Warning: this article contains spoilers for The Masked Singer Season 12, Episode 12, “Finale: The Champion is Crowned.”

After a season full of epic performances, the Wasp has officially made the buzz The Masked Singer scene for the last time.

On Wednesday’s holiday-themed Season 12 finale, the dance and high note performer was named a finalist after a final vote that held Nick Cannon called “very, very, very close”. When it came time to unmask, two panelists — namely Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg And Ken Jeong — guessed Jason Derulo and Usher respectively. Not a bad guess, but not as good as Rita Ora And Robin ThickeMy guess: hit R&B artist, actor and Empire star Mario. In a sort of Christmas miracle, they were right.

Before the big reveal, Weekly Entertainment I caught up with Mario about the unique challenges of releasing an album while impersonating the Wasp, the advice he received from Ne-Yo, how he worked with the series to cultivate those sweet dance moves and what it was really like to dance with. this dart.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: To begin with, you just released a new album, Glad you cameon December 13. What has been the reception to your new music?

MARIO: I was in a state of awe both releasing an album and The Masked Singer happens at the same time. Glad you camefor me, it’s kind of like the title of this place in my life right now. I feel like people come to see me live The Masked Singerbut they don’t know it’s really me. I feel like they’re hearing this new album, which is a new era and a new elevated version of who I am as an artist, but reminiscent of the feeling they got from my first albums, but with higher lyricism and production. So I feel like Glad you came it’s kind of like the title of my life right now, in this time that I’m in, which is amazing because as an artist, your dream is for everything to come full circle.

There are so many moving parts to creating an album. I work with James Fauntleroy, who is an executive producer with me, and we both traveled and spent a week here, then two weeks off, then back. So with all that, we were trying to keep the intention of the album. and I think we’ve done a good job of that. And I think so far the reception has been amazing and I can’t wait for more people to put their ears and their hearts to the album. And being the Wasp in this season of Masked singer it’s kind of just an added element of nostalgia for me because I’m able to make records and go back to when I was a kid (when I was) very imaginative when it came to music, my love for her. The same thing that Wasp had to do is have imagination, and it’s like merging the voice with the costume and the songs with the costume and the intention of the art direction, all of that. For me, it’s all Broadway and music. So that never stopped me from leaving there to work on the album and finalize the mix of the album. Everything seemed very connected. So this whole trip has been just beautiful. But yeah, the album is out now and I can’t wait to take it on tour.

Related: The Masked Singer reveals the legendary group behind season 12 winner Buffalo (and a cameo from Taika Waititi) in historic finale

Ne-Yo (aka season 10 winner, Cow) was your masked ambassador, and in the finale you said you talked to him throughout the season for advice. Was that the reason you did the series?

No, no, no. I wouldn’t say that’s why I did the show at all. No, I think it was just the kind of support from someone who actually made the show. Ne-Yo told me what to watch out for, what to expect behind the scenes. Obviously it was all my own experience, but a few times I asked him about certain things and what it was like to be behind the scenes, what it was like to make that transition into the costume. Obviously his costume was a lot different from mine, but a lot of my questions were answered just through experience and because I had time to live with the costume before doing the show, it helped me a lot. For example, I’m in rehearsal for an hour or two with the mask on because I wanted to know what my restrictions were, how to use my breath and air to sing, dance and move even though I was limited in terms of air. a little bit.

The hardest part was also a big part because to be a great artist you have to know how to breathe and use your voice and breathing in different ways. So that was something that no one could give me advice on because my mask is different from everyone else’s, and theirs is different from mine. So you really have to become one with your costume. I mean, it’s something I learned. It’s like when you put it on, you literally have to adapt to this character’s world and I feel like that’s one of my favorite parts, it’s really becoming the Wasp every day. And the hardest part was not being able to take the costume home afterwards. I could have put that in the contract, but we thought about it too late.

I’m glad you brought it up, because I think what made the Wasp so special wasn’t just the notes you could hit, but also all the dance moves you added. So I was curious if the show worked with you to create a costume specifically for you to do that, because with a lot of costumes you really can’t move much.

It’s true, it’s true. No, I think their instincts were pretty good. I feel like when they called me about the show, I actually think it was the next day, we had another call and they showed me the costume and I was like, yo , it’s fire. It suits me, the character of the Wasp, its design, its colors, the fact that the wings were not quite perfect if you look at it. He kind of had his wings a little broken, just like you could tell he’d been through some things, you feel me? So I love being able to choose this character, identify with him, put him on stage and bring these songs to life in different ways. As angelic as the Wasp was and able to fly and have wings and all that, he was still very grounded and had experienced real things in life. So it was just about merging these characters together. I appreciated it.

Related: Masked singer winner Nick Lachey gets into the holiday spirit and Rita Ora returns in exclusive season 12 finale clip

How hard was it to dance with the giant stinger?

Oh man, you’re the first person to ask about this. It took me a while to get used to it because I had to work my space, especially when we had dancers, to make sure I didn’t hit them, poke them with the stinger. And it happened several times during rehearsals, but then I got used to it. I think the mentality became one with it and used it as a real part of me. For example, on some songs I was pointing the stinger at the audience when I was dancing to use it as a prop, and the choreography was intentional, and I was just getting used to the way it moves, the weight of it, who it is. that’s why I rehearsed with this and the mask at every rehearsal. I didn’t want the first time I felt like that, it was on stage. But once you do that, like anything else, it teaches you that repetition is king and you just have to embrace it and make it work for you.

Be honest, did you understand that you were going up against Boyz II Men in the final?

By the time the final rolled around, I knew exactly what I was going to face. Boyz II Men, I’ve been hearing these voices since I was a child, I’ve been studying their singing. And they’re part of my R&B Mount Rushmore, period. There is no doubt that if I had to name a group, it would be Boyz II Men. They would be #1 for me because of their vocal abilities, their song choices, and being in a band is very difficult. So that’s something I really respect them for, what they did with R&B.

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