20 Secrets About What Really Goes On Behind The Scenes Of The Masked Singer

In a behind-the-scenes video on The Masked Singer’s official YouTube channel, presenter Nick Cannon gives an insight into how strict conditions are for any audience member attending a taping. He says, “Our studio audience is also under extreme scrutiny. They must sign contracts binding them to secrecy and all electronics are banned.” No access to their cell phone for hours at a time? That’s a big ask for a modern audience!

Producers for the show’s U.K. version also enforced this rule on the celebrities taking part. Daniel Nettleton told Daily Star Online in 2020, “Everyone who came on site we had to put a blocker on their camera.” He then added that contestants were “allowed to have their phones on them in the dressing room, but they weren’t allowed to have their phones on them walking around the site.”

Securing a ticket to an L.A. taping of The Masked Singer is much easier than you might think. According to Talent Recap, all you need to do is go to the On Camera Audiences website to book your tickets. Apparently, it’s as simple as a few clicks! Then, once you get to the set, you’ll need to sign a non-disclosure agreement to stop you spilling your guts about the contestants’ identities.

As the taping progresses, the show’s crew reportedly goes to great pains to keep things fun for the audience. During commercial breaks, they’ve been known to hold dancing and singing competitions for audience members who love to perform. Prizes include Starbucks gift cards, which is pretty cool. All in all, it sounds like a blast!

At this point, most people are aware that there’s a healthy dose of smoke and mirrors when a reality TV competition show like The Masked Singer is filmed. It’s cool, though, as generally viewers want to buy into the illusion. But what some fans might not know is that, by and large, even the audience’s reactions at tapings are controlled by the show’s producers. 

The crew constantly keeps the audience in a state of excitement, Kyle Montplaisir told Talent Recap. For example, they film reactions to things the judges say and, if the audience isn’t energetic enough, they’ll simply tape it again. Cue lots of repeated applause and yelling. This would explain why there’s never a lull in audience enthusiasm when you watch the show on TV. How’s that for “reality”?

One of the show’s biggest selling points is that moment when the audience reacts to the singer’s unmasking. It’s such an outpouring of excitement and surprise. Unfortunately, though, it’s totally fake. In reality, the audience doesn’t even see the unmasking as they’re removed from the studio before it happens. Wait, what?!

According to The Cinemaholic’s Shuvrajit Das Biswas, the singer pretends to take their mask off but then leaves the stage with the host. Then, someone arrives on stage to do a mimicked version of the unmasking – controlling the pitch of the audience’s reaction. The real unmasking takes place later in front of the celeb’s friends, family and a much reduced crew. Apparently, it’s all another method of preventing potential spoiler leaks. 

In 2019 Nick Cannon told People magazine that it’s not just the celebrities themselves who have to be disguised when filming. He revealed, “Even their entourage and their representation had to wear masks too if they were on set. So, we never knew who these people or any of their crew was.”

Now, initially, you may be wondering why a celeb’s buddy would need to wear a mask as well. But it actually makes perfect sense because, in our modern celebrity-obsessed world, many people recognize the friends, family and even agents of their favorite stars. Therefore, even if you are just there to lend your famous pal moral support, you have to mask up, too!

Executive producer Izzie Patrick Ibarra told Insider that, when casting the 12 contestants for season one, each celebrity was shown 20 costume designs. They were then told to pick which disguise they identified with the most. Comedian Margaret Cho told E! News, “I chose the poodle because I’m a dog lover, and I thought that would be really fun, and I loved how strangely robot the dog was, so I went with that.”

For other celebs, the process was more emotionally meaningful. Ibarra revealed, “Some people... went automatically to one costume, and there would be tears and there would be a very deep story behind why it had to be that one.” In the end, choosing their costume – designed by Emmy winner Marina Toybina – was an unexpectedly personal experience for some of the contestants.

The intense secrecy surrounding The Masked Singer doesn’t just apply when the cameras are on. Even costume fittings and rehearsals are conducted under a mask, which ensures the production staff don’t even know the contestants’ identities. Comedian Margaret Cho revealed to E! News, “So, you went for a number of fittings, and the secrecy around your arrivals everywhere, it was pretty intense.”

