The Masked Singer eliminated two more contestants in what should be the final double-elimination of the season. This latest episode saw the exit of two notable singing acts, En Vogue and Shaggy. While both had issues with navigating singing in their costumes, Shaggy revealed that he didn’t really struggle with becoming the Space Bunny on stage, which might be surprising to learn.
When it comes to things one might associate Shaggy with, I’m not sure a Space Bunny is one of them. On top of that, the reggae singer took many steps to hide his persona, to the point that it was a challenge for the panel (at first) to figure out his true identity. I spoke to Shaggy following his elimination episode and asked if it was hard to hide his true persona on stage, and got a somewhat surprising response:
No, because I think I put this ‘not be Shaggy’ persona on a lot, you know what I’m saying? Like, I’m speaking to you in my natural voice now but if I’m Shaggy, it’s like, ‘[speaks in Patois]’ you know what I mean? That’s a whole different persona that I put on. And, when I’m in the streets, or I’m going anywhere, I’m totally dressed up man. I’m just, totally not into that mode at all. When I get on stage, I become this person and get into character. So, yeah, I’m pretty used to not being that person.
While it may be a shock to anyone who only knows his hit music, many who have seen Shaggy’s interviews will know the voice and personality of his songs are all things that are part of a persona. In his day-to-day life, he’s Orville Richard Burrell, and just living a normal life with the caveat that he’s recognized by many as an international singing sensation. Considering all that, it makes sense that playing the Space Bunny and not being Shaggy was easier than someone might expect.
Shaggy ultimately didn’t win The Masked Singer, but as we’ve learned in the past, that’s not uncommon for Grammy-winning artists. We’ve seen many award winners like Tori Kelly or even Season 7’s Jennifer Holliday get chopped from the show over the years, and ultimately lose out to other big singers or sometimes actors like Wayne Brady. Part of it is just the game, and at the end of the day, Shaggy is still making records and popular albums for audiences to enjoy worldwide. It was cool to see him take the stage and perform as “not Shaggy,” but I think many fans would admit that they love to see him do his thing as “Mr. Boombastic.”
The Masked Singer airs on Fox on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. We’re reaching the late stages of Season 7, so anyone with a Hulu subscription who hasn’t caught up would do well to do so over the next week or so.
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