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Bobby Brown Reflects on What His Late Children Would Think About His Time on The Masked Singer

Bobby Brown, who was revealed as The Crab on The Masked Singer's April 21 episode, tells E! News exclusively how the late Bobby Jr. and Bobbi Kristina would react to him competing on the show.

By Amanda Williams, Ryan Gajewski Apr 22, 2021 2:05 AMTags

Bobby Brown is officially coming out of his shell on The Masked Singer

The 52-year-old R&B vocalist was unmasked as The Crab during Fox's popular Fox singing competition show on Wednesday, April 21. In an exclusive interview, Bobby tells E! News that he and his family members have been huge fans of The Masked Singer even before he was invited to compete. 

"I was excited," he says about producers offering him the spot. "It was just great because we are such big fans of the show. My kids, we all watch it religiously every Wednesday. We've been watching it since day one. So it was just wonderful to know that they wanted me to be a part of it."

The New Edition performer shares three children with wife Alicia Etheredge and is also the father of two adult children from previous relationships.

Bobby has experienced his share of painful moments over the years, including the death of 28-year-old son Bobby Brown Jr., who passed away on Nov. 13 as the result of an overdose.

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Additionally, Bobbi Kristina Brown, his only child with ex-wife Whitney Houston, died at age 22 in July 2015. Whitney herself passed away in 2012 at age 48.

In a particularly heartfelt moment on The Masked Singer, Bobby dedicated his performance to his late family members. As far as what Bobby Jr. and Bobbi Kristina would think of him competing as The Crab, the star tells E! News, "My kids would be probably watching. They're probably enjoying the fact that I'm enjoying myself, and not sitting at home and being sad. I could see them appreciating the show and appreciating the time spent doing the show."

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The "My Prerogative" vocalist admits that performing on the highly rated series makes him want to get back to his singing career. He says he plans to release a new album later this year and also looks forward to touring again, both as a solo artist and with New Edition. 

In the meantime, he can't wait to see his kids' reaction to watching his unmasking when it airs, since he hasn't yet told them it's him.

"They are going to tell me they knew already, but I know they can't wait to shout it—'Take it off, take it off, take it off'—so that they can see that it's me," Bobby says about his children. "But we thoroughly enjoyed the show every week anyway. Even when I am revealed, we will still be watching the show."

The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox. Keep scrolling to see who else has competed on the current season.

Piglet: Nick Lachey

Despite a clue package filled with Bachelor references, the Piglet seemed much more likely to be a boy bander. He sounded an awful lot like Nick Lachey, and his clues revealed that the world has seen his heart break, which we all did after the demise of his TV show with ex-wife Jessica Simpson

Panelists guessed Adam Lambert, Liam Hemsworth and Charlie Puth, but none of those were quite right.

Black Swan: JoJo

Black Swan is clearly a fantastic singer who says she got caught up under a spell and hypnotized by a Hollywood deal she couldn't resist. She ended up being JoJo, who struggled under her original record deal for years before finally breaking free of it.

The panelists, who have often guessed JoJo in the past, went with Anya Taylor Joy and Camila Cabello. 

Chameleon: Wiz Khalifa

The Chameleon is clearly a tall man and there were references to a "pit" and 007, which makes perfect sense for Wiz Khalifa. He's 6'4" and he's from Pittsburgh. He also has a thing for pitbulls, and has a song called "James Bong." 

Guesses included Redfoo, Diplo and even Nick Cannon, which would admittedly be a great trick. 

Yeti: Omarion

The Yeti was a wildcard contestant in week six, and his clues said he came from a place where a lot of people become monsters, but a group of "warrior women" raised him to be an abominable gentleman. 

Russian Dolls: Hanson

The Russian Dolls are baffling. At first there appeared to be one, then a second appeared, and now there are three! They sound exactly like Hanson, and if they're not Hanson, we will eat a shoe. (No we won't.) (Update: We did not have to eat a shoe.)

Panel guesses have included Lady Antebellum, Boyz II Men, Vanessa Hudgens, Darren Criss, Matthew Morrison and Kevin McHale

Robopine: Tyrese Gibson

According to his clues, the Robopine got a call from an angel that changed his life, and now he's on a new mission that no one can touch. He claimed to be 60, but none of the panelists believed him. He's clearly got a voice and some major talent, and if we're agreed that he's lying about his age, Tyrese Gibson could be a solid choice. MC Hammer is actually in his late 50s and would also make sense. 

Guesses included Ginuwine, Jamie Foxx and Lionel Richie

Crab: Bobby Brown

Crab arrived as a wildcard in week four and revealed himself to be a talented singer, though his past was marked with a lot of tragedy. He wanted to stand up and be a star "again" and let the light back in. 

After the Super Eight performances, he was revealed to be Bobby Brown

Seashell: Tamera Mowry

Seashell moved around with her family for most of her childhood, and has worn a lot of hats. If you ask the internet, it's Tamera Mowry and it's hard to disagree. 

Panel guesses included Hilary Duff, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jessica Simpson. Ken Jeong tried to guess Kristen Chenoweth and was praised by the rest of the panel, but she has one of the most recognizable voices in showbiz so we're not sure where he was going with that. 

Orca: Mark McGrath

The Orca joined as a Wildcard in week three and quickly proved his rockstar chops. He revealed he has 10-year-old twins and was performing for his dad, and he was eventually revealed to be Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath.

Bulldog: Nick Cannon

Never has a Masked Singer reveal annoyed us so. They spent a whole episode making us think we were going to get a regular unmasking, and then Niecy Nash hijacked the vote to unmask...the regular host of the show, Nick Cannon. How very irritating!

Grandpa Monster: Logan Paul

Whoever Grandpa Monster is, he's got a past he's trying to shake and he hates looking back on his younger days because he's done so much growing. Alarmingly, the two prevailing guesses online are Logan Paul and O.J. Simpson. The voice sounds way more like the latter. 

The panel guessed Scott Disick, Johnny Manziel and the Miz

Raccoon: Danny Trejo

Once you know the Raccoon is Danny Trejo, you can't unhear it. There was also a donut in his first clue package, which should have been a dead giveaway for the actor-turned-donut seller. 

Phoenix: Caitlyn Jenner

Few masked singers have been quite as obvious as the Phoenix, who simply could not escape from Caitlyn Jenner's voice and mannerisms. She's been on TV too long to stay a mystery for very long at all. 

Snail: Kermit the Frog

We are still shook by this, TBH. The first unmasked singer of season five turned out to be Kermit the Frog, who is a muppet. Sure, he's a prolific star of movies and TV shows, but he is also still a puppet. Baffling!