“They didn’t see your hands, or your body, because we had to wear these big hoodies and balaclavas,” Cho continued. She even admitted that the celebrities were kept apart at all times, so they didn’t even know who else was competing on the show. The comedian laughed, “All of our rehearsals were at separate locations where we just had no idea. You never ran into anybody.”

Derek McLean – executive producer of the U.K. version of the show – revealed to The Sun that celebs are only permitted to wear their outfits for 20 minutes. He said it was inspired by Disneyland, adding, “That’s how long Minnie and Mickey Mouse can be in their costumes before going doolally.” But, even with this precaution, one contestant still had an awful time in her outfit.

Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts – who was dressed as Queen Bee on the show – told The Sun, “It was absolutely boiling in the studio, there was no air or ventilation in the mask, so you’re breathing in air that you’re breathing out.” She continued, “I got halfway through and I was choking on my breath and I just ran off stage,” before adding, “I had a claustrophobic moment when I couldn’t get the mask off.” Yikes.

In an effort to keep the identities of their celebrities’ secret, Hello! magazine notes that U.K. producers give each celebrity a codename when they initially sign up. For instance, soap star Patsy Palmer was known as “Square,” and The Darkness singer Justin Hawkins was dubbed “Light.” The codenames don’t have any particular significance to the celeb, though, so no one can be tipped off to their identity.

The celebrities’ codenames are then updated once they have chosen the costume that will be used on the show. So, Palmer changed from “Square” to “Butterfly,” and Hawkins went from “Light” to “Chameleon.” It all sounds very cloak and dagger, but these are the lengths producers go to in order to stop anything leaking online!

Producers of the U.K. show were so determined to maintain complete secrecy that they made their celebs sign contracts with some super strict stipulations. According to Metro, one of them – Daniel Nettleton – revealed, “It was written into their contracts that they couldn’t tell anyone – even their families – what was going on. In the end they were as worried about their secret getting out as we were.” 

While this may sound like the producers going overboard, it was essential to maintain the illusion of the show. Nettleton said, “It’s the guessing game that has created the phenomenon that is The Masked Singer U.K. If those names were out there, the game just simply wouldn’t work.” Unfortunately for them, though, people are only human. Kelis – a contestant on season one – revealed she did tell her kids what was going on. Come on, Kelis!

On the U.S. show, panelists Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Robin Thicke and Nicole Scherzinger are constantly throwing out guesses about the singer’s secret identities. Contrary to what some people may believe, this is all 100 percent genuine; they have no idea who is under each mask. Producer Craig Plestis also told Cinema Blend that each panelist takes a huge amount of notes when doing their guesswork.

“What you don’t see is that they each have a binder,” Plestis revealed. “They’re writing down the clues – they’re very competitive and they all want to get it right. Those binders are their bibles. Every day they leave, we put them in a vault.” We’d love to see the crazy and wildly incorrect guesses those weighty tomes contain!

Amazingly, most of the show’s crew have no idea who the masked singers are. Naturally, this means there are only a select group of people each singer can talk to backstage, as they don’t want to give their identity away. How do people safely interact with one another, then?

Adrienne Bailon Houghton – a contestant on season two – told Good Housekeeping magazine that there were only five producers she could speak to. The participant knew she could go to them because they were wearing shirts that said, “You Can Talk To Me.” Simple? Yes. Surreal? Most definitely. Houghton laughed at the bonkers situation and exclaimed, “I can’t make these things up.”

The masked celebrities are kept completely separate from the judging panel right up until the moment they go on-stage in their costumes. They’re also not allowed to interact with other contestants’ backstage. According to Good Housekeeping, each singer doesn’t even know the identity of the other ones. The only time they see each other is on-stage in full costume!

It’s all a way of making sure host Nick Cannon and the panelists aren’t given any potential clues to the contestant’s identity. After all, they’re celebs too and may know some of the singers personally. In fact, this was exactly the situation with Margaret Cho, who played Ken Jeong’s sister in the sitcom Dr. Ken. Producers were super worried he’d recognize her somehow.

