A music mystery
The Masked Singer is back to keep you guessing which celebs are under those costumes.
It’s one big extravaganza! Over-thetop costumes, singing, dancing and sleuthing are part of reality show The Masked Singer, Thursdays on M-Net (*101) at 19:00. A group of famous people hide their identities behind lavish, ridiculous, brilliant and colourful costumes as a panel of judges try to guess who they are from a series of clues, as well as through their performances. But really the competition is window dressing for the costumes that the contestants wear. They are exotic, elaborate, weird and oddly specific, especially in season 2, and we’ve got all the juicy details from series designer Marina Toybina.
THE FAMOUS FACES
But before we dive into the costume craziness and sewing machine madness, meet the presenter, judging panel and some celebs that will star in season 2.
Fun-loving musician and actor Nick Cannon (the host from 2009-2016 of reality show America’s Got Talent, 2009-now) is steering the show as the host for the new series, with sexy singers Nicole
Scherzinger (pop song Your Love, 2014) and
Robin Thicke (2013 song
Blurred Lines) joined by
Jenny McCarthy (in 2016 she joined The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills, 2010-now) and Ken Jeong (Luther in Magnum P.I., 2018-now) as judges. And without giving too much away, viewers can look forward to singers
Seal (1994 song Kiss From A Rose) and Chris Daughtry (2006’s season 5 of American Idol, 2002-now) competing under the masks, as well as also TV personality Kelly Osbourne (Fashion Police, 2010-2015) and Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1998-now) sketch comic
Wayne Brady singing along in tune to the music. Don’t ruin the fun by Googling which costumes they’re wearing – the unveiling surprise element is what makes it fun!
THE COSTUMES
Marina says that going into season 2, her “goal was to elevate the overall construction of the costumes, as well as the characters in an entertaining way.” It takes up to four months to create these complex costumes, and Marina and her team must send between 20-25 sketches to the producers for approval before they can make their first stitch.
This season there are 16 contestants and they each get a say in which outfit they like – even proposing changes to fit their personalities and backstories. Then it’s a month-and-a-half of sewing, explains Marina. “That’s the most challenging creative part for me. It is great once it’s on paper, everything looks magical, but then how do you make these pieces become life-sized and also wearable art?”
One of Marina’s favourites from this season was the leopard. She and her team had fun with the feline, who is less the sleek hunter and more the flamboyant pussy cast with a periodcostume collar. “Most people would expect a leopard costume to be very animalistic and have print all over, but I wanted to create something that was Victorian and was vintage and did have this big presence onstage,” says the costume designer. She took inspiration for this costume from the 1998 period drama movie Elizabeth with Cate Blanchett (Phyllis in 2020 biographical drama series Mrs America) playing Queen Elizabeth.