The Masked Singer Winner Speaks: "I Felt Like I Was in a Damn Fever Dream!"

Spoiler alert! Find out what the winning star had to say about his time on the Fox series

By Chris Harnick Feb 28, 2019 6:28 PMTags

It all came down to the Bee, the Monster and the Peacock on The Masked Singer finale, with the Monster victorious…despite feeling bad about it. Warning, spoilers ahead!

"That was a strange feeling! I felt so bad, I did not want to win, but I felt good winning. But, you know, it came with a price," T-Pain said with a laugh about beating out Gladys Knight and Donny Osmond on The Masked Singer.

In a show full of secret identities and extravagant costumes, T-Pain said the most surreal part of it all was…

"Winning! Like, what?! Did that just happen? I didn't think I was going to get passed the first episode, so getting that far and doing all that, oh man, I didn't know what the hell was going on. I just went with it. I felt like I was in a damn fever dream! But it worked out, I loved it," he said.

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The Grammy winner, who just released new album 1UP under the Cinematic Music Group label, said besides showing the world his talent, he joined the show to wear the costume after always being intrigued by characters at amusement parks. "Now I don't have to wonder anymore," he said. "One thing off my bucket list!"

Read on for more with The Masked Singer winner.

What do you think you did that helped you win?
I don't think I did anything that helped, it was just how I've been doing it, man. I've done it on many different platforms already, a lot of different forums and discussions   on how everyone should've known this already ‘cause there's multiple videos of me doing the same exact thing. I don't think I did anything different. I think the platform was bigger, the world got to see what I've been doing for years, so it was pretty cool.

The panel reacted really strongly to you from the very beginning. Did that affect you and your other performances?
Not really. I just wanted to stay truthful. I didn't want anyone to think I changed anything or changed my strategy or anything like that. I just kind of wanted people to see me for what I am, and if I was to be revealed and then I come back not doing what I'm capable of, that would've been weird. So I decided to keep it to what I already do.

Fox

That costume looked very difficult to move in.
It was so difficult! [Laughs.]

How long was the process to get in and out of it?
Not long, it took about 10 minutes to get into it and about 4 seconds to get out of it because I was sweating enough. [Laughs.] I get tired and just want out of it, I'm just like, ‘I'm going to rip it off.' You get into it all delicately and strapping in to make sure the head isn't going to fall off in the middle of a performance, it took some time.

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Did you have a favorite crazy security measure?
I think it was funny that my wife had to wear a mask and a robe, that was pretty funny. That was my favorite thing. [Laughs.] That was my favorite.

Was it hard keeping the secret? Did you spoil it for anybody?
Family and friends, they already knew, people that were already fans, they already knew. I really didn't have to say anything, they knew that I couldn't say anything, so I didn't have to. It wasn't any more demanding than things already are ‘cause I usually don't talk to anybody anyway, so. [Laughs.] Me not having to talk to anybody was a dream, that was awesome!

Fox

Who was the biggest surprise reveal for you? Were you guessing while you were filming?
We tried to, we were all wrong, everybody was wrong. We were watching the show with everybody else, so we just found out who most of these people were, so we couldn't even figure it out on set, so we had to wait until the show came out on TV like everybody else. That's how we found out. All my guesses were completely wrong, I was terrible.

In the beginning, you said you felt you had to hide away in a cave for a while and this was you coming back out. Why did you feel that way?
I felt like I had to just go back and reassess what I was doing with my life. At one point I was chasing hits and it kind of strayed me away from my family, so I went back in the cave, just went back and became a family man for a while so I could reconnect with my kids and my wife and in turn make my music better…I'm happier, came back out with new music, and here we are.

What do you hope people take away from the show about you?
In general, I hope people take away from the show: Don't judge celebrities just because you think you know them. You know what I'm saying? Don't think you know what they can do, look deeper into the actual person and not just their single. [Laughs.] It would be great to just have a broader view on things. What I want people walk away thinking of me is I don't take myself super seriously, I can have fun in a stupid-ass costume, and I just want people to know I've got something in there. I've made all these hits all these years, got to have some kind of talent under there.

The Masked Singer will return to Fox fall 2019.

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