Hip-hop superstar Lil Wayne became the first celebrity to be unmasked on Season 3 of The Masked Singer, which aired on Sunday night immediately following the Super Bowl on Fox.
If it’s any consolation for Wayne, who wore the show’s Robot costume, what will likely be the largest audience in the show’s history saw the big reveal at the end of the episode. Timing is everything, and Lil Wayne’s appearance — and unmasking — coincides with the release of “Funeral,” his new album and follow-up to 2018’s “Tha Carter V.” On “The Masked Singer,” Wayne-as-the-Robot performed Lenny Kravitz’s “Are You Gonna Go My Way.”
“What makes the perfect Masked Singer? One part creativity and one part drive,” he said, voice disguised, in the show’s pre-taped package introducing Robot. “I relate to Robot because I’ve always felt the need to put on a tough outer shell. I think that makes me come across as inhuman, and that’s stunted my potential. I’ve had my fair share of fame in certain circles. But I’m here to tip the scales and show I can be relatable to everyone. I really do have a heart and love to give.”
Why did he choose the Robot as his character? “For kids, man, my kids. My kids watch the show with me and I know they’ll like the Robot costume.” The periodic table was featured in the clue package because of Wayne’s multitude of platinum albums, he added.
None of the “Masked Singer” panelists guessed Lil Wayne’s identity, including guest Jamie Foxx, who thought it might be former “Jackass” star Steve-O. Nicole Scherzinger guessed boxer Floyd Mayweather, while Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg thought it was another “Jackass” star, Johnny Knoxville. Robin Thicke thought it was snowboarding champ Shaun White, while Ken Jeong perhaps came the closest, guessing another hip-hop icon: Flavor Flav.
In the end, Lil Wayne didn’t go nearly as far as his pal and occasional collaborator T-Pain, who won the show’s first season last year. Lil Wayne was a huge get for “The Masked Singer,” having sold over 100 million records worldwide and and five Grammy Awards. Producers and Fox execs have promised “bigger stars” in Season 3, and Wayne indeed lived up to that hype.
“This is the most shocked I’ve ever been on this show,” Thicke said after the unmasking. Added Jeong: “This is the best reveal ever.” Said Foxx: “We had no idea… I named some white guy!”
