(Spoiler) Says Fans Knew He Was Disguised As Singer’s Wasp From ‘1st Show’

Masked singer‘s Wasp – now revealed as Mario — tried to fool fans all season, but they timed him right away.

“A lot of them knew who I was in the first show,” the 38-year-old singer exclusively said My Weekly before the Wednesday, December 18, season finale airing on Fox. “I had family members, friends, other artists, some of my peers hit me up like: ‘Yeah, you’re on Masked singer? Because I know your voice, you can’t hide it that well.'”

The “Let Me Love You” hitmaker tried to get viewers off the scent by choosing tracks outside his comfort zone – Demi Lovato“Skyscraper” a Benson Boone“Beautiful things”, for example — but he couldn’t hide his signature grunt.

“A lot of people came up to me and insisted they knew it was me, and I had to keep denying it, denying it, denying it,” Mario said. “Even in conversations, even on social media with fans and comments, I’m like, ‘Guys, I don’t know who Wasp is! Let me go check this guy out because he really does sound like me. I’m just trying to throw people off, but it didn’t work.’

It didn’t help that he was in the middle promoting his new album, I’m glad you camewhich dropped on Friday, December 13. It’s hard to hide when you’re smack in the middle of a promotion cycle, but Mario said that appearing on the show was like a “full circle” moment for him.

“For me, it’s an advantage because I like authenticity,” he said Empire the alum explained. “I really wanted to connect with people and really remind people of who I was as a person and as a talent, and I think that’s what this show does for you.”

As part of this tie-in, Mario asked for some input into his Wasp costume, which he wanted to reflect some of the ups and downs he’s been through in real life.

“We were able to talk about, ‘Okay, I want the Wasp to have a little broken wings. I want his wings to have some holes in them,” he said Our. “I wanted it to look like he’s been through something, but he’s pushing through and still standing for what he loves and what he believes in.” I can definitely relate to that. I mean, I’ve been on the move, on the road, since I was 14 in the business, so the fact that Wasp is constantly moving and on the road, I can relate to that.”

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Mario won’t get much rest next year either when he gets down to work Mary J. Blige‘with For my fans tour with a friend No-Yo (who won Masked singer season 10 and served as Wasp’s Masked Ambassador). From April, he will start doing it himself I’m glad you came tour of Europe.

“The fact that the record has a name. I’m glad you came is really like the title of everything in my life right now, from being on TV and having an audience to releasing this album, it represents the growth, confidence and creativity I’ve cultivated over the last few years to get to where I am I am now,” he explained. “It’s a feeling, it’s an atmosphere, it’s an intention. So I think it all comes down to how I want people to remember me, how I want people to hear the music and experience it. And I think at the end of the day, the intention behind it all is to create things that are timeless.”