The Masked Singer 's Snow Owls might release a Snow Owlbum inspired by their time on the show
Michael Becker/FOX
Warning: This article contains spoilers about Wednesday's episode of The Masked Singer.
The Snow Owls have flown from The Masked Singer nest once and for all.
The Group A Finals aired Wednesday night, with Sun and Popcorn prevailing over the eggcellent duo, who were unmasked and revealed to be country music couple Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black. Ahead of the reveal, the pair opened up about their new single inspired by their time on the show, who their famous friend was in this week's clue package, and why they wanted to break out of their shell (literally!).
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Lisa, on the show you said you cried when you first saw the costumes. What about them really spoke to you, and did you have any say in the final look?
LISA HARTMAN BLACK: They were just so beautiful. When we agreed to do it, we started the process, which is getting into the music and getting into costume. And we got one sketch and everybody liked it, and thought, well, what if we go this direction instead with the owl, the Fabergé egg. Then we got to see them in real life. We went to the set and we were inside the egg trying to figure out how to make that thing move. They walked in with these costumes, and it really made me cry. It brought tears to my eyes, because they were just magnificent. The [costume] designer, Marina [Toybina], is so brilliant. She gives such character to all of these characters, with little nuances and little things. I think what hit me was the eyes on these owls. There were [these] little expressions that were subtle, but beautiful and sweet. It was just quite a moment. I'll never forget it.
Speaking of the egg, do you guys wish you could have moved around more outside of it?
CLINT BLACK: Yeah, we would have come out, if we'd gone on another week. That was the plan. And, frankly, I had a bunch of James Brown moves worked out that...
HARTMAN BLACK: Which I think is why they didn't let us come out of the egg, just saying.
BLACK: [Laughs] Yes, probably.
HARTMAN BLACK: But the plan was to do a couple of songs. The producers and network obviously have a say in it, but we were hoping very much to come out. But you know what, that's the nature of the show. We were so happy to be a part of it and go as far as we did. But it was challenging being in that thing. It was tough moving it around, and trying to make it get to go where we needed it to go and wanted it to go. But it was a lot of fun. I was holding Clint's hand a lot.
Who was your famous friend in your last clue package?
BLACK: That's Steve Wariner. He is a dear friend, and we've known him forever. He's a legend in our business. We gave [the show's producers] a couple of choices, and they picked Steve and so it was fun. Steve was one of only a few people who knew we were doing the show.
Who were the others?
HARTMAN BLACK: Our daughter.
BLACK: Yeah, our daughter and Lisa's sister. That was about it though.
HARTMAN BLACK: That was fun for us. I mean, we've been asked was it hard [to keep it a secret]? It really wasn't. It was so much fun to go to the set incognito head-to-toe. Nobody could tell who was who or anything. And just having to live that life for as long as we were there. We got so used to doing it that before we'd go to the door to go out on our own time, we would want to suit up and cover up again. It just became second nature.
BLACK: We had to keep reminding ourselves it was okay to dress like ourselves.
What went through your head when Ken guessed you were Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman?
HARTMAN BLACK: Oh my God. We were sweating and going, oh Ken, stop being funny. We've got to get backstage.
BLACK: We're thinking what everyone else was thinking — move it along, Ken. We're so hot and sweaty in there. And I know Ken, he's so funny. He's weaving this humor, and doing that whole thing, which is hilarious. But we're also thinking, I'm sweating in here, you know? But yeah, that guess of Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara... That's good stuff.
Did friends or family reach out to say they thought you were on the show?
BLACK: I had a friend text me. And he said, "Are you guys Snow Owls?" And I said, "Oh they're a hoot aren't they?" And he still doesn't know, but his wife is sure. And of course on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram the fans are all certain. I got a call from a friend there in Louisiana, who's just like, "You don't have to tell me. I know, I know. You don't have to say. I know you can't say, but I know it's you."
Michael Becker/FOX(2)
Did you have to come up with any lies about what you were doing?
BLACK: On the front end of it we did because there were certain people in our lives that [had to know] we were going to be away for a while doing the show. So I just said, "We're going out to L.A. to tape a music show." And then they would always ask which one. So I would say, "Oh, it's not placed yet. It's going to be a Netflix show or Amazon or something. They don't have a place and so they don't even have a title." And that was a big lie. I don't want to get too good at lying, but I have to say I was pretty expert at that one.
I hear you're releasing a single together inspired by your time on the show. Tell me about that.
BLACK: Yeah, it'll be available for streaming on December 3. It's called "Till the End of Time." The first thought after doing the show was we should record one of those songs [that we sung on the show]. Then I thought I should write us a new duet. We should record something. We enjoyed singing together again, and Lisa was up for it. So I just wrote us a new duet and recorded it in record time to have it ready for when we go into rehearsals next week for the Ryman show, which is our first full concert since the lockdown. People can buy a ticket to watch it live from home. So we're gonna sing the song live that night and then it comes out the next day on the 3rd.
Would you consider doing a full Snow Owls album?
BLACK: A Snow Owlbum. You know, I think we got about half an album of duets now that we've recorded, but that's a good idea. We actually thought about doing those songs that we did on the show, so that would be a possibility maybe down the road.
Were you sad to leave the show when you did?
HARTMAN BLACK: Oh yes. We were just glad to be involved as long as we could. That's what I'm supposed say — I don't really mean that. [Laughs.] I wanted to stay and perform a couple more. We wanted to come out of the egg and do a little more, but that's just the way it goes... It's just that as you go into this [show], it's a different world, and The Masked Singer's creative process is really quite extraordinary. We'll look back and go, "Wow, that show stands on its own, and there's nothing like it." And all the people involved — it's just really something special.
"Till the End of Time" will be available to pre-order and pre-save on Nov. 12. Fans can purchase tickets to Black's Dec. 2 show at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium at ClintBlack.com.
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