Country music fans haven’t heard from Jewel in a hot minute. But, television audiences just learned they’ve been rooting for the sometimes country singer and Nashville, Tennessee, resident all season long on FOX’s “Masked Singer.”
Queen of Hearts battled it out with Bull on two final songs before the season six winner was revealed in Wednesday night’s finale.
Bull told viewers: “Boys are supposed to play sports, and I tried. Boys aren’t supposed to let their emotions show, so I tried that, too. But secretly, I always knew I was someone else, and when there are no role models like you, it can make you feel a little distant. It took me a long time to find the people who saw me for who I truly am, and that changed everything.”
The soon-to-be identified contestant delivered “You Gotta Be” by Des’ree, and panelists Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, and Robin Thicke lobbed guesses that Bull might be Tituss Burggus, Taye Diggs, or Neil Patrick Harris.
Queen of Hearts revealed the struggle to start her career.
“I left my job because I had no choice,” she said. “I had no place to live. My car was stolen, too. People did love my music, though, all three of them that came to my show.”
The Queen performed “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye.
For their second song, Bull got emotional with his version of Hunter Hayes’ “Invisible.” Queen of Hearts closed the night with Katy Perry’s “Firework.”
With all of the performances complete, the judges’ panel, studio audience, and at-home viewers voted for the winner.
Queen of Hearts emerged victorious, and Bull was unmasked to reveal YouTuber Todrick Hall.
Steve Jennings