WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Wednesday night’s episode of “The Masked Singer”
Wednesday’s finale of “The Masked Singer” unveiled its winner Medusa as singer Bishop Briggs in a reveal many fans saw coming — except judge Jenny McCarthy, who couldn’t make up her mind about her final guesses, finally landing on Ellie Goulding and Fergie.
As Briggs performed two songs near and dear to her heart to mark the season’s close — My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome to the Black Parade” and Sia’s “Elastic Heart” — the “River” singer reflected on her journey on the show just months after welcoming her first child.
“At the time I was six months postpartum and so I was pumping and then I was running around on stage,” Briggs told TheWrap. “It really felt like I got to be these different facets of my life and my personality, so I could really embody Medusa when I needed that strength … Even in postpartum and even in being a new mom, I’m still capable and I can still roar.”
Briggs also noted that she felt empowered by Medusa, whose versatility pushes the boundaries on what patriarchal society typically encourages of women and working mothers.
“I feel like Medusa is someone that is really misunderstood,” Briggs said. “I think as a woman living in the world today, I feel that so consistently, that being a woman you’re allowed to be multiple, different things at once, and I think that’s something new that we’re really leaning into as as a society.”
While Briggs coped with missing her son by FaceTiming him and writing him notes during rehearsals and production, the time away gave her husband and my son an opportunity to bond and have their own adventures.
“As the competition got fiercer and fiercer, and having that moment where Nicole rang the bell, it all meant so much to me, because it was time that I was away from my son,” Briggs said. “It was also a way of showing my son, ‘Hey, this is what my passion is,’ and and getting to bring home something like the trophy was a special memory.”
Keep on reading to find out which one of Briggs’ own songs she would have loved to sang as Medusa, how extensive the rehearsal protocols were and what tracks Briggs would have chosen for a Motown themed night.
TheWrap: How did you choose your finale song?
Briggs: I’m such a huge fan of My Chemical Romance and “The Black Parade” is a song that I have in my own set, so I really really begged and begged to be able to have it in the show for the finale. And then with Sia with “Elastic Heart,” it really felt like that song lyrically — and I felt as performing it — really was my journey on the show. It was about having a thick skin and really putting my heart and soul into everything that I did. It felt important to have both of those songs in there.
Obviously only covers are allowed but was there any part of you that wanted to sing your own songs as Medusa?
It would have been very fun to perform “JEKYLL & HIDE,” which is one of my songs, a big part of the song is about being two different people and noticing two different people in one person. And of course “River.”
The Masked Singer has some pretty strict protocols, was there anything that surprised you about the process?
I really expected it and understood it. Everyone that works there, they are so passionate about the show. Even in rehearsal, you’re fully covered; I would have to wear gloves because I have hand tattoos; I would have to wear full length pants when I walked in because I have leg tattoos. I feel like what is so great about the show is that there’s this commitment because it’s fun for the people that work there to get to and to have that revealed as well. It keeps it fresh.
What lessons have you learned from the process?
I think the biggest lesson would be with songs like “Someone Like You” and “New York, New York,” I really stood at the center of the stage and and allowed my emotion come through my voice. As someone that loves to run around on stage — I put all my energy into my performance in that way — seeing that the stillness could evoke emotion and could still translate I think that was a really big lesson as a performer.
What song have you felt most connected to that you’ve performed while on the Masked Singer?
“Take Me To Church” by Hozier. It felt as if I was at my own show — it just I felt like I could really be my most authentic self with that song. It’s a song that captures everything. It has energy and emotion and some of the lyrics in that song are some of my favorites ever to exist. As a writer, it’s a song that I’m naturally drawn to and then having the ability to evoke that energy while on stage is just my favorite thing.
Were there any themed nights you wished you had?
I would have loved a Motown.
What song would you have chosen had there been a Motown night?
“I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta James, maybe “Try a Little Tenderness” by Otis Redding, “Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)” by Aretha Franklin. I mean, I could go on and on.
