“The Masked Singer” is bringing Turtle back: Season 3 runnerup Jesse McCartney will return to the Fox competition Wednesday, not as a contestant, but as a duet partner for current competitor Bull.
And McCartney tells TheWrap he could not be more thrilled to come back to “The Masked Singer” “without being judged or thinking I’m going to possibly get cut from the show.”
Oh, and the lack of giant Turtle costume was nice, too, especially as McCartney watched Group A finalist Bull perform in his getup, knowing full well how hard that is.
“The obvious plus is not having to wear this 50 lb. costume, which makes it so much easier to move,” said McCartney, who came in second place behind “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Kandi Burruss as Night Angel on Season 3 of “The Masked Singer” in May 2020. “And I was in one of the relatively mobile costumes. I mean, there are people who can’t move at all without four or five handler’s getting them to and from the stage. But even still, it’s really warm, it’s hard to breathe and breathing is a huge element when it comes to singing it. So it was a lot more relaxed for me.”
He continued: “But I could tell with the Bull, I could feel his nerves. I could feel like it was down to the wire and I kind of knew exactly what he was going through. During rehearsals, he was running over every single step with choreographers and making sure he had his marks. We rehearsed it four or five times. And I empathize with him because I knew what he was feeling and I knew it was coming down to one of the last spots.”
On tonight’s episode, you’ll see McCartney perform with Bull, and Michael Bolton singing alongside the other remaining Group A finalist, Skunk. McCartney had no idea who Bull was while the two were rehearsing and singing their chosen track, The Script’s “Breakeven (Falling to Pieces),” when “The Masked Singer” Season 6 was taped months ago — and he still has no idea now.
However, he has two pretty solid guesses.
“I’m really not sure. Like, I think for sure, it’s a soulful singer. I mean, the guy can really, really sing. And I can tell he can step in to different genres. Like this particular song has more of a rock feel, but I think he still has that soul underneath him. So I want to say it could be somebody like a Mario, or like a Chris Brown — somebody who’s got that like pop-urban flare. And I don’t know, those are probably my two best guesses.”
Now, when he — and the rest of America — finally does find out who Bull is, McCartney plans on getting in touch with him ASAP to talk about their shared experience.
“Absolutely. I think once we all find, I’ll definitely want to reach out and say, ‘Hey, it was great performing with you.’ I mean, he’s the kind of guy, whoever he is, that I would absolutely perform with and do a song with, once his mask is off, just because I can tell he can really sing. So whoever he is, I’m sure I’ll either DM him or get his number somehow to say good job, win or lose.”
But McCartney thinks it’s more likely this will be a win for Bull than a lose.
“After singing with this guy, I can tell for sure he’s a great singer. And he’s as good as any of the singers in previous seasons, at the very end of the show. So it’s anyone’s guess. But I certainly think, if he won, it would be no surprise to me or really anybody watching because he definitely has the vocal chops.”
McCartney’s new album “New Stage” is available everywhere now.
“The Masked Singer” airs tonight, Wednesday, at 8/7c on Fox.