Hibiscus on “The Masked Singer” says she hopes her song choice manifests 'raining men' in her life
Plus, how she plans to put some Masked Singer lessons into her cabaret shows.
Warning: This article contains spoilers from Wednesday night's episode of The Masked Singer.
It was One Hit Wonders Night on Wednesday's Masked Singer, and for one member of the all-new Group C, that proved especially fitting.
After newbies Donut, Hibiscus, Anteater, and Candelabra gave their renditions of, well, one hit wonders — "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede, "It's Raining Men" by the Weather Girls, "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn, and "1 Thing" by Amerie, respectively — Anteater and Hibiscus were sent to the smackdown to battle it out over "Hey Mickey" by Toni Basil.
Ultimately, the episode, which was short on guest stars and other gimmicks but high on Nick Cannon daddy jokes, sent Hibiscus packing in a one-night-only blaze of glory. When it came to guessing her identity, Robin Thicke picked up on some reality star clues and guessed Janice Dickinson. Who knows what Nicole Scherzinger was thinking, but she went with Hannah Waddingham. And Ken Jeong guessed Kim Cattrall in a not-so-bad stab in the dark. But it was Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg who came out on top: She picked Real Housewives of New York City veteran, reality TV star, and cabaret singer Luann de Lesseps.
Hibiscus was indeed revealed to be de Lesseps. Below, she reveals whether or not her prior guest starring appearance on The Masked Singer prepared her at all for being a contestant, how her cabaret show compares, and dishes on her new Marry F Kill tour starting up next year.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Technically you were on last season of TMS as a guest clue giver. Is that when they approached you to be a contestant for this season?
LUANN DE LESSEPS: The offer came later. So I was thrilled, because I loved the show and I loved that moment, and I was thrilled when they asked me to come on as an actual masked singer.
Did that experience prepare you at all to be a contestant or was it completely different than you imagined?
Going on and giving a clue and actually wearing a mask and performing are two different things, and I found it very challenging. I mean, they make it look easy, but when you first put on the costume, it's claustrophobic, you can't see very well, you have no peripheral vision, and to sing and perform in a mask like that, it takes getting used to. And then as time went on, I got used to it with rehearsal and everything else. And the Masked team, they were just so great about all of it. They had fans for me because I was hot under there and they were putting the fans in the mask's eyeballs to cool my face down. But all the stage hands and all the costume designers and everyone that worked behind the scenes were just incredible. Keeping you comfortable and keeping you happy. And we were covered from head to toe so nobody could see who you were behind the scenes, in like a Darth Vader kind of outfit. So it's incredibly well done and a totally different experience than going on to giving a clue.
You know or have worked with a lot of people in Hollywood. Who do you think should do this show next?
I'm thinking Housewives, I'm thinking just regular movie stars... I wonder if we can get Jennifer Lawrence to do it. That was random. I don't know if she will, but that would be fun.
You have your Countess Cabaret show — how does that experience compare to something like the Masked Singer?
I'm used to performing on stage and moving around in very tight dresses in lots of sequins. And I change three times during my show, so I feel like it totally prepared me for the mask. I love my performance [on Masked Singer], and the only difference is really having something covering your whole face and not even knowing where the microphone is. You can't really see it, so you have to kind of figure out how to hold it, where the hole is, where your mouth is, because you can't really look down. So it was a challenge in terms of moving around the stage with the mask on, not tripping, and vocalizing with this kind of a handicap, which is this mask. ... I was very happy to have a vocal coach. This song ["It's Raining Men"] was not necessarily in my range, but I did have a couple of song choices, and this is my favorite. And I say that because "It's Raining Men." I mean, wow. I was like, "I got to do that song partially because I'm manifesting it's raining men!"
I know you have some exciting things coming up. What can you tell me about that?
I have tour dates in New Orleans and Houston and three dates in Chicago and Atlanta. My [cabaret] shows are always new. Obviously with this one, I've filmed [Luann & Sonja: Welcome to] Crappie Lake since then, which is streaming on Peacock. And so my show changes as my life changes really — the shows are never the same because my life is always taking different twists and turns. So I really curate my show around what's going on in my life.
I am going out to a new leg in 2024 starting off at the Wiltern in Los Angeles with Mary F Kill, which really the inspiration comes from my audience. They're always asking me, "Mary F Kill" when I do my Q&A. So that gave me the inspiration for the next tour, and I love that. Bruce Roberts worked with me on a new song. And so I'm excited. I love performance. I love to bring pop culture and cabaret and comedy to the stage, and the fans are loving it. I always say they drive in in a Toyota and they drive out in a Rolls-Royce, because I put on a great show. I worked really hard at it. My director is Richard Jay-Alexander, who's worked with some of the greatest in the business from Bette Midler to Kristin Chenoweth, Barbra Streisand — so I mean icons. I'm a very lucky girl that I get to do what I love to do and put on a great show. And I think the proof is is that the tickets are selling and I got packed houses, and it's really just a blessing for me.
What did you take away from your Masked Singer experience?
For me personally, I thought, wow, this is going to be something different for me. And can I do this? Can I perform with a mask on? Can I actually get far along in the competition or even win the competition? It was a challenge, I have to say. And I like to challenge myself. I mean, I took away that it takes courage, and I felt very proud of myself for getting as far as I did. It was a great experience overall, and I'm happy that I did it, and I learned a lot with the vocal coach, and I'm going to bring that into my cabaret.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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