Aloe Blacc Speaks out After Being Unmasked as the Mushroom on ‘The Masked Singer’

Aloe Blacc is opening up about his “incredible experience” singing as the Mushroom on The Masked Singer. The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter was named first runner-up during Wednesday’s finale, losing out to LeAnn Rimes as the Sun after a stirring rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” that came before he was unmasked.

Following his big reveal, Blacc took to Instagram to share more about his experience on the show, thanking host Nick Cannon and panelists Ken Jeong, Nicole Scherzinger, Jenny McCarthy and Robin Thicke for the opportunity. “What an incredible experience it was to be on The Masked Singer,” he wrote. “The producers, the crew, the designers, the band and all that worked on The Masked Singer, made this journey exciting and a total joy.”

He also gave props to the fans he likened to “CIA, FBI, private investigators,” admitting he was watching them “tracking me down” online. “I had many laughs and some of you had me nervous early in the season!” he assured the show’s guessers. “Great Job!” He ended his message with a wish for happy holidays and “all love everything,” signing off as “Aloe ‘Mushroom’ Blacc.”

Blacc shared more about his experience with Entertainment Weekly after being unmasked, joking that he had been just as invested in discovering the identity of his competitors as the audience, especially Nick Carter’s Crocodile and Bob Saget’s Squiggly Monster. “I was really guessing all the way up to the end. I had no idea who was behind the mask,” he said. “I’d heard Crocodile’s voice backstage, because I’m not allowed to hear what they do on stage. I heard him warming up. And I’d heard Squiggly Monster’s voice while he was talking behind the curtain next to me in his little waiting room. But I had no idea. I thought it was Howie Mandel. So I was just certain that Howie Mandel was on the show.”

Blacc added that he had heard Seahorse singing from backstage, but didn’t know which costume was performing. “The only person I think could do that would be Tori Kelly, or maybe Kelly Rowland. Somebody with Kelly in their name. And, of course, it ended up being Tori Kelly,” he recalled. “So I was right, but I had no idea.”

As for his decision to portray the mushroom, the “I Need a Dollar” singer said he hoped he could send a message of connection in these divided times. “I feel like it’s sharing that message, because mushrooms underneath the ground connect all of the plant life and are a huge part of communicating through the root system,” he shared.