Sisqo on ‘The Masked Singer’ Lizard, the 25th Anniversary of ‘Unleash the Dragon’ and a new song with Mya [Exclusive Video Interview]
“Me wanting to be on the show was prompted from my family,” says Grammy-nominated R&B star Sisqo while discussing his time as Lizard on “The Masked Singer.” “They’re big fans of the show. And as it turns out, it seemed like once a season or every other season one of the judges would guess that whoever was masked was me. My family was like, ‘They keep guessing it’s you, when you just gonna go on there?'” Watch his exclusive video interview with Gold Derby senior editor Denton Davidson above.
As Lizard, Sisqo sang “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescense on “Shower Anthems Night.” After receiving the least amount of votes in the Group C final, he was forced to “take it off” and reveal himself. Panelists Robin Thicke and Rita Ora were right on the money, guessing Sisqo’s identity based on that unmistakable tone. Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg thought he was Ray J while Ken Jeong guessed New Edition star Michael Bivins.
“I was glad that the costume had a little bit of hip-hop to it,” he says of Lizard. “The hat was curved backward. Apparently they got the idea from my lady, because her name is Elizabeth. I was happy it was something in the reptile family.”
Throughout the competition Lizard faced two smackdowns before ultimately losing to Clock and Poodle Moth. “I had heard the other performers at soundcheck and I was under the impression that this was a straight-up singing contest,” he explains. “I was like, ‘I ain’t going to no smackdown, ain’t nobody gonna out-sing me.’ Low and behold, the next thing you know…”
We also reminisce about the 25th anniversary of his smash album “Unleash the Dragon” which included top hits “Thong Song” and “Incomplete.” “That was a whirlwind portion of my career,” he recalls. “I was all the way in the mainstream doing movies, hosting shows, I hosted the Billboard Awards one year, I had my own show on MTV that came on after ‘TRL.’ I was even beating the ratings on that. It was a whirlwind. When I went through whatever I went through to step back from the mainstream I was kind of happy, actually. I finally got some sleep!”
Sisqo continues to tour worldwide with his group Dru Hill and has new solo music in the works. You can currently listen to “Genesis” wherever music is streamed and he’s working on the follow-up album “Exodus” featuring a song with Mya now.