Season 11 of “The Masked Singer” is in the books, crowning a new champion on Wednesday night. So, who took home the Golden Mask?
This season came down to Goldfish and Gumball, with the pair performing songs including “Latch,” “Heart of Glass,” “Renegade,” and “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” for the finale. But, in the end, it was Goldfish who won it all, making Gumball the first to be unmasked on the night.
And, as many guessed — though panelist Ken Jeong didn’t — the man beneath the mask was indeed “Friday Night Lights” and “Hart of Dixie” star Scott Porter. So, who beat him out?
Well, fans guessed her identity too, and very early on. Panelist Rita Ora even spotted it weeks ago. Yes, Goldfish was none other than “High School Musical” alum Vanessa Hudgens. And yes, she knew fans would know, so she didn’t bother disguising her voice at all.
“I didn’t even try, to be honest,” Hudgens told TheWrap. “I’m like, you know, we’re covering up me, my voice is my voice. And like, there’s an integrity that comes along with performing and singing, and I wasn’t going to dampen that. So I was like, it is what it is. If you know, you know, and if you don’t, that’s OK too.”
She added, “So many people grew up with me, you know, I get told that all the time. So, it makes sense that it would be recognizable. Your childhood is like, you’re so impressionable. So, my voice is just stuck in their heads, I guess!”
Hudgens noted that she really had no trouble keeping the secret from her friends throughout the show — mostly because “I am a such a true Sagittarius in that I am really good at ignoring text messages for as long as need be.”
The one friend she did avoid though? Rita Ora herself. According to Hudgens, the two saw each other at an event just two weeks before filming started on “Masked Singer,” and they made plans to meet up the next time they were both in Los Angeles.
“And then. first performance straight off the bat, she’s like, ‘I think this is my friend Vanessa Hudgens!’ And I was just like, ‘Ugh, there goes our dinner plans,’” Hudgens recalled with a laugh. “Because I cannot meet up with her and keep my mouth shut, and like, just glide past that major reason as to why we’re both in LA.”