FOX’s Masked Singer turned into a celebration of country music Wednesday night during the finals when host Nick Cannon unmasked two of the genre’s most celebrated stars.
Beach Cowboy and Florida Georgia Line alum Brian Kelley finished fourth as the Mad Scientist Monster and “Redneck Woman” singer Gretchen Wilson won the contest as Pearl.
Videos by American Songwriter
“I am floored,” Wilson said. “I almost hit the floor.”
She said she had gotten hurt and endured a “rough couple of years.”
“I was in a wheelchair, and there was a moment where I didn’t think I’d ever get back to this place,” she said. “I worked really hard, I prayed really hard, and I got so far. This opportunity has really proven to me that there’s nothing I can’t do.”
Kelley shared his awe of the experience on social media.
“My journey as the Mad Scientist Monster was UNREAL,” he wrote. “Thanks for the love y’all and thank you @maskedsingerfox for this amazing experience!!!”
This season’s cast included Cedric the Entertainer, Candace Cameron Bure, Aubrey O’Day, Flavor Flav, James Van Der Beek, Method Man, Matthew Lawrence, Edwin McCain, Andy Grammer, and more.
Gretchen Wilson: “It’s So Unlike Me”
For Wilson, the win was a journey in morphing into a character she felt couldn’t have been further from her aesthetic.
“Every time I’ve put on this Pearl costume, I think it’s so strange that I pulled off being this bejeweled princess,” she admitted in a video package before being unmasked. “It’s so unlike me. I’d say the hoodie and sweatpants is more in line with who I am. What can I say? I’m gritty, raw, unapologetic. I’ve always been that way. And a lot of times, especially when I was first starting out, it stood in the way of my success.”
While Wilson has five Top 10 hits and won a Grammy Award for her No. 1 “Redneck Woman.” Her talent is undeniable, but the music industry hasn’t always been easy for her to navigate.
“I’ll never forget this one time, I was singing for this record exec, and I see, out of the corner of my eye, him writing down ‘no,’” she said. “I was about to break into tears right there, so I just closed my eyes and kept on going and finished the audition. Turns out, what that note said was ‘now,’ sign her now.”
Twenty years after her initial “Redneck Woman” success, Wilson said Masked Singer has allowed her to showcase her artistry without being tied to the redneck woman stigma.
“I think people still don’t know what I’m capable of—until now,” she said. “Being here, I’ve been able to come out of my shell and show my range.”
Throughout the show, Wilson sang songs including KT Tunstall’s “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” “Saving All My Love For You” by Whitney Houston, “Don’t Fear The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult, “Here You Come Again” by Dolly Parton, and Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine’s “Conga.”
Next for Wilson, she’ll appear alongside Blake Shelton and Keith Urban on The Road on CBS.
(Photo courtesy of FOX)
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