Leslie Odom Jr. Isn’t Ruling out Competing on ‘The Masked Singer’ After Judges Guess Him (Exclusive)

Leslie Odom Jr. is one of the most multi-talented artists of our generation. Between a star-making performance with Broadway’s Hamilton to several roles across movies, TV shows and four sensational albums highlighting his uniquely distinct voice, it’s no secret the New York tenor’s range is a curious mix for eager ears. The 39-year-old’s name has recently popped up several times on FOX’s The Masked Singer as a potential celebrity in disguise and it’s a gig, which Odom admits to PopCulture.com he wouldn’t rule out if requested to compete.

“I was very aware of it,” Odom Jr. said when asked if he knew his name was tossed between judges Nicole Scherzinger, Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy and Robin Thicke, who guessed it was him several times. “I gotta tell you — every Masked Singer night, I would get 50 to 100 people on my Twitter and on my Instagram: ‘It’s you, isn’t it? I know it’s you!’ I had family members texting me like, ‘You can tell me.’ It was very cool, [but] I didn’t want to spoil people’s guessing fun.”

On Season 4 of the popular Fox singing competition, Odom has been guessed for a number of contestants, including Serpent — a disguised star-turned-singer for the series, who took both judges and the audiences’ breath away. But with vocals like that, there were only a few people it could be, including Odom. However, after Serpent was eliminated, Dr. Elvis Francois was revealed as the star behind the powerful voice. Francois became popular during the COVID pandemic when his rendition of “Imagine” by John Lennon went viral.

“It’s a fine line ’cause I also didn’t wanna take credit for this guy’s beautiful work,” Odom said of Francois’ moment. “I wanted to let Dr. Elvis have his moment, so I was caught in between a rock and a hard place. I just kept my mouth shut.” The actor, who is known for his role in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash hit, Hamilton, went on to confess he would be open to competing on The Masked Singer if the time was right.

“Sure — if the timing was right, I wouldn’t rule it out. Nicole’s [Scherzinger] a good friend of mine, and they’re bringing people a lot of joy and at the end of the day, I like art that makes people think and changes minds and hearts. I’m weird that way,” he said. “But of course, at the end of the day, I also know the value, as an entertainer, that you can just sometimes bring a smile to people’s face, and Masked Singer brings people a lot of joy at a really challenging time. I wouldn’t rule it out.”

While Odom and his wife Nicolette Robinson are expecting their second child together, the two have slowed down for the holidays. However, his recent partnership with Verizon has allowed him for a way to stay connected with friends and family, and now he’s encouraging fans to do the same. “It’s about staying connected even when we can’t travel to one another, and Verizon made it super easy,” admitting he’s a happy customer. With their 5G technology, it’s allowed everyone to stay connected as much as possible throughout the pandemic. For more on Leslie Odom Jr. and your other favorite celebrities, keep it right here at PopCulture.com.