The Masked Singer elephant felt pretty good that Lil Wayne was eliminated before him
Warning: This article contains spoilers about The Masked Singer season 3, episode 4.
Oh elephant, we hardly knew ye!
Tony Hawk had a feeling his time on The Masked Singer would be short, but maybe not this short. At least he’s impressed to see who was eliminated before him! Here, Hawk talks about covering The Cure in his one and only performance before the judges.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You have you been watching the show live, right? How do you feel about who came before you and who got eliminated before you?
TONY HAWK: It gave me a little boost of confidence because, you know, Lil Wayne is a legitimate singer, and then Chaka Khan! I was like, I’m in good company! I feel okay about it now. I was more worried that they were going to be non-singers like me. That would’ve been more of a statement like, “Well, you guys aren’t cut out for this.”
So when they came to you, did you think there was a good chance you’d go first?
Yes, very much so. Yes.
And how did your ego handle that?
I told myself that they just didn’t like the Cure!
Tell me about your life as a singer.
It’s been very little to none. My family has experience singing. My sister was a backup singer for Michael Bolton and John Denver. I used to play the violin when I was a kid, so I felt like I had some music abilities. But when it came time for the real thing, I felt like I might have gotten in over my head. I had a lot of help, especially from the voice coach. She really brought me to a level of confidence to where I felt like I was going to be okay.
Was it easy to get you to do this? Did you have to sit on it for a while before you said yes?
I definitely sat on it for a while, yes. But the idea that I was anonymous was probably the thing that most spoke to me. I felt that I could do it without having the embarrassment or being self-conscious. To be on display with your face is one thing, but to just be out there in a costume as a character is a whole different thing. The costume provides you literal cover.
Why the elephant?
I was given the option of being the taco or the elephant, and the taco seemed a little too revealing. That’s all I can say.
How did you land on “Friday I’m in Love?”
I chose the Cure song because my wife and I are huge Cure fans. We had a Cure song for our wedding march.
Were you nervous as hell? How did it feel?
It was just a great relief to finally get it done. I built it up in my head of being so scary, but it was an almost cathartic experience. I told myself I could do it. You’re pretty sure you can sing. Let’s just get it done! I definitely practiced probably more than I should have. You have a minute and a half to do it right. I watched parts of it and I remember thinking when I saw the playback, that I sounded okay.
So is this the start of a grand career in reality TV?
No. This was a perfect fit because it was anonymous. It was something I’ve always wanted to try. I have no interest in dancing. I have no interest in being put in the jungle. I have no interest in trying to get a job as a chef. This was the right option.
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