member also said that the added subterfuge made the experience a whole lot more fun.
As for the unexpected popularity of the show, Fatone said that he felt that it could be something special when he saw the elaborate costumes that they had to wear.
“It was interesting to see when I got kicked off to see there were so many young kids, I saw videos of them crying when I got kicked off because I guess the bunny rabbit was so lovable. I have no idea,” he said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Lbm58CgG8
T-Pain shared the same story of not knowing who the other contestants were in an interview with The New York Post.
“It was Fort Knox back there,” he said. “We weren’t allowed to see anybody or talk to anybody. You [couldn’t] leave your trailers for 3 hours at a time, because someone else was performing.”
He also seemed amused by the names the judges called when they were trying to guess his identity, saying that they were “just picking random black dudes!”
Some of the judges’ guesses included Jamie Foxx, Tyrese Gibson, Cee Lo Green, and even Michael Vick, who isn’t even a performer.
The Masked Singer will be back on Fox for Season 2 and it’s easy to wonder whether the show will be able to maintain its mystique and popularity. As E! Online notes, the show’s high ratings helped it to become the highest-rated unscripted show launch since The X Factor in 2011. During the finale on Wednesday, 11 million viewers watched, making it more successful than episodes of The Bachelor.
Let’s hope they can maintain the magic during the next season. Fans will be waiting and ready to make their guesses.
. @TPAIN wins ‘The Masked Singer’ as the Monster & drops surprise album ‘1UP’ https://t.co/br7b0SRHcH pic.twitter.com/MUbXnWpbBN
— Stereogum (@stereogum) February 28, 2019