Fifteen years after he finished second on “American Idol,” David Archuleta is once again the runner-up in a nationally televised TV singing competition.
Turns out that all the speculation about Archuleta being in the Macaw costume on Fox’s “The Masked Singer” was correct. But while that was expected, it was a bit of a surprise when — once again — he didn’t win. The trophy went to Bishop Briggs, who performed inside the Medusa costume, in the season finale on Wednesday night.
Any doubt that Archuleta was inside the Macaw costume evaporated in the opening minutes of the episode when — through a digitally disguised voice — he said, “Becoming the Macaw is exciting because it’s like I’m becoming a new person. Even though people can’t see me in this, in a way, it lets me show a lot more of myself. I can show the colors I was too afraid to show, and I’m able to tap deeper emotionally in my performances.”
(Perhaps a reference to his coming out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in 2021?)
“I had a lot of anxiety coming here because I wasn’t sure I could handle an environment of being judged again, especially with millions watching on TV. But being the Macaw makes it a lot more fun, and if I win, it means I actually can win something,” he said with a laugh.
(A clear reference to finishing second on “American Idol” in 2008.)
“It may be the last night for Macaw, but he’ll live in me forever,” Archuleta said.
Before his unmasking, Archuleta performed “Hold Back the River” and “All by Myself” to rave reviews from the show’s judges — Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke. “We are witnessing some sort of evolution of the Macaw, and it is beautiful,” Jeong said. And Scherzinger added, “You are such an inspiration to so many.”
Whereas 97 million votes were recorded when Archuleta finished second on “American Idol” in 2008, the winner of “Masked Singer” is chosen by the votes of the show’s judges and studio audience.
And it was pretty clear that two of the judges have never heard Archuleta sing, because just listening to the Macaw’s performances made it clear it was him. However, McCarthy’s final guess was that Neil Patrick Harris was inside the costume; Thicke guessed Jason Mraz; Jeong and Scherzinger correctly guessed Archuleta.
Just before his unmasking, the Utahn reiterated that he “had a lot of anxiety before coming onto this show because I was afraid to show myself. It’s been a difficult last couple of years. And (I’m) truly humbled.”
Later in the show, Archuleta said that he didn’t think he would make it to the “Masked Singer” final, adding that “honestly, I didn’t even know if I’d still be singing at all. Not a lot of people know this about me, but I had a major injury last year that left me completely silent for three months.”
Archuletta revealed in early 2022 that he had to cancel a concert tour because he had surgery to remove nodules from his vocal chords.
“I was also going through some pretty big life events, and I began to wonder if this is really for me,” he said. “But after taking time to reflect, I realized ... that I should keep trying, even with all the changes.”
Although he’s finished second twice, Archuleta has won a televised singing competition. In 2003, when he was just 12 years old, the Utahn was the junior vocalist champion on a CBS version of “Star Search.” He pocketed $100,000 for that.
And it’s not altogether accurate to call “The Masked Singer” a singing competition. It’s a costume spectacular with singing, but not all those who compete are talented vocalists. Of the 21 contestants on Season 9, only 10 are primarily (or secondarily) known as music acts — Archuleta, Briggs, Michael Bolton, Sara Evans, Debbie Gibson, Grandmaster Flash, Holly Robinson Peete, Dee Snider, Alicia Witt and the group Pentatonix.
The other contestants were five actors (Malin Ackerman, Dick Van Dyke, Melissa Joan Hart, Lou Diamond Phillips and George Wendt), two “internet personalities” (Olivia Culpo and Lele Ponds), an actor/TV host (Howie Mandel), a real estate agent/reality TV personality (Christine Quinn), a professional wrestler (Alexa Bliss) and an NFL player (Keenan Allen)
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/584B3XK
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