Warning: Spoilers ahead for the most recent episode of The Masked Singer. Come back once you've caught up!
The Masked Singer continues to delight audiences (and its celebrity panelists) with performances remarkable and baffling, clues that can veer between either being completely cryptic or totally obvious, and some of the wackiest (or creepy) costumes ever put on the small screen. With all the joy to be had from watching the show, though, it's been quite rare to hear any of those who spent time competing announce that it was one of the best experiences they've ever had on stage. Now, the most recently eliminated contestant has compared the show to "playing football." Sounds pretty rough to me.
I know you're wondering how, exactly, standing on stage and singing in a costume could even compare to playing a full contact sport like football, but don't worry. Miss Monster, Grammy-winning singer Chaka Khan herself, was voted off of the weirdo singing competition last night, so she can now talk about what it was like to perform on the show. After saying that she signed on because she thought it "might be interesting and cute and fun," Khan was asked if the experience was like she imagined it would be. Shockingly, Khan answered:
Amazingly, surprisingly, I felt like I was playing football.
As I've already mentioned, I'm not crazy about this idea at all. And, really, it sounds like Chaka Khan wasn't too keen on the experience, either. Unless Khan has some history with football that hasn't been publicized before, I think it's safe to say that when she was thinking it would be "fun" to do The Masked Singer she didn't actually mean "like having several sweaty 250 pound men chase me around and then all pile on top of me as I try to sing."
So, what was the problem? In her talk with TV Line, Khan continued:
My costume, we had to make a few adjustments on it, because it was really heavy. It was a heavy costume. It was like being in a box. It was a little bit hard. That’s why I just stood there. I didn’t dance or anything. I just stood there. There’s no way I’m gonna dance. There’s no way I’m having a stroke up here, you know? [Laughs] In a monster costume? No. [Laughs.]
Ahhh. The costume, right. You don't even have to be a regular watcher of The Masked Singer to know that the costumes that participants wear are pretty elaborate. In the interest of keeping everyone's identity hidden, they're made to cover completely everything and, along with being lovingly crafted and expensive, they are also frequently very unwieldy. When Chaka Khan took off her mask, which was really more of a massive, upper body helmet, you could see some of the interior construction, and it was a pretty serious affair that wasn't just a bunch of furry material inside.
Earlier in her chat, Chaka Khan mentioned the fact that she's only five feet tall. I'm guessing she didn't do any strenuous weight training to be able to perform in her costume, so it makes sense that all of that additional box-like weight would have made her feel like she was singing under some extreme, football game-level conditions. I suppose it's somewhat lucky, then, that Khan didn't have to spend too much time as Miss Monster.
The Masked Singer will continue Season 3 without Chaka Khan, Wednesdays on Fox at 8 p.m. EST. For more on everything else airing new in the coming weeks, check out our 2020 winter / spring premiere guide!
