‘The Masked Singer’s Banana Split Learned They ‘Could Have a Lot of Fun Together’

Meredith Jacobs December 8, 2021, 9:01 pm

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Masked Singer Season 6, Episode 12, “Group B Finale.”]

We now know who will be facing off with Bull in The Masked Singer Season 6 finale for the Golden Mask trophy.

In the Group B finals, Queen of Hearts was chosen to stick around, while Banana Split was eliminated. But that did mean finding out the duo underneath the banana peel and the ice cream scoops: singer-songwriter and actress Katharine McPhee and musician and producer David Foster. “We didn’t really have a choice” about the costume, she says. “They just showed us, and we said, ‘Let’s go.'”

The married couple is currently on tour together, and in fact, with the reveal, “we’ll be able to tell the audiences why we’re singing these sort of random songs on stage,” McPhee tells TV Insider.

McPhee and Foster open up about their experience on the Fox hit.

Talk about getting the call to do The Masked Singer. What made you say yes?

David Foster: We’ve watched the show for a few years and been highly entertained. And actually my friend Seal, who I used to produce—when I saw that he had done the show [as Leopard], I thought, wow, they really upped their game and they’re getting some amazing performers and singers on there. It felt like the right time for us to go and have some fun.

What was it like working together in this capacity? You mentioned in a clue package that the last time you collaborated was a nightmare.

Katharine McPhee: Oh, it felt completely silly and ridiculous. And we were so surprised how much fun we had because David actually has a claustrophobia issue. He doesn’t take elevators. So we had no idea how he would respond to being in a costume. Honestly, it’s very silly. It’s a silly show.

FOX

Foster: But fun.

McPhee: But we had fun.

Foster: The last time we worked together was the Kat & Dave Show [on YouTube]. By the 10th or 11th day, we were like, “We can’t do this anymore.”

McPhee: Because it was just the two of us, putting on a little live [show]. But we were blown away with how much fun we had and actually how into it we got. We were so upset that we got kicked off when we did. We really were in it to win it.

Foster: We made the [Group B] finals, but we were also were super impressed with how the show was run. It’s so professional. It’s amazing.

In the clue packages, you had also mentioned the difficulty in choosing songs, especially love songs. So what went into picking the ones that you performed?

Foster: Why it was so tough to pick songs is because this show has been on for six or seven years, and a lot of the great songs were taken, already used.

McPhee: There’s always a clearance issue with songs. So it was a lot more challenging than we thought it would be in terms of getting songs. That being said, there’s a million great songs. It’s just trying to find a song that you think is appropriate for myself, being the one who was singing it.

Foster: And something that I could arrange, along with Miguel’s help, who works on the show.

McPhee: A lot goes into it, which I’m no stranger to, obviously having been on a competition show back 15, 16 years ago. But it always feels a lot more challenging than when you are initially going into it.

What song would you have performed if you made it to the finale?

Foster: I know what we were going to do. We were going to do—gosh, I can’t remember. Oh, we were going to do, believe it or not—I’m not going to say it because I don’t want to give it away to somebody else. It’s our idea. And we may use it again.

FOX

McPhee: Maybe they’ll have a recap. We were going to really tug at the heartstrings of the American people.

Robin Thicke was the only panelist who didn’t guess, even though he spoke about how well he knows David and sang with you.

Foster: We don’t have any interaction with the judges at all because they keep it very tight.

McPhee: I think they knew exactly who we were from the very beginning.

Foster: I think so, too.

McPhee: I was surprised they got us so quickly, but I guess my voice and David’s style is a lot more specific than you actually know.

Foster: They had a couple of good guesses. It’s just a fun show.

McPhee: It’s showbiz.

FOX

What went into choosing “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” to sing with Robin?

McPhee: Production chose it for us. I think it was a great song for Robin, and we were excited they wanted to do a duet with the contestants this year.…There was very little rehearsal.

Foster: And the rehearsal had to be very separated, even though I’ve known Robin since he was a baby. But we weren’t allowed to be within, like, a hundred feet of them. The show is very strict. That’s one of the reasons it works.

McPhee: They take the disguises very seriously.

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Did you learn anything about each other’s professional sides doing this?

McPhee: We worked together for 15, 16 years before we were even a couple. So we know each other almost professionally more than we knew each other on a relationship status. So that comes very natural to us.

Foster: And I think we did learn that we could have a lot of fun together because we spent a lot of just alone time together in the dressing room, isolated.

McPhee: It’s a very isolating experience. But for us, it was special because we had each other.

The Masked Singer, 2-Hour Season 6 finale, Wednesday, Dec. 15, 8/7c, Fox