Warning: This post contains spoilers for Wednesday The masked singer.
Despite a run that only got more impressive every time she appeared in season 5 of The masked singer, Seashell was expelled from Fox’s costumed singing competition on Wednesday. And when the giant bowl came off, Sister, Sister star Tamera Mowry was revealed as the squirming crustacean. (The two-hour episode also saw Crab’s departure – read our recap to see who he really was.)
On Wednesday, TVLine spoke with Mowry – whose TV resume also includes Home and family and The real – about how she couldn’t keep her Seashell a secret from twin sister Tia Mowry. Read on to hear what she had to say.
TVLINE | Considering that I think one of this season’s other acts is a sibling, I wouldn’t put it past this show trying to get both you and your sister there. Was that ever an option? Talk to me about how you got involved.
I’ve always loved to sing. Anyone who loves me knows that I sing in the shower, especially my brother. I grew up with a lot of “Shut up! You are too noisy! ” [Laughs] I sang all the time when I was cleaning, when I was in the shower, in between college studies, I thought I was Celine Dion. So I actually started my career in a singing group called Voices. And that’s when my sister and I called a pilot Sister, Sister. So I had to decide which path to take. And I’d always loved to sing, it was just that acting was there for me.
Obviously, I think I made the right decision at that point. Sister, Sister became an American classic, a hit. But at the same time I always wondered, “When can I sing again? And on the podium? And perform? I sang “I’m Going Down” on Sister, Sister and to this day people absolutely love it. But I really haven’t performed like singing to music on stage and dancing, oh god, in over 20 years. It was always a dream to revisit how that felt. When The masked singer came about, my co-host on The real, Adrienne [Bailon] did it and she looked at me after it was all over, she was exposed, she said, “Tamera, you must do this show … you gotta do it. “So I did. There was an opportunity that presented itself a year ago and I couldn’t do it, so when it came back I said yes without asking.
TVLINE | What was Tia thinking? Did she know that?
Yes of course. I think the hardest part was keeping it quiet. The only people who initially knew were my mom, my husband, and my cousin. My cousin was there. He’s my ride-or-die, he’s my best friend, and he’s also a worship leader in his church. So I didn’t have such a huge entourage with COVID, and I wanted someone there – he’s like my life coach, so he coached me throughout the process. And my mom was on the phone pretty much every gig and after, so I had my little support group. But I couldn’t tell anyone else. You can’t tell anyone! [Laughs] That was the hard part. But literally, on the first performance, I had found out that my sister texted my brother Taj and my brother texted me and said, “We know this is you.” [Laughs] And I mean, you can’t deny it.
TVLINE | Nicole Scherzinger guessed your name on this week’s episode. What happened under your mask when you heard her say it?
I was like, “Oh my God! After all! It took so long!” [Laughs] But I also thought, “Damn, she knows.” It could not be concealed. She was so confident. And I was thrilled that she thought it was my best performance. I haven’t seen it, but I literally had the most fun singing this song. It was a childhood song that I loved. I wanted to pay tribute to myself by simply deciding to become an entertainer and this was one of the first songs I danced with, with my babysitter’s daughter and my sister.
TVLINE | I know you’ve addressed this before, but I have to ask in case there is an update: Any conversation about revisiting it Sister, Sister revival?
From now on, no … Sometimes you don’t mess with perfection. [Laughs]