Warning! The following contains SPOILERS from The Masked Singer episode "Who Are You Fest." Stream the episode with a Hulu subscription and read at your own risk!
The Masked Singer kicked off the Group C stage of Season 12, and I don't think anyone was surprised by who was sent home in the opening episode. Macaron didn't hit the right notes to ensure another round, and was unmasked and revealed to be surfer, writer and subject of Soul Surfer, Bethany Hamilton. She wasn't surprised to go, but did make a shocking confession in the middle of her interview with CinemaBlend.
Hamilton is no stranger to reality television, having done everything from a celebrity diving competition to a season of The Amazing Race. So when The Masked Singer called, she was happy to sign up, but revealed to CinemaBlend she didn't know there'd be singing involved. As wild as that may sound, her logic checks out:
Originally I thought I was gonna be a judge. So I didn't even realize I was actually singing. And then once I realized I was singing, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I sing to my children at bedtime, but like singing is not my forte. But I am competitive and I was like, ‘Maybe I can make up for it with my performance and whatnot.’
She did her best, and while she wasn't the worst singer in The Masked Singer's history, it was clear pretty early on to me who would be going home. I'd wager she might've been one of the more shocking reveals on the Fox series, but the judges' panel really did the reveal a disservice with some truly wild guesses. I don't know how they came up with Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Monica Lewinsky, but those were some bonkers guesses.
Bethany Hamilton made her reveal in the midst of answering a previous question, so I had to ask the obvious question: how in the world did she not know she would be singing if she agreed to appear on The Masked Singer? As it turns out, a lot about this series was new to her for one specific reason:
Well, I hadn't watched the show. I wasn't familiar with it. So I just immediately thought, ‘Oh, yeah, I'll probably be a judge or something.’ Like in my head, I'm thinking this is for legit singers, which I will say. there were some really good singers. I don't know who they were, but I saw one girl singing and, she didn't even have to perform. She just stood there and belted it as if she was a doll. And so once I heard her, I was like, ‘Oh, I don't think I'm gonna be winning this season.’
Bethany Hamilton was in the dark about how the show welcomes Grammy-winning singers, but she caught on soon enough. It kind of bums me out a bit she was eliminated so quickly, as it would've been great to get her take on the experience as someone who had no idea what the show was at all, or how she'd feel about outlasting someone as accomplished in singing as Paula Cole.
Unfortunately, she'll be watching the rest of this season from home and seeing who from Group C will advance to the semifinals of The Masked Singer. We're definitely in the back half of the season, but it only feels like yesterday we were talking to John Elway about being compared to Tom Brady. Hopefully, these last few weeks slow things down a bit in a good way because I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to Season 12 just yet.
Watch new episodes of The Masked Singer on Fox on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. We're about a month out from the season finale, so make sure to catch up on streaming if you aren't already, and check in with CinemaBlend for more on this season as it continues.