Why The Masked Singer's Michelle Williams Never Tried to Disguise Her Voice

After being revealed on December 4, The Masked Singer's Butterfly opens up about the experience

By Chris Harnick Dec 05, 2019 3:26 PMTags
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The Masked Singer judges had the Butterfly's number almost instantly. Jenny McCarthy maintained it was Destiny's Child member and Broadway veteran Michelle Williams, and on the Wednesday, Dec. 5 show, her suspicions were confirmed.

In a smackdown with Thingamajig, Williams sang "Believer" by Imagine Dragons and was voted out.

"It was a beautiful experience. Yes, I've been on big stages, but for me personally, this was something for me to know: No, you got this! What a confidence builder. You're right, you know, I haven't worked all year since December of last year, so this was a way to come back strong and so glad to share it with y'all," Williams said on stage with host Nick Cannon.

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By the time she took off her mask, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke joined McCarthy and placed their bets on Williams being the Butterfly. In an interview with EW, Williams said she didn't think about disguising her voice.

"I don't know why it didn't dawn on me to try to disguise my voice, but mainstream hasn't really heard my voice. I mean I sang in a group where I didn't do a lot of the lead vocals, so I was like, ‘They might think they know, but they don't know my voice! They're not going to pick up on it. And they'll be like, Michelle wouldn't do the show!' But then the music director's arrangements were so amazing and they hit my soul. I was like, what am I supposed to do with these arrangements? I've got to go out here and kill it," she said.

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Williams credits her high register with giving her away, not her inability to lie. Don't forget, she had to keep the Destiny's Child reunions a secret, including the one that took place at the Super Bowl. Throughout her time on the show, Williams spoke about taking time off and working on herself, truly becoming the butterfly out of her cocoon on the show, and that's why it was difficult for her to not embrace the music and let out her feelings.

"And this whole year I was kind of in a shell, just kind of, um, I took some time off this year and music hits you different when you are in a different place like spiritually. I was meditating and working on my heart, my soul, and my mind this entire year…I barely worked this year. In 20 years, I had never taken pretty much the year off. When they asked me about The Masked Singer, I said I'd love to do it. No one's gonna know it's me. I didn't care about how I looked when I showed up to the studio because no one knew. I also did it this year because last year people thought I was on the show," she said.

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On stage, Scherzinger praised Williams for her vulnerability.

"I want to thank you for taking the chance and being so brave and bold to come on our show. That's going to inspire so many people who have maybe had some of the same struggles that you had and I pray that this show is a new beginning for you," she said after Williams was unmasked.

The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays, 8 p.m. on Fox.