Spoiler alert: The following story contains the names of the winner and runner-up from Wednesday night’s (December 18) Season 12 finale The Masked Singer.
It’s another wild and hairy season The Masked SingerRound 12 of the series welcomes everyone from former superstar NFL QB John Elway (Leaf Sheep) and surfer Bethany Hamilton (Macaroons) to actress Yvette Nicole Brown (Show Bird), Laverne Cox (Chess), Jana Kramer (Royal Knights) and Derek Bell (Ice King), as well as former Conan O’Brien pal Andy Richter ( dust bunny).
Of course, there are also some professional singers involved, including Paula Cole (Ship), Natalie Imbruglia (Bluebell) and AJ Michalka (Strawberry Shortcake). But when the last note rang out, one of the greatest vocal groups of all time beat another R&B singer.
On their way to the winner’s circle, the trio of masked wonders, the Buffalos, excelled in their musical choices, starting with an early and impressive rendition of Cutting Crew’s 1986 hit “(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight,” to a soulful rendition of Foreigner’s ultimate power ballad, “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” and a noteless, touching cover of Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One.”
Even though the judges were convinced they were part of the soul band, Bufalos still tried to outshine Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, Robin Thicke by singing along and singing duets in “Fall Out Boy” Stay out of sight with Rita Ora.
Ultimately, however, after nearly being eliminated while trying to keep the audience and judges guessing, they delivered an absolutely stunning performance of Sam Smith’s “Too Good Bye” on Wednesday night’s finale, leaving no doubt that Their old friend McCarthy-Warburg was right all along.
When the hairy heads came off, Boyz II Men’s Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris defeated Wasp, R&B singer Mario. advertising billboard We caught up with the trio before they were eliminated to talk about how the show challenges their almost four-year run on the stage, why they keep choosing these seemingly wacky songs, and how they ended up with football’s Kelce Brothers perform Christmas songs together.
Why Buffalo? Those costumes look heavy and hot.
Nathan: I like power. I love the strength, I love the unity, I love the whole team, I love this group of people. … It’s everything about who we are. Everyone has a role, but at the same time we know what we need to do to make the team stronger.
Wanya: extremely [hot in there]. I’m talking about water, sweat flowing through every aspect, every orifice.
Nathan:I was almost hyperventilating in that joint, but I don’t usually do that. When you’re in it, you have to put a lot more effort into making the outfit have personality. You’re like a mascot. Man, it was hell in there. Do that and then sing, stay in tune, do some routine? This is not easy!
You’ve been in sync for decades, but you can’t see each other or see each other’s mouths move on the show. Is this a challenge?
Sean: It’s almost like wearing a football helmet, you can only see a certain line of sight. You have to turn your whole body to communicate, and then you turn around and you see what the mask lets you see. We have in-ear [monitors]so we can hear the mix, but the music and the crowd starts flowing and it gets your adrenaline pumping and you try to play a character. There’s a lot of information in those few minutes besides just trying to sound good and keep the keynote.
Wanya: The only thing visible is the nose. eyes on top [points to forehead]so it’s like a cone.
We’re used to mellowing out your R&B, but you really listen to Toto, The Verve, OneRepublic, Shania Twain, Fall Out Boy – are you trying to make people lose their sense of smell?
Nathan: We try to deceive people. We all thought, “They’re going to know us right away,” so we had to choose different songs and everyone had to sing a different part than they normally do. So we did that, and as we progressed in the fight, we almost got kicked out, so it wasn’t working and we decided, “Just let them have it!”
Sean: The cool thing is, ironically enough, we can be ourselves when we put on a mask. These songs represent who we are, not just an R&B band. All the songs you hear us sing are songs we heard as kids, genres we love, and songs that allow us to show who Boyz II Men really are.
Separately and together, your voice is easily identifiable. Did anyone understand it all at once?
Wanya: Yes, Jenny [McCarthy-Wahlberg] Get to know us. We went on the road with her a few times [husband] Downey [Wahlberg]. She knew our mannerisms and heard our voices night after night as we traveled with our new kids [on the Block]. She knew it immediately. We were trying to make ourselves less recognizable, but then we got pushed down to the bottom two and were like, “Oh my gosh, no!”
You have had many unique experiences in your career. Is this one of the most unusual things you’ve ever done?
Wanya: Absolutely. This really coincides with one of the most different things Boyz II Men have done in our careers, which is when we played the national anthem at the closing ceremony of the Olympics [at the 1996 Games].
What attracts you behind the mask? What do you want to prove?
Nathan: No expectations. When you hear Boyz II Men in your head you expect it to sound a certain way, but when we don’t have those expectations you can go wherever you want.
Wanya:Watching the show last night and looking at Nate and he’s the green buffalo, I swear you would never know it was Nate in that outfit because Nate doesn’t act like that – he’s round and smooth . He looks like me in that buffalo suit! He was very active and I was happy to see it.
Nathan: I just want to get rid of them. I had a lot of fun because that’s what I do when I’m with my crew.
Can you still do some of your patented dances in those costumes?
Wanya: We must change it. The feet are big, brother. Feet…and that head!
Nathan: I stepped on Sean three or four times.
In the finale, you’re struck by Gotye’s “Somebody That I Once to Know,” a song that rocks. But you did make Sam Smith’s “Too Goodbyes” your own. Sounds like this could be your single.
Nathan: Just then, the gloves were taken off.
Sean: We knew we had to go all out and do the Boyz II Men thing on our last show, and a lot of people knew it was us at the time, so we were like, “Let’s do the Boyz II Men thing!”
Wanya: We already know who we are going against [Wasp]that guy is no joke!
Nathan: We shouldn’t know, but we do [could tell] That’s who.
You said Jenny knew, but she also mentioned B2K, which Robin thought might be the Jonas Brothers or other members of 98 Degrees [minus their show mentor Nick Lachey] Or big time sprints. Ken Jeong always makes the mistake of choosing Bell Biv DeVoe, Bone Thugs -N-Harmony or Tony! Tony! Tone! There’s also speculation about Earth, Wind & Fire and Underworld. What are your thoughts?
Sean: Something’s a little off, like “Bone Thugs”? No offense intended.
Since it’s the holidays, tell us a little about yourselfWe worked with the Kells Brothers on their single “It’s Christmastime (In Cleveland Heights).”
Sean: They reached out to us and they felt like we were synonymous with their idea for the song, which was fun. It’s always cool to do things like this because they’re unexpected and we’ve been doing this for over 30 years. At this point, we just wanted to do something fun, or something interesting, or something that would push the boundaries of what we can do as a group at this point in our lives. Not only that, it’s for a good cause, for charity and some of our personal philanthropy. And, this is Kelsis! They are the hottest brother duo in the country right now.
We know they can play, but most importantly: How do you rate their sound?
Nathan:You know…they’re not bad! They did their thing. They’re really good at football, they do it very, very well, they do it well and I think that’s their destiny. No diss, but they’re great.
Wanya: How about this? They do a better job than some of us running route 9. I’ll tell you!
