Two celebrities were unmasked during the May 4 episode of The Masked Singer. The Queen Cobras were revealed as En Vogue, and Shaggy was underneath the Space Bunny costume. The ladies of En Vogue told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that they were “intimidated” by The Masked Singer at first and revealed how the show “challenged” them.
“We were really, really excited and a little intimidated because we didn’t know the full extent of what it would feel like to be singing under a mask,” Terry Ellis said. “We really didn’t know what we were walking into, but we were really excited to have something to show and being in the beautiful costumes. It was truly a challenge to perform under that mask that we were wearing, but it was exciting. We all walk away from there feeling like we’ve been challenged and that we grew more as performers and entertainers from the challenge.”
Each of the women had their own Queen Cobra costume with a slinky bodysuit and large headpiece. “The mask part of it was challenging because it’s a little weighty, and it was really big. It kind of rests on the top of your shoulders,” Cindy Herron admitted. “So as a singer, we’re used to singing, breaking our necks out, moving our shoulders. It’s really interesting how much of your body you use as a singer when you really are trying to sing. The mask was lightweight considering how weighty it could have been, but it still had a padding that rested on the crown of our head. It was constricting in a way, and we had to learn how to think past those restrictions. You didn’t see our shoes, but we were in high heel booties. We were in these very bodycon bodysuits, so you’re sucking in your stomach when as singers we’re normally taught to breathe through the diaphragm. That wasn’t happening.”
En Vogue slayed each other their performances, but there was one that stood out among the rest. “I really did enjoy the rendition of ‘Say A Little Prayer,'” Rhona Bennett told HollywoodLife. “I thought it was nice. They have great musical talent that works behind the scenes that helps the acts prepare. I was pleasantly surprised with some of the things that they decided to pull out for us to perform.”
Shaggy was also revealed as the adorable Space Bunny. The singer admitted that he wasn’t “too keen” on doing the show initially, and he was actually offered the U.K. version of the show first. He eventually warmed up to the idea.
He admitted that he didn’t know “just how big” the Space Bunny costume was at first. “It really looks really small. I came to the studio and I was like, ‘Wow, this thing is huge.’ When I put it on, I realized it wasn’t super heavy, but running around in it for hours, it gets heavy,” Shaggy said.
He later added, “There’s not a lot of visibility. That’s where the choreography comes into kind of knowing where to go and where to turn and all of that. It took a couple of practices to have that down because the visibility is not very good.” The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays on FOX.