SPOILER alert: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 7, Episode 4, of “The Masked Singer,” “Masking For It — The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly — Round 2,” which aired March 30 on Fox.
It was a brief, but eventful, tenure on “The Masked Singer” for supermodel Christie Brinkley, who was revealed on this week’s episode as the Lemur. According to Brinkley, she was ill the actual day of the performance on the show.
“I had a real bout of food poisoning the night before,” she told PvNew. “And so I was running on empty that morning.”
Brinkley was the first celebrity to depart during Round 2 of Season 7, which means she only got to perform one song on the show: “I Feel the Earth Move,” by Carole King.
But according to Brinkley, that wasn’t the original plan: She was set to sing “Dream a Little Dream,” “with a really cute choreography and everything,” she said. “I’m more of a soprano, so it was a better fit for my voice. But one of my other songs was the one that they switched it out to, because they thought that it was a little more quick, dynamic or whatever. So that was a little bit of a change.”
The real issue for Brinkley, however, was the costume.
“From day one, we struggled with my costume,” she said. “It looked like a furry, cute little cuddly thing, but it really was a beast. The tail looks like feathers, but it was actually really heavy. To the point where when I would try and sway it to the music, it would really take all my breath away.”
Brinkley compared the experience to having a telephone pole attached to her body. “And we struggled constantly with the tail and the head,” she said. “She had a real big head, and that tail would rub against her. And it would literally swivel the head around. I could see a little bit out the nostrils, but if the tail rotated the chin down, then I couldn’t see anything but my own feet, and literally nothing else.”
And that’s what happened when the performance began. “I was trying, like the show must go on,” Brinkley said. “I planned to really strut and sway the tail to the beat. But it just taking my breath away. I was depleted to begin with from my rough night. I felt like I just couldn’t project like I wanted to, I couldn’t move like I wanted to.”
Brinkley said she ironically chose the Lemur costume because it looked more comfortable than the other form-fitting one she had been offered.
Meanwhile, Brinkley had also practiced “Baby Love,” by the Supremes,” and “The Girl from Ipanema,” in Portuguese, to perform had she moved forward.
“I studied really hard to get the whole song,” she said of “The Girl from Ipanema.” “One of the guys in the sound booth was Brazilian, so he worked with me on my accent. I was really feeling very confident with my Portuguese and looking forward to that. I was ready to go. Probably the song that I least expected to be first up was the song I ended up doing.”
For Lemur, Ken Jeong got it right and guessed Brinkley. “That was your best guess in seven seasons,” Robin Thicke marveled. Thicke thought it was Melanie Griffith, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg guessed Pamela Anderson and Nicole Scherzinger went with Goldie Hawn. (Other panel guesses earlier included Heather Locklear, Jerry Hall, Jennifer Aniston and Molly Shannon.)
“When they started guessing and they were throwing out all those fabulous ladies names, I felt like I’d already won,” Brinkley said. “I was being mentioned in the same breath as Jennifer Aniston and Goldie Hawn, who are two of my people that I adore, and a whole slew of amazing women, Melanie Griffith. I just remember thinking this is so good, I can’t even believe it. I really gotta hand it to Ken because I think that the clues were very cryptic.”
Christie Brinkley as the Lemur joins the roster of unmasked celebrities that also includes Jorge Garcia as Cyclops, Jordan Mailata as Thingamabob, Duff Goldman as McTerrier and Joe Buck as the Ram.
So far Firefly (“Team Good”) is set for the finale.
“The Masked Singer” entered Season 7 with 15 contestants, who have been divided into “The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly.” This season’s costumes include THE GOOD: Ringmaster, Armadillo, McTerrier, Firefly, Frog Prince; THE BAD: Hydra, Ram, Jack in the Box, Cyclops, Queen Cobra; THE CUDDLY: Baby Mammoth, Thingamabob, Lemur, Space Bunny, Miss Teddy.
The Season 7 contestants boast a combined 112 film appearances, 15 Grammy Nominations, eight Emmy Nominations, seven Super Bowl Performances, two Hollywood Walk of Fame Stars and two World Records.
In another change, the show’s panelists don’t appear to be competing for a “Golden Ear” trophy based on their first impressions of each masked performer (which McCarthy has won two times, but Scherzinger won last season) this season.
Here were the contestants and their performances on night four:
Miss Teddy (“Team Cuddly”)
Song: “Tell It to My Heart,” by Taylor Dayne
Clue-mmercial: “Hello there huggable friends. Do you want to live your life on Cloud Nine? Then look no further than the ‘Ted Bed.’ It’s cozy, comfy and extra cuddly, just like me. When you’re constantly reinventing yourself, you need all the Zs you can catch! Forget waking up on the bad side of the bed, or even the good side. Start your day by waking up on the cuddly side. Lay your head down in December, and next thing you know, it’s May. The Ted Bed. It’s the best bed to rest your head, enough said!”
Panel guesses: Lauryn Hill, Vanessa Williams, Jill Scott, CeCe Winans, CeCe Peniston, Loretta Devine
Hydra (“Team Bad”)
Song: “Hey Soul Sister,” by Train
Clue-mmercial: “When you’ve been bad boys as long as us, you want flavor that lasts just as long. Introducing Triple-Head Gum. The gum that ended our smoky bad breath forever. Triple the freshness of regular minty gum, and three times the flavor. With your baddest buds by your side, you can do anything you put your mind to. But first, make sure your fresh flavor’s on the cards. Triple Head Gum, we bet you’ll bust away bad breath today.”
Panel guesses: Statler and Waldorf; “The Big Lebowski” Jeff Bridges/John Goodman/Steve Buscemi; “Three Amigos” Chevy Chase/Steve Martin/Martin Short
Ringmaster (“Team Good”)
Song: “The Climb,” by Miley Cyrus
Clue-mmercial: “Hi friends, step right up and feast your eyes on a fantastic, amazing spectacular snack. Just don’t tell your parents. As the Ringmaster, Circus Ring-os are the secret weapon that keep the crowd eating out of my hand all night long. With just one bowl of extremely sugary Circus Ring-os, you’ll start your day wanting to take over the world. It’s so good. And on top of tasting like cotton candy and smelling like a circus, you’ll get an extra special treat in every box. It’s delish in your dish.”
Panel guesses: Olivia Rodrigo, Kacey Musgraves, Kelly Clarkson
Armadillo (“Team Good”)
Song: “Secret Agent Man,” by Johnny Rivers
Clue-mmercial: “Bros, if you’re a goodie like me, you have a tough exterior. But are soft on the inside and care about how other people see you. But after I’ve tackled a tough day, sometimes my shell is scuffed, dented and straight-up bruised. So when I get home, I go after my must-have product, Armadillo Scrubs. They wipe out scum like nothing else and leave my shell looking shiny and lustrous. So whether I’m chasing my enemies or snuggling up to my lady, I always look and feel great. And that’s the dillo in Armadillo Scrub.”
Panel guesses: Chuck Norris, Erik Estrada, Vin Diesel
