Lamp reveals which famous friend and boybander she secretly got Masked Singer advice from
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Warning: This article contains spoilers from Wednesday's episode of The Masked Singer.
The Masked Singer was truly out of this world this week.
That's right: The latest themed night was "Masked Singer in Space," and true to form, the episode was a black hole of intergalactic references and bits. It kicked off with panelist Ken Jeong getting beamed on to the stage, and continued with alien dancers, space-themed songs, and a starry lineup of clue givers, including Rovi the Rover, Spaceballs actress Daphne Zuniga, and real-life astronaut Mike Massimino.
The reigning champ from last week, Dandelion, performed first, opting to sing "Starlight" by Muse. She was joined by two new competitors — the final two masks of the season — Lamp and UFO. The stained glass appliance lit up the stage with "Venus" by Shocking Blue, and UFO brought the "wow-wow sauce" (as Nicole Scherzinger called it) to "Yellow" by Coldplay.
But, Houston, we have a problem: It was time to send someone home. In somewhat of a surprise, Dandelion was sent packing first. But, in an even bigger surprise, the only person who got her identity correct was an overjoyed Jeong, who correctly clocked her as Dune and Orange Is the New Black actress and singer Alicia Witt. Meanwhile, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg guessed Milla Jovovich (or whatever she called her), Robin Thicke guessed Sara Bareilles (or whatever he called her), and Scherzinger went with Zooey Deschanel (which she managed to pronounce correctly, unlike her costars).
This brought Lamp and UFO into the Battle Royale, where the two gave their renditions of "Rocket Man" by Elton John. Ultimately, it was UFO who shined brightest, and she now moves on to the quarterfinals to battle up against California Roll, Macaw and whoever of the saved-by-the-Ding-Dong-Keep-It-On-Bell contestants rejoins the competition.
With that, it was Lamp's turn to reveal herself. This time, Jeong didn't do so hot. While everyone else guessed Sabrina the Teenage Witch herself, Melissa Joan Hart, Jeong opted for a different '90s star, Dawson's Creek alum Michelle Williams. In the end, the universe righted itself and the other panelists were correct: Lamp was indeed Hart.
Ahead, EW spoke with the actress to talk about the status of a Clarissa Explains It All revival, whether or not she conquered her fear of singing, and which famous boybander and former contestant she secretly got Masked Singer advice from.
Michael Becker/FOX Lamp on 'The Masked Singer'
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Let's start at the beginning. What made you want to do the show?
MELISSA JOAN HART: It is like literally my worst nightmare to try to stand up and sing in front of people. But I also absolutely love a challenge. And I always think you only regret the things you don't do in a lot of ways. I feel like that's the way I've tried to live my life. So when they asked me to do this, of course, my mouth kind of said, "Hell no." But then my brain went, "Now you got to do it." So I did take it on, even though my team was sort of like, "You don't really have to do this. You know, this isn't really in your wheelhouse." But I was like, no, my peers have done it. Like, Joey Lawrence did it and Chris Kirkpatrick and Hayley Orrantia, some of my friends, and I felt like I needed to do this. Like, why wouldn't I? I'm not going to die if I do this. I had to convince myself this isn't the kind of fear that's dangerous. This is the kind of fear that's fun. So my husband went with me, kind of held my hand through the whole thing. And he's a singer. So he helped me pick the song, which was super fun, just finding the right song made me feel comfortable too, and then he went with me for the fittings and stuff. And he said to me, at one point, he was walking away, and I said, "I'm gonna go to rehearsal. See you later, I'm terrified." And he said, "Well, if you're not having fun, what the hell are you doing?"
So that just stuck with me. When am I ever gonna get to wear this costume, belt out this song in front of all these people again? Never. I'm never gonna get to do this. So I just had to embrace it. I told someone earlier, it's like your wedding day: You're never gonna wear that dress again; you're never gonna have that moment again. So if you don't take it all in and soak it all up for what it's worth, you're never gonna get that experience back. And I did Dancing With the Stars years ago, funnily enough, season nine for Dancing With the Stars as well, and this was season nine [of TMS]. And I love dancing, and I really wanted that to be a fun experience, but I had a really tough time on that one. I was just not enjoying the process of it all. And so I decided to kind of do a redo with this, like, this is a much shorter time commitment. It's only a few days. And it's one fitting, not a million.
