‘The Masked Singer’: Husky Explains Why He Regrets a Certain Move

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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Masked Singer Season 10 Episode 9 “I Wanna Rock.”]

“It was something that was different for me,” says the latest unmasked celebrity on the Fox hit singing competition.

As The Masked Singer Season 10 continues, Husky, Sea Queen, and Tiki took the stage for a nice all about rock ‘n’ roll, and the first one eliminated was Husky, a.k.a. R&B singer and songwriter Ginuwine (Elgin Baylor Lumpkin). Tiki then lost out after facing off against Sea Queen in a battle royal and too was unmasked: singer Sebastian Bach.

Below, Ginuwine takes us inside his experience on the show.

What made you say yes to doing The Masked Singer?

Ginuwine: Just coming out of my comfort zone. Once I’m comfortable with something, I just like to continue to do that. That was something that was new, and so after the pandemic hit back a couple years ago, I was just like, “Man, I gotta live a little instead of just staying in the house all the time, so try something different.” So when that came across my desk, I was [unsure], but then they called again, so I buckled and I was like, “Alright, I’ll do it.”

Talk about that costume. What appealed to you about the Husky?

Once they gave me the costume, it represents who I am — as a man, alpha male, knows what they want, going to get it, works hard — and it was just a nice costume and it was something that appealed to me right off the bat, so I was just happy they picked that one for me. … I had to get used to carrying the weight of the costume because [it] was very heavy, and I’m a slim dude, but I was able to overcome it, of course, and get through it.

What went into your song choices?

I didn’t have an opportunity to actually pick the songs, but I was glad that they picked the ones that they did because they challenged me to come out of my shell. Now the Rick James [one, “Super Freak,”] I already, of course, pretty much knew so that was more a comfort to me, but the other two, I’d heard them but I didn’t know them like I know that one. So that was a little challenging, but I knew I could get through it because the words are right up on the screen, so that was helpful.

Did you have any songs in mind or a genre you would’ve liked to tackle if you’d continued on?

I definitely sent songs, but knowing the show like I know it now, if I’d have sung the songs I sent — the whole thing is to try to guess who it is — they’d have known who I was right off the bat. At first, I was a little agitated that I wasn’t able to do that, but then as I went along, I was like, “Okay, I get it, I get it.” So me as the artist that I am, I tried to throw them off.

Talk about the panelists’ guesses. Nicole Scherzinger was the first to figure you out, then Robin Thicke picked you up based on your move.

Yeah, I figured Robin would pick me out quicker than anyone because I know him, number one, and with the move and all that, which I regret doing, I was like, “Man, I shouldn’t have done that,” because I knew they would get it after that because when Nicole was saying [her] guesses, she was very close, so that was going into that mode of, of course, gotta be G. It was fun standing there listening to them because some of the guesses were fun.

Did Nick Cannon figure you out? There was that clue about sharing the stage with him again. 

No, he didn’t figure me out until I think Robin said something and he was like, “Ohhhh, yeah,” so that was a good hint. I thought that they would get it once they heard those clues anyway. I was like, “That’s too close. Great clues, but that’s way too close. They’re definitely going to know who I am.”

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What are you going to take away from the entire experience?

Just live a little and do things that are not the norm for you and you never know the outcome. I’m pretty much a loner — I know that comes as a shock to people, [but] I go and do my job and come back home and I stay in the house a lot. But just never short yourself. Go out there and try to do something new, try to experience new things. We’re not going to be here forever, so try new things out.

What surprised you the most about being on The Masked Singer?

If I set myself up to do something, if I say that I want to do it and I commit to doing it, I can push through whatever it is just to get to wherever I need to get to. That’s something that, again, I’m glad I did [this], because at first, I was ready to quit but then I [told myself] push your way through. Plus I was leaving so much because I’m always on the road so I had to come back, leave, come back, leave, and all that. So it was a great experience.

The Masked Singer, Wednesdays, 8/7c, Fox