[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoiler for The Masked Singer Season 12 finale.]
And with that, another winner has been crowned on The Masked Singer—and it’s the first group to get that honor!
In the Season 12 finale, Buffalos and Wasp each performed two more times, and in the end, it was the former who walked away victorious. And while Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg had been the first to figure out who they were (with a connection to her and Donnie Wahlberg‘s early days), the other panelists were all on board at the end. Yes, Buffalos were Boyz II Men!
Below, Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman, and Wanya Morris open up about their time on the show.
Congratulations on winning.
Shawn Stockman: Thank you. It was so fun. We had such a good time, man. It was hot in them suits, but we enjoyed it.
How does the win feel, especially since you’ve had some time to sit with it and now you’re looking back on the entire season?
Nathan Morris: You know what? Honestly, I’m happy. I like this. I look at this as an MTV award for us. We ain’t never getting none of them. This one is, I like this. I think it’s sweet.
Michael Becker / Fox
What made you say yes to doing The Masked Singer? Did any of you have any hesitations?
Wanya Morris: We all had hesitations. In fact, when we found out we were doing it, we actually were like, okay, so they’re going to know who we are. So we’re going to have to, first of all, change our voices. We’re also going to have to pick songs that they wouldn’t think that we would sing, and we really don’t want to do it. So hopefully they’ll find out who and kick us off early.
N. Morris: Kick us off at round one.
W. Morris: Because this was the first week, I guess, two weeks that we had off, and it was like we didn’t want to do anything. So we were just going to sing the songs and not sing them to our best ability. And still, you know what I’m saying, get through or whatnot, but we realized towards the middle of the show that wasn’t a possibility when they put us in the bottom two. And that’s when we were like, okay, goodbye everybody. We have to do what Boyz II Men does. You know what I’m saying? And that’s the blessing of knowing each other as a group, because soon as we were in the bottom two, I could feel the energy shift. We looked at each other through the little noses. We were like…
N. Morris: It’s time, bro.
What went into your song choices for the semifinals and finals? Those performances were spectacular.
N. Morris: Well, we were hoping that those songs were in the front. We didn’t know they were going to get pushed to the back because we knew in singing those songs, they would know exactly who we were. The other songs that were more poppish, we could kind of delve in and switch our voices, and the other guys would sing stuff that they don’t normally sing. But some of those other songs, we couldn’t even hide really being Boyz II Men to make the song go over. So it was fun picking them. Some of them were their choices and some of them were our choices. But yeah, overall it was just a matter of just trying to figure out one we were trying to hide in some songs and the other ones we just knew that we could just do really well.
Which performance were you the most proud of?
W. Morris: There’s a lot of them for me now.
Stockman: All the songs had their own distinct energy that I think we all just got into. The thing I like about performing with these guys is that we become method actors. We fall into the character of the records. So it’s like every song had a new feel that I enjoyed, and it was also stimulating because it was a challenge because of us being in them suits and what was at stake and all that other stuff. So every song lent its own energy to that. Once we were all done, we kind of all patted ourselves on our Buffalo backs and was like, yo, that was dope.
Was there a performance that made you feel like you could win?
W. Morris: Yeah, there was a few of ’em. After watching the ones that I saw, I was like, oh yeah, this one right here, this is going to take us over. But the last two, the last two?
N. Morris: Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
W. Morris: I was smiling in that suit singing, and I’m looking at the people in the audience and I’m seeing their faces and I’m seeing people cry. I was like, you got to be kidding me, man, this is over. I was like, give us the trophy right now. We don’t even have to reveal our mask.
N. Morris: We going to fight.
W. Morris: Yeah, we were fighting.
Stockman: That was a first, to make a girl cry in a Buffalo suit.
Talk about the panelists’ guesses. Jenny was the first to figure you out, and she spoke about your connection to her and Donnie’s early days of dating. So had you come into this expecting that she might be the one to figure you guys out?
W. Morris: I was scared. I was scared that she was would be, because her, myself and Donnie, we hung out a lot during that tour. Dinner, rode the bus with them, kicked it at the crib, that type of stuff. And so I was afraid that she would know my mannerisms because I’m always turned on all the time when I’m around. I don’t turn it off in or out of the Buffalo suit. So I was like, she’s going to know who I am. But I think that her knowing me was probably, or us, was her being able to say that it’s Boyz II Men right away. She was like, oh yeah, that’s Wanya. Yeah. Oh yeah, that’s Nate.
N. Morris: She knows us personally, too, though. That’s the thing. Vocally, because Robin grew up on us, he knows the vocals and the fact that we were trying to trick him early on is what threw him off. Because he doesn’t know us personally, but if he knew us personally, he probably would’ve got it, too.
W. Morris: Yeah, I agree.
What are you each going to take away from the entire experience?
W. Morris: I believe that what I’ll take away from this experience is that Boyz II Men can do anything as long as we are together, and as long as we grab those mics at the same time and are thinking music, there’s nothing that we can’t overcome, especially when it comes to that. Performing in Buffalo suits or naked.
Stockman: Well, we don’t do that, but yeah, I agree. I agree. I concur.
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What surprised you each the most about being on The Masked Singer?
N. Morris: Well, how secretive they were. I mean, I knew it was The Masked Singer, but I mean, you got to wear gloves, hats, hoodies. No one, you can’t even see your knuckles on your hand, and they were real anal about it. So I mean, while you get used to it, but I mean, I knew it would be secretive, but I didn’t expect it to be like that.
Stockman: Yeah, it was weird pulling up to the set and it was like, okay, you got to put your mask on now. So they gave us these little visors and gloves and these hoodies. So I mean, the whole point is, I guess for them not to have any clue whether it’s skin color, all of that. So yeah, they were very thorough in keeping our identity secret.
W. Morris: Also what they told us to do is when we were walking in the Buffalo suits, if you have the heads on and nothing else on, still be the Buffaloes. Be in character. When you got that head-on, you’re in character. So it was something that we had to stay mindful of.
N. Morris: The part was when we were talking to each other, “Hey, Wan, I mean, Burgundy or whatever,” the color, we would mess around and call each other by name by mistake.
Who had the easiest and who had the hardest time with the costume?
N. Morris: I think I had the hardest time, and I had the hardest time because I was just jumping around everywhere all the time and I was just out of breath. I mean, even when we weren’t singing, it’s like I was moving around and I was sweating, but it was part of obviously enjoying it, but it’s part of bringing the suit alive. But I think I overdid it.
Stockman: Yeah. Nate was going in. It was more animated than we’ve ever seen in all the years we’ve known him.
N. Morris: Yeah. I overdid it. I was searching for air. I was struggling.
The Masked Singer, Season 13 Premiere, Wednesday, February 12, 8/7c, Fox
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