The unique new Fox TV show “The Masked Singer,” where stars wear elaborate costumes to conceal their identities, ended with a shocking surprise on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019.
The contestant known as “Monster,” who revealed himself as rapper and singer T-Pain on the show’s finale, was the winner, triumphing over Donny Osmond and Gladys Knight.
The 33-year-old singer has always been known for his use of vocal-tweaking software Auto-Tune and thought competing in the celebrity contest was a good chance to show what he can do naturally.
He said: “I feel like there’s been a weight lifted off my shoulders, and now that everyone knows what I can do, I feel like it’s giving me a second win.
“When you hear the name T-Pain, you automatically think Auto-Tune. I just wanted to get rid of that.
“I’ve been proving this for years and years, and people still said I was only famous because I used Auto-Tune. But now, you know, that’s not true.
“It’s something I wanted to prove to people really quick, I don’t need to use my real voice for lack of a better word, but it was to prove a point to everyone that thought that I don’t have a natural voice.”
Though he enjoyed taking part in the show, the “Bartender” hitmaker admitted learning to perform in his elaborate costume was tough.
He told People magazine: “It was the biggest costume, and I couldn’t move. [It was a] terrible contraption.
“I could only put my arms up in front of my body, and I could only see right in front of me. I just always had to have people helping me, but everybody else had just a mask and clothes, so it wasn’t easy.
“I couldn’t walk, and it was very hard to do.”
T-Pain — whose real name is Faheem Rasheed Najm — also had to have a microphone taped to his face for the show, which made things even trickier.
He explained: “Everybody was singing live, they wouldn’t let us pre-record. Mine was the worst because there was no way to get a microphone close enough to my face. … It was not easy.”
While he had the hardest costume to navigate, the “Buy U a Drink” hitmaker chose the monster because it was the “silliest.”
He said: “That was the only one they couldn’t come up with a name for, so of course, that’s the one I wanted.”
While “a tonne of people” recognized T-Pain as the man behind the monster, he was surprised when Lil Wayne was the first to realize it was him.
He said: “Lil Wayne was the first, so that was good. I don’t know when Lil Wayne would even have time to watch.”