On top of wearing a costume that covers every bit of their body, the contestants’ voices are also altered when they’re interacting with the judges. Naturally, anyone would struggle to recognize someone when they can’t see a face and their voice is scrambled and auto-tuned into oblivion. But Margaret Cho admitted that the celebs were still encouraged to keep their interactions short and sweet.

“You didn’t want to test it too much because you could kind of hear the person, like through their cadence,” Cho explained to E! News. “If people talked a lot, you could probably figure out who it was.” Amusingly, though, this wasn’t the case for Jenny McCarthy in 2021. She apparently didn’t even recognize her own husband Donnie Wahlberg’s voice or physical mannerisms!

Despite The Masked Singer ostensibly being a singing show, many of the celebrity contestants aren’t singers in their day jobs. It stands to reason, therefore, that a lot of them can’t really sing. But that’s okay, because the producers figured out a way to get around that. Each performance apparently features a background singer hiding in the wings!

Clara Pletsis – the daughter of executive producer Craig – explained to E! News, “I do the background singing for the show. I do the tracks for the singing and then I’m on stage every episode in the corner, in a black mask in the corner with a microphone singing.” Having a professional singer like Pletsis backing each celeb up is integral to making the performances sound as great as possible.

During the show, clue packages are shown usually before or after a particular masked singer gives their performance. It’s a fun way to give the judges and audiences at home a chance of correctly guessing their identity. Margaret Cho revealed to E! News that the clues are pretty cryptic and they’re “pretty obvious but, at the same time, not.”

Judge Nicole Scherzinger felt the clues given were often deep insights into the celebs’ lives. She told Parade magazine in 2019, “It’s about every day human connection, because behind the spectacle are real people that we know as celebrities…”. She added, “... But they’re trying to share with us who they are from their point of view, from their personal experiences in life…”

When you watch The Masked Singer as an audience member, it’s all about that reveal of a celeb’s identity after they are eliminated from the competition. As with everything in showbiz, though, what we see on-screen isn’t quite representative of real life. In the show, it looks like the singer is unmasked immediately after their performance. Alas, it doesn’t really work like that!

At a taping, each celeb is given a period to make themselves camera-ready after the announcement is made about their identity, according to Entertainment Weekly. They’ve just finished an energetic performance inside a cumbersome costume, after all. The performers are bound to be hot and sweaty, so getting a 20-minute reprieve to get their hair and makeup touched up backstage is only fair.

Security protocols are strictly adhered to on the set of The Masked Singer – that much is a given. But contestants are also provided with the tightest security possible on their way to and from the studio. To that end, they aren’t even allowed to drive themselves to the set, because there is always the worry that an eagle-eyed fan or paparazzi could recognize their car.

Adrienne Bailon told Good Housekeeping magazine, “An unmarked car service picks you up, so that no one can say, ‘Oh we know so-and-so drives [this car]’ or whatever the case may be. They literally make sure all the cars are black cars, unmarked. You never know who it is.” We love how much it sounds like a top-secret CIA black-ops mission. 

Keeping your talent comfortable is an important part of any showbiz endeavor. Though that’s a bit more difficult when you’re dealing with head-to-toe costumes. Sensibly, producers of The Masked Singer don’t make their celebrities wear the costumes as often as viewers may think. Basically, any time they’re on-stage, it’s the real celebrity in the costume. Any other shots? Not so much.

Joey Fatone told E! News that a stand-in was used for filming the clue package videos. He revealed, “There was so much stuff going on that they actually had somebody else in the costumes when we did the vignettes. When you see the clues, that wasn’t me in the costume. The voice was me, but the costume was not.” Fatone was apparently never told the identity of his stand-in! Will the mysteries of this show never end?

Celebrities appearing on reality competition shows like Big Brother or Dancing with the Stars usually take home a nice pay check. But The Masked Singer is reportedly different – at least in America. Bustle notes that this version of the show is “just for fun,” and the celebs don’t get paid a cent. They don’t even compete for a charity, like on some other shows.

But this isn’t necessarily the case for other countries and their incarnations of the show. According to the website Now To Love, every celeb who appeared on the Australian show was paid between $2,000 and $10,000 per episode, plus a signing bonus of between $10,000 and $200,000. This may explain why singer Cody Simpson – who is from Australia but lives in Los Angeles – opted to take part in the Aussie version!