“The thing in people’s minds is, that’s Wayne Brady. That’s the funny guy that makes me laugh,” Brady, 47, tells PEOPLE. “That’s cool, but they don’t think about the reason I made you laugh in all of those shows — it was musical. At the same time, I was doing that, I was making records. I’ve put in a lot of work as a vocalist, but that’s not the picture that’s been painted. I had to take the message to a bigger venue and use that as my church. That was the reason really for doingThe Masked Singer.”
Wayne Brady is the Fox.Theo Wargo/Getty; Michael Becker/FOX
Seeing talented singers like Gladys Knight,Donny OsmondandT-Pain, season 1’s winner, compete earlier this year on the first installment ofThe Masked Singerconvinced Brady to give the show a try — but not without approval from histeenage daughter.
“I was like, if they’ve got real-deal singers on the show then I think I need to try this next season,” the Emmy winner says. “I conferred with my daughter because the coolest person is always going to be your 16-year-old daughter and I asked her what she thought about me doing it and I asked her mom Mandie, so between Mandie and Maile, I got the go-ahead.”
Brady frequently hinted at having a child in his clue packages throughout the season and he swears that Maile and his ex-wife Mandie, who Brady still considers his “best friend and producing partner,” kept the family secret. But read on for more about who Brady lied to along the way abouthis identity, what it felt like for the panelists to think he was Jamie Foxx and whatThe Masked Singertaught him.
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Congrats on winning the Golden Mask!I’m in a little bubble. I’m out here in Atlanta right now shootingBlack Lighting, solast night I was watching the show in my hotel room, laying in my robe, icing my knees and my lower back because I had stunt training all day. It wasn’t exactly the victory party I’d imagined, but it’s kind of the dopest way of winning that I could imagine. I’m here shooting an amazing superhero drama; like the clues said during myMasked Singerpackages. I’ve always loved superheroes. I love the Clark Kent persona I feel I have, which was one of the clues because I’m very shy and quiet in real life and very much about business and I like to blend into the background. Then on stage, I like to kick open the doors and that’s my superpower. I get to actually play someone with superpowers while watching myself in a costume. It’s pretty much the dream that I had when I was 8 years old in Orlando. So life is great.
Have you heard from anyone who was shocked to see you under the Fox costume?A lot of those guys actually said, “We knew it was you!” Because the people that have worked with me, they knew. Which is why it’s funny to me that Nicole, until the very end when she finally said that clue about spending the weekend, we didRenttogether and we sang together. And then you saw the lightbulb go on. It’s weird to lie to your mother. She was being very polite because we’re from the south and southerners are very polite to each other. She would text me each week. She said, “This fox sure is trying to sound like you. I love his voice but he really is trying to sound just like you, son.” I said, “Yes ma’am, I know that he’s trying to. God bless him.”
Who else did you have on your tail?I had my mother asking me and my aunt, my sister in Canada would text me and I had friends from high school who I did high school musicals with. At one point, I think it was last week,Lin-Manuel Mirandaand James Monroe Iglehart, they both texted me with a picture. They were shrugging going, is it you? And I texted them a picture of myself and Maile in the car shrugging going, I don’t know, you’ve got to watch the show! A lot of myHamiltonChicago cast gave me love and like Chris Jackson texted me and his wife Veronica: “I know it’s you!” They were so happy watching the finale and I made my daughter proud. I think first and foremost I made my daughter proud. I made myself proud.
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What did you think of the panelists guessing you were Jamie Foxx?It’s a win-win for me. I personally do not think that we sound alike at all, but I love Jamie’s voice and I love his music. In fact, I was one of the first people I know that had his record calledPeep This.BeforeRay, before he started working with Kanye, before anyone accepted Jamie Foxx as a singer and they just thought of him as the funny guy who did Wanda onOf Living Color, I was checking for him as a musician. I always kind of wanted to follow Jamie’s path and I was waiting for myRaymoment. I’m still waiting for myRaymoment when I can really step into it. So for them to say, “oh it’s Jamie,” that was so cool.
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The Masked Singerreturns forseason 3on Fox after the Super Bowl on Feb. 2.
source: people.com
