Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Season 11 finale of The Masked Singer. Watch the finale with a Hulu subscription if you missed it on Fox and read at your own risk!
The Masked Singer Season 11 has come to an end, and what a treat the finale was. The Goldfish and Gumball went head to head, and of course, only one could win. The fish came out on top, and after seeing Gumball unmasked and revealed as actor Scott Porter, Goldfish was unmasked and revealed to be actress Vanessa Hudgens.
CinemaBlend had a chance to speak to Hudgens, who has had a busy start to 2024 between a beach wedding at the close of last year and her pregnancy announcement. I asked the Bad Boys: Ride or Die actress about her feelings before the winner was announced and if she felt victory was a sure thing or had doubts. The actress admitted that she wasn't thinking of either because she didn't get into The Masked Singer to compete:
I never looked at it from a competition perspective. I just wanted to put my best ‘fin’ forward because, you know, I was doing it for my fans. They are always asking me to do more music or sing or perform or anything of that stature. So, I just wanted to put out really great performances and do my best, and if that wins great, and if not, like, that's okay too.
Hudgens joined The Masked Singer for the fans, so hopefully, they were watching The Goldfish's jaw-dropping performances. Her singing was a bright point of a season in which the talent was lacking, which had me worried that Season 11 had a major problem. Fortunately, contestants improved as the season went on, and I'd argue this finale was one of the best based on singing.
So if Vanessa Hudgens wasn't in it to compete, and I can't imagine the small pay to do The Masked Singer was appetizing, so was there any positive to doing the show? The actress confirmed her feelings about playing The Goldfish, and what it meant to be seen as a fish and not the actress who used to be in High School Musical:
It was the best, it was the best. Because it had nothing to do with like the idea of Vanessa Hudgens that had everything to do with what I bring to the table and my talents and that's the ultimate win right there. I'm so silly and such a goof, and I got to show up every day as my truest self because I didn't have to worry about people looking and pointing or making snap judgments about Vanessa Hudgens. I just got to be me.
I can certainly understand the appeal of the freedom to sing anonymously and not be judged based on who people may think you are or what you're about. Corey Feldman expressed the same feeling to CinemaBlend, stating that he felt the comments about his performances were kinder than the ones he'd generally receive when the audience knew who he was.
Overall, Goldfish's win made for a satisfying ending to The Masked Singer Season 11, which did have some other high points outside of singing. Perhaps the biggest plus was adding Rita Ora to the panel in Nicole Scherzinger's absence, and I'd love to see her return in the future. We'll have to wait and see whether or not that will happen, as Scherzinger's status for Season 12 remains unconfirmed.
The Masked Singer Season 11 is over, but those who want to rewatch the whole season can do so by checking it out over at Hulu. For those in need of something else to watch, head on over to our 2024 TV schedule for a look at what to check out next.
