*Caution: Spoilers Ahead!
With another season of The Masked Singer having come to a close, and another Golden Mask Trophy awarded, the show has once again proven it can have a big impact on the stars who have the courage to take part in the surreal fun.
On Wednesday’s Masked Singer season 10 finale, The Cow wound up earning the night’s top honor, and was finally unmasked as R&B singer and actor Ne-Yo.
Speaking with ET on Wednesday, Ne-Yo reflected on his time on the show, and how performing in a new way, and with some anonymity, reignited his burning fire for making music.
“I’ve always been very certain about who I am, what I am, what I can do well, and as Ne-Yo, I know what is the Ne-Yo wheelhouse,” he explained. “But as a songwriter, I could be Rihanna, I could be Beyonce, I could be Omarion, I could be whoever — as a songwriter.”
“The music industry, as a whole, if you allow it, will kind of take some of that joy from you,” he continued. “I didn’t get into music to get rich or to get famous, I got into music because it’s literally woven into my DNA.”
According to Ne-Yo, he’d recently felt that spark of love dim, due to the pressures of the industry itself — until he got the chance to don the Cow costume.
“This show.. [has] revitalized that joy for me,” he said. “So that’s my major takeaway, for me.”
In Wednesday’s finale, Ne-Yo’s Cow kicked off the show with a energetic and exciting rendition of Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation,” and he wound up taking home the coveted trophy — beating out John Schneider as The Donut, Janel Parrish as The Gazelle, and Macy Gray as The Sea Queen.
“I had a ball with the experience, and I would one million percent do it again if I thought I could get away with it,” Ne-Yo shared with a laugh.
Check out the gallery below for a look at every single contestant who has ever had to “take it off” throughout the history of the show!
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