David Archuleta (‘The Masked Singer’ Macaw) unmasked interview: ‘It is worth taking the courage to show your true colors’

Denton Davidson
·3 min read
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It was déjà vu for David Archuleta on Wednesday night’s finale of “The Masked Singer.” The 32-year old performer who had been masquerading as Macaw all season finished in second place to Medusa, the same position he landed on Season 7 of “American Idol” when he lost to David Cook. His emotional journey of self-discovery ended with performances of “Hold Back the River” by James Bay and “All By Myself” by Eric Carmen. Panelists Nicole Scherzinger and Ken Jeong correctly guessed the musician’s identity, but Robin Thicke and Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg were off the mark.

“We knew we were coming on this, going out of our comfort zone and doing something different,” David told host Nick Cannon during his unmasked interview. “I didn’t know it was going to be so much fun. It’s just been healing being able to be the Macaw.”

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Ken got emotional, stating, “When my wife was on bedrest in the hospital not knowing whether our kids were going to live or die, we would watch ‘Idol’ every week and you were like a ray of light for our family. It’s an honor to see you in this capacity. Thank God for you. I love you.”

David described his own emotional journey, recalling, “Coming out felt liberating. It was scary. I grew up very religious and it was a huge part of my life. I believed if I lived being queer that I was going to be evil. So I worked really hard to be anything but that. It got to the point where I thought, maybe it’s better if I’m not here. But, I realized I can’t change this. If anyone else has grown up feeling like they were bad just because of who they are attracted to or who they loved, I want you to know that it is worth taking the courage to show your true colors. It’s scary, but you’re worth it. You matter. It’s so beautiful.”

SEE ‘The Masked Singer’ reveals for all seasons: Celebrities and costumes through the years

Prior to David’s reveal, the panelists submitted final guesses as to who they thought was hiding inside Macaw: Jason Mraz (Robin), Neil Patrick Harris (Jenny), David Archuleta (Ken) and David Archuleta (Nicole).

Macaw was the 20th act eliminated from Season 9 of “The Masked Singer.” His elimination was preceded by Dick Van Dyke as Gnome, Sara Evans as Mustang, Howie Mandel as Rock Lobster, Debbie Gibson as Night Owl, Grandmaster Flash as Polar Bear, Michael Bolton as Wolf,  Malin Akerman as Squirrel, Lele Pons as Jackalope, Alexa Bliss as Axolotl, Holly Robinson Peete as Fairy, George Wendt as Moose, Christine Quinn as Scorpio, Dee Snider as Doll, Alicia Witt as Dandelion, Melissa Joan Hart as Lamp, Lou Diamond Phillips as Mantis, Keenan Allen as Gargoyle, Olivia Culpo as UFO and Pentatonix as California Roll.

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