‘We Are Family’ Mystery Star & Cousin on Donna Summer Duet and How Show Changed Them

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers from the January 14 episode of We Are Family]

The Fox reality competition series We Are Family has already had a mix of star reveals from across entertainment and sports. Each episode of this celebrity guessing game sees three contestants performing songs solo and in a duet with their hidden famous relatives.

Members of the audience try to name the celebs that are singing behind a silhouette with their family members with the help of some clues. Those who are correct share the prize money of upwards of $150,000 through the rounds. So far this season we’ve seen Michelle Williams, Joel McHale, Nikki Glaser, Jojo Siwa, Carnie Wilson, and Cam Newton come from behind the cloak of secrecy that is the “Super Sphere” to join their relative on stage.

During a special post-NFL game episode on Sunday, January 14, host Anthony Anderson unveiled Candace Cameron Bure as the one who was singing Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” alongside her cousin Kenzie. In all, 43 guessed the actress currently for a cut of $20,000. Later rounds would see appearances by country artist Lauren Alaina and her brother Tyler and comedian Jay Pharoah and his sister Shaina.

We caught up with Cameron and Kenzie about doing the show and how it brought them closer together.

Tom Griscom/FOX

Candace, when they approached you about doing the show, what was your initial impression? 

Candace Cameron Bure: I was very nervous. I was very hesitant to even say yes to the show because I’m not comfortable singing in front of people. That’s not a thing I do. However, I thought the show was so much fun in terms of the concept and the idea of getting to put the spotlight on one of my family members who has this amazing talent. I thought of Kenzie immediately. I then thought, “You know? Maybe this will be a brave moment for me, and I can give Kenzie this amazing opportunity, too.” That is what it came down to.

Did you rehearse much leading up to the show?

Candace: Maybe about one day. Because I was so nervous I actually asked a vocal coach to help me out, so I would feel a little bit more comfortable. I practiced a little bit ahead of time because this is not something I ever do. With Kenzie, I sent videos back and forth to hear how we were going to do a duet and sing together. Then before we left, we spent a couple of hours in person. We were just going for it.

Tell me about the song choices. First, Kenzie you sang Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart” and then had that “Hot Stuff” duet. 

Kenzie: We had a couple of songs that we could choose from. I think we both felt the song we did together was our best choice because we wanted to have fun together and not have this serious ballad at the end. I think doing the song we chose was great because we had a great time.

Candace: It was the best of our options. She is being very generous because the only thing I could do was have fun because I can’t sing very well.

I thought you all did very well. 

Candace: The ballad was not an option.

You mean you didn’t want to sing “Un-Break My Heart” cords? 

Candace: That’s all her wheelhouse. One of the songs that we had as an option was “Shout.” It felt really weird because it wasn’t as lyrical.

Kenzie: It would not have been a singing song. We’d just be going out there saying, “Shout!”

Kenzie, you mentioned having this family donkey rescue on the show. Tell me a bit about that. 

My parents started the rescue a couple of years ago. I think we’ve rescued almost 200 different donkeys so far in three years now. We get them from this auction in Texas or other states. We get them as soon as we can. Then we transport them thanks to help from people. We do rehab and recovery. Usually, their hooves are curled and out of control, so we help them. They almost always come sick. Some of them come with one eye, rope burns, and stab marks. They are abused. They are sold to go to different slaughterhouses in different countries so we try to help them, save them, and find them a forever home. Donkeys are just special animals, so we try to do what we can and find them incredible homes. It is so special.

What did you make of the guesses we heard? We heard Wynonna, Pat Benatar, and even Jodie Sweetin. 

Candace: I thought the clues they gave were pretty fun. I thought they would guess once they showed the letters TGIF after they showed a shot of San Francisco and the full house card hand. Then of course they showed my brother [Kirk Cameron]. If you couldn’t figure it out then, I don’t know. I thought there were some good guesses and clues. I felt a lot of the guesses were based on the red hair and cowboy boots.

Kenzie, when was the first time your cousin was famous? 

Kenzie: I remember being at church when I was seven. My Sunday school teacher found out I was related to Kirk and Candace and freaked out. She said, “I had a pillowcase with Kirk’s face on it.” I thought that was weird. I never really think about it much. We grew up doing every Christmas together. Christmas day we would go to Kirk’s house, and everyone would be there. We’ve had different holidays, birthday parties, weddings. It has always been just family. I can also see they’ve both had a huge impact on people.

Do you see this parlayed into a future collaboration? Candace does have some pull at a Great American Family network. 

Candace: We haven’t talked about anything, but I’m always open to it. Being able to work with family is the best gift in life to me, so if there is an opportunity for us to collaborate on anything, I’m open. I don’t know if Kenzie wants me to sing on any of her albums coming out, but maybe we can have her in one of my movies. I would jump at the chance to work with Kenzie.

Kenzie, do you have a dream role? Maybe a Christmas movie? Now’s your chance to pitch. 

Kenzie: Hey, I’ll do anything. I did star in film a couple of years ago. This was not something I had gone after. Acting was not something I’ve gone after, but I had the opportunity from someone who wrote this amazing movie. I got to do it and enjoyed acting. Doing an acting role would be incredible. Even writing a song for a movie or both, I’m down for anything.

Tom Griscom/FOX

Kenzie, do you have a favorite Full House episode? 

Candace: Kenzie, have you ever watched Full House? That’s the better question. Maybe she hasn’t.

Kenzie: I’ve definitely watched it. I did grow up watching it. I always thought it was funny and said, “There’s Candace.” It was fun seeing her involved in the show. It’s such a fun family show. It’s fun seeing everybody’s chemistry on the show and watching her do her thing. I did go and sit in the live audience for one of your episodes. That was cool to watch. She came out in a cage of some sort. She was ready to attack.

Candace: That was Fuller House. It was a dodgeball episode. A fun one.

How would you describe the bond you two have? 

Candace: I can say we are as close as can be for cousins with being about 20 years apart. Kenzie was the flower girl at my wedding. We grew up at very different ages, but we’re a big family. With her parents and my parents, there are a lot of cousins and grandkids. Family affairs are so important to us. As much as we can spend time together, we do. We’re pretty close.

Kenzie: I think doing this together brought Candace and me closer. We had pretty deep conversations in the trailer after we filmed. That was very special.

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What do you want to say projectwise? Kenzie, how can people find you? 

Kenzie: My Instagram is where I post everything from music to donkeys to all different ranch things. That’s Kenzie Mae. I’m super busy. I work full-time for my church doing worship there and at another church locally. I post stories all day long on Instagram. I’m most active there. I’m so excited about this project and what it may bring.

Candace: We just launched season 5 of The Candace Cameron Bure Podcast and also have a movie coming out Unsung Hero in theaters on April 26. So lots to come.

We Are Family, Wednesdays, 9/8c, Fox