From “Maneater” to Anteater. Amid his legal battle with his musical partner Daryl Hall, John Oates was revealed as the artist who performed in the Anteater costume on Wednesday night’s episode of The Masked Singer.
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Oates, who performed the Chuck Berry classic “Johnny B. Goode,” was one of three singers vying to move on the finals of The Masked Singer’s season 10, but he was the first to be voted off during the episode. The show featured songs chosen by the contestants that represented important moments in their lives.
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None of the panelists guessed Anteater’s identity, although they all chose artists who, like Oates, were Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees. Nicole Scherzinger, Robin Thicke, Ken Jeong, and Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg guessed, respectively, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, Billy Joel, and Steven Van Zandt.
How He Enjoyed His Experience on the Show
After being unmasked, Oates was asked how he felt about his experience on The Masked Singer.
“I’ve done a lot of crazy stuff in my career. This is one of the best things I’ve ever done, so thank you very much,” Oates said. “It’s been a blast.”
He added, “It’s so great to be in this costume and just sing whatever you want. No one knows who [you are]. This is crazy. I love it, and thank you very much. I really can’t say enough about it.”
[RELATED: John Oates Shares First Social Media Post Since Daryl Hall Lawsuit]
On Performing with Daryl Hall Again
Meanwhile, in conjunction with his stint on The Masked Singer ending, Oates was interviewed about his experience by Entertainment Weekly. The magazine also asked, with Hall and him now embroiled in a lawsuit, whether fans will ever see the duo perform together again.
“Oh, you know what, I never say never to anything,” he responded. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but … right now, I’m focused on where I am in life and leading the best life I can and moving forward.”
Why He Decided to Appear on The Masked Singer
On a similar note, Oates also discussed why he decided to take part in the show.
“I thought it would be a great way for me to do something different where I could sing and not have my voice and my personality connected to my past,” he explained. “[A]t this point now in my life, I’m really making an effort to kind of leave my past in the past and move forward. I’ve got a lot of good things that are happening and I want to do that.”
Oates added that he was flattered by some of the artists who the panelists thought he might be during his run on the show, which included Mellencamp, Joel, Bob Seger, and Bryan Adams.
Releasing a New Solo Track This Week
Regarding his desire to move forward in his career, Oates also told Entertainment Weekly about a new solo single he’s releasing this Friday, December 15, called “Get Your Smile On.” All proceeds from digital sales of the track will benefit the Teen Cancer America charity.
“I just thought it would be a great time, especially during the holiday season, to put out a song that is just a good vibe,” Oates noted. “It’s a song that I actually wrote during COVID when I was trying to write something that was really positive. And it’s just a super simple song.”
The 75-year-old singer/songwriter revealed that the track was created in a unique way, at least for him.
“[I]t’s a song that I actually recorded at home on my laptop that I played all the instruments and sang all the vocals and never went into a recording studio with it,” he explained. “It comes straight from my computer, right to your ears. So I’d never done that before.”
You can pre-order “Get Your Smile On” now.
Tour Plans
Oates has about a dozen upcoming solo concerts on his tour schedule. His next scheduled show takes placed on December 28 in in Cedaredge, Colorado. You can check out his full itinerary at JohnOates.com. Tickets for some of his shows can be purchased at StubHub.