And how are you feeling now?
I'm so happy I did it, and I've just had the best time. Also, I'm not very good at keeping secrets. So trying to not tell people about it has been super fun. And it's been funny, especially when friends are like, "You know what you should do? You should be on The Masked Singer." And I'm like, "Oh, really? Should I? Make sure you're watching everyone." [Laughs] It's funny because my podcast, we have a special episode that's gonna drop tonight that is all about my experience on The Masked Singer. And it's funny because my co-host has been telling me for years that I should be on the show. And I'm like, "Well, maybe I will be someday. Keep watching." It's been kind of fun to torture her and never tell her if I was or wasn't on.
You mentioned your friends who have done the show. Did you reach out to Joey Lawrence or anyone about the show before you did it?
No, but I reached out to Chris Kirkpatrick because he's a good friend of mine who's a neighbor here in Nashville. And I knew he had done it last year. He told me right after, I guess, when it aired? Because we didn't know where he went. He went out to LA, and we didn't know why. And then he told us. So I reached out to him. And all I said was, "When you did The Masked Singer, was it worth it?" Something like that. And he said, "Yeah, you got to do it." So that's all that was exchanged. Because I just wanted to know, especially as a singer, is it [worth it]? Here's my fear. My fear was that I don't want people to think I was taking myself too seriously or that I thought that I was going to make some kind of secondary career out of this. I'm not trying to launch a country album here in Nashville, you know? And I was so afraid people would think that I came out there and thought I was a great singer and I want this as a career. Like, that's not me. This was just me conquering fear and having some fun.
You also mentioned your podcast, What Women Binge. In the spirit of that, what are you currently binge watching?
So I'm a little late to the game, but that show You, I think it's on Netflix? Yeah, loving that show. See, here's the thing. I never watched TV because I was always on TV, working late nights. I never really sat down and watched TV unless I was sick. So when I was a little girl, I watched TV, but then all my 20s and 30s I really didn't watch TV. My 30s I spent watching kids' TV with my kids, and every Pixar movie they made. So now I feel like I'm getting to watch what I want to watch and stuff with my kids and stuff with my husband. So I'm kind of catching up. I still have never seen Outlander. So I'm about to go shoot a movie in Canada starting next week, and I'm going to be there by myself for a few weeks. And that is when I'm going to heavily binge Outlander. That's what I'm really looking forward to, time with some Outlander.
You'd previously expressed that a revival of your '90s show Clarissa Explains It All had likely stalled. Any update on that?
We've been in talks with Nickelodeon. We did have a contract for a minute there to do it. It never came to fruition. But it's still kind of out there floating around as a possible idea. But as of right now, no. I know that's not really an answer. But I would say, probably not, but there is a slight window of possibility. I would say, never say never.
Taylor Hill/Getty Images Melissa Joan Hart
Is there anyone you'd want to see on The Masked Singer next?
Oh, gosh. I think some of my friends down here in Nashville. I would love it if Patricia Heaton did it, or Danica McKellar would probably be a lot of fun. I don't know. That's a good question. I hadn't thought of that.
Did you conquer that fear of singing?
Oh, no, I still have that fear. I mean, it's interesting, because a lot of people have been giving me good feedback on my singing. I think it's just if you get the right song, I can sing the right song. A lot of people did say I have a nice tone, but I think I'm not very melodic. I'm not really sure how to describe it, because I don't really understand music terminology, but I found out I'm not tone deaf. So that's good. But I don't exactly know how to be melodic with it. If you heard my "Rocket Man" rendition, I don't really know how to make songs my own and I don't think I have a pretty voice. But I guess I have a nice tone, that's what I've been told. So I'm not terrified maybe anymore, but it's definitely not something I want to go out and glorify.
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