- Fox’s “The Masked Singer” is a popular singing competition where the singers have secret identities and they perform while wearing costumes.
- The series is based on a South-Korean game show.
- After the huge success of the second season, the third season will premiere after the Super Bowl on February 2nd.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more.
Fox’s “The Masked Singer” is a singing-competition show that has celebrities conducting over-the-top musical performances complete with back-up dancers, choreography, and special lighting each week.
The catch is that the competitors are dressed in elaborate costumes that hide their true identities, which will only be revealed when they are eliminated from the competition and are unmasked.
Ahead of the show’s third season, here are 15 things you probably didn’t know about “The Masked Singer.”
It’s based on a South Korean show.
The viral competition series isn’t an American original – it’s based off on the South-Korean show, “King of Masked Singer,” which premiered in 2015.
The American series dresses contestants in full-body costumes whereas the South-Korean series relies mostly on masks and oversized clothing.
The show was such a hit in South Korea that it has also been recreated in China, Vietnam, and Thailand, according to Fox.
Actor Ryan Reynolds was on the South Korean version of the show.
In 2018, as a part of his promotional circuit for "Deadpool 2," Ryan Reynolds made an appearance on the South-Korean version of the show.
Dressed in a unicorn mask and cape, Reynolds sang "Tomorrow" from the musical "Annie."
Of course, fans seemed to be really shocked when he took off the mask and revealed who he was.
Some staffers who used to work on "Dancing With the Stars" now work on "The Masked Singer."
Perhaps part of the reason for the show's pizzazz is that two "Dancing With the Stars" alumnus help bring it to life.
Izzie Patrick Ibarra, an executive producer for "Masked Singer," used to be an executive producer for "Dancing With the Stars."
And Alex Rudzinski, who also works on the masked-competition series, used to be a director for "Dancing With the Stars."
The show is prerecorded in front of a live studio audience.
Even though each episode may be new to viewers at home and the screaming audience on TV may make the show seem like it's being recorded live, the performances are not actually happening in real-time, according to Entertainment Weekly.
All of the episodes are prerecorded in front of a live audience.
The contestants have an entire team that helps them with their routines.
Every competitor works with a team in order to prepare for their performance, which is especially useful because many of the contestants are not professional singers and performers,
In an interview with People magazine, the show's host Nick Cannon said contestants have access to voice coaches, choreographers, and a production team.
The contestants are accomplished in many different fields.
The contestants on each season are not all professional singers, but that doesn't mean they're lacking in talent.
According to Fox, the competitors on season one had a collective 65 Grammy nominations, 16 multi-Platinum albums, 16 Emmy-Award nominations, four stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and four Super-Bowl titles.
The contestants get to choose their own costume from a selection of 20 designs.
The costumes are all crafted by one designer, Marina Toybina.
Toybina designed 20 costumes and each of the 12 celebrities chose the costume they most identified with, according to Izzie Patrick Ibarra, the show's executive producer.
Some of the costumes' designs have been influenced by movies.
"'Donnie Darko' and 'Edward Scissorhands' had a huge influence on the rabbit costume," Toybina told the New York Times.
She also said the costumes for the Lion and Unicorn were inspired by Narnia, the fantastical realm from the book and movie series "The Chronicles of Narnia."
The costumes aren't easy to wear, but some are a bit tougher to don than others.
Some costumes, like the one for the Hippo, were pretty easy to put together but the looks for the Unicorn and Raven took much longer to create.
The costumes are also not easy to wear, either. For example, the Raven's wings are 9-feet wide and very heavy, Ibirra told E! News.
The costumes also make it tough for competitors to see the audience. "They really cannot see very much. And that's the most disarming thing for them is getting on stage," Ibirra added.
In terms of judges, the show's host thinks Ken Jeong is the worst guesser.
"Ken makes the worst guesses," Cannon told People magazine in January. "The fact that he's a doctor and super intelligent all of that goes out the window because he's just throwing names out there. But it's hilarious."
He also said that, in terms of judges, Robin Thicke takes the show "extremely seriously" and he really listens to the voice to try to figure out if he recognizes it.
Contestants wear masks during rehearsals and fittings.
Even when they're not performing, contestants wear masks to hide their identities from production staff while on set and during rehearsals.
They also rehearsed at different locations and arrived on set at different times throughout filming.
Margaret Cho, who was later revealed to be the Poodle, told E! that contestants had to wear balaclavas (ski masks) and big hoodies that say "Don't Talk to Me!" whenever they arrived anywhere related to the show to stay anonymous.
Even the contestants' entourages had to go undercover.
With the prevalence of social media, some stars are as identifiable by their posse as they are by their faces, so each competitor's friends, agents, and family had to wear masks any time they were on set.
Audience members were not allowed to have any electronics and they had to sign a special contract.
"Our studio audience is also under extreme scrutiny," Cannon said in a behind-the-scenes video for the official "Masked Singer" YouTube channel. "They must sign contracts binding them to secrecy and all electronics are banned."
After someone is eliminated, the big reveal doesn't happen right away.
Although those watching on television see an immediate reveal, when the losing masked singer is announced, their mask isn't instantly removed.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the singer first goes backstage to touch up their hair and makeup so that they are camera-ready for the big unveiling.
Even when someone gets eliminated from the show, fellow competitors are not allowed to know who is under the mask.
Margaret Cho told E! News that when someone gets eliminated and is unmasked, the other contestants are not able to watch it happen live.
Like viewers from home, they have to wait until the episodes air to figure out who is hiding in each costume.
- Read more:
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- Fox's new singing competition with goofy masks is the biggest unscripted TV show debut in 7 years
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