‘The Masked Singer’s Caterpillar on Jenny’s Wrong Guesses: ‘We Were Messaging’ on Set
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for The Masked Singer Season 6 Episode 10 “Group B Semi-Final.”]
And then there were two left in Group B on The Masked Singer.
After the group’s semi-finals, Banana Split and Queen of Hearts are moving on. Meanwhile, Mallard and Caterpillar were eliminated. Wearing the Mallard costume in Season 6 was Duck Dynasty‘s Willie Robertson, while Queer Eye‘s interior design expert Bobby Berk was the Caterpillar.
TV Insider chatted with Berk about his experience on the show and Blown Away: Christmas (premiering November 19 on Netflix).
What made you say yes to doing The Masked Singer?
Bobby Berk: I wanted to be on the show for years. I love singing, and I think I’m kind of good at it. And so I’ve been looking for a show format in which I could show the world that I can sing, but something like American Idol or The Voice just doesn’t work with my career at the moment. Something like The Masked Singer was perfect because I got to go out there and do my thing and shock the world. And no one knew who I was until tonight.
And that Caterpillar costume — with braces! What appealed to you about it?
I love that it was kind of a metamorphosis: Caterpillars come out as a little caterpillar, then they come out as a butterfly after that. I think that represents a lot of my life.
Talk about moving in it because it looked like one of the more difficult ones to do so.
I would say we should talk about not being able to move in it. [Laughs] With “It’s Gonna Be Me,” originally we had a lot of choreography all planned out and practiced and ready to go. And then I got into costume on stage and I [couldn’t breathe], so [they said], “We need to cut out the choreography because he’s out of breath.” It was a lot. I could even personally hear myself, from the little bit of movement I did do in that song, it definitely affected my vocals because it was a very heavy costume and it was a very large costume. I think it’s the largest costume in Masked Singer history. So yeah, it was a challenge.
It was also extremely hot inside. The very first episode, I almost passed out inside of it. By the second episode, we figured out to put me in an ice vest. So I had an entire vest filled with ice inside and we figured out to drill holes in the top of the head to let some of the heat out that would just gather in the head.
They showed fans all over you backstage.
Yeah, the moment cameras weren’t running, they had to run over and blow fans because there was no other way for air to get in and it just got stifling. My body puts off a lot of heat, it always has. And all that heat would just rise up to the top of that big head and just sit there. It was a lot.
FOX
What went into your song choices besides showing your range, as you said? You sang Beyoncé, NSYNC, then Garth Brooks…
I’m pretty sure I’m the only person to ever sing a Beyoncé song on The Masked Singer, and it was important for me to do something that no one else had done before. Also that song is just so beautiful. I wanted to come out with something that I could really show my vocals.
And then NSYNC, “It’s Gonna Be Me,” Lance [Bass] and I both turned 40 this year. We’re all about the same age, and I feel like I came of age with NSNYC. I still remember the first time I saw them, they were opening up for Mya in this little bar in Springfield, Missouri. It was one of the first concerts I ever went to, and I remember them coming out and jumping around on stage and we’re all like, who are these kids opening up for Mya? I swear, it was a week later when they just exploded, and I saw them everywhere. I’m like, “Oh my God, there’s those kids I saw in the bar in Springfield, Missouri. Oh my God, they’re everywhere now.”
Then Garth Brooks, I grew up on country. I think if I were to put an album out ever, I want to put out a country album. I just love singing country music, especially country music from the ’80s and ’90s. All the songs had special meaning for me.
Jenny [McCarthy] was so certain she knew who you were she had them bring out the Take It Off Buzzer twice. Given her wrong guess when she didn’t press it, were you thinking she was going to be wrong again?
I thought she was right because Jenny and I know each other. So when she was like, “I know who this is,” I was like, “S**t, no, Jenny, no, Jenny, no!” She and I had literally been messaging about something a couple of days before, and I was in my trailer on set when we were messaging. But she had no idea that I’m on the same show as she is. I was really glad when she was wrong because I wasn’t ready to go.
FOX
Talk about listening to the panelists’ guesses. They were so certain at times — like that you were a boybander — but also wrong. You fooled them.
Their guesses were just all over the place, but I found it a huge compliment that they thought I was a boy bander.
What are you taking away from this entire experience on The Masked Singer?
Always get out there and do the things that you want to do, even if they scare you.
And you have Blown Away: Christmas premiering Friday. What makes it the perfect way to really kick off the holiday season with Thanksgiving next week?
I love it because it’s one of those shows that you can just watch and be enthralled with and just be inspired by. It’ll definitely get you in the Christmas spirit because it’s all about Christmas decor and Christmas food and decorations and ornaments.
What can you say about those Christmas-themed challenges? Which impressed you the most?
I would say the food challenge, the ones where their challenge was to make realistic looking food. They did amazing. All the artists that we had this season were just phenomenal. Obviously they were fan favorites from Season 1 and 2, and for good reason: They’re just so talented and their personalities are so amazing, and I’m just excited that they got to come back.
The Masked Singer, Wednesdays, 8/7c, Fox
Blown Away Christmas, Friday, November 19, Netflix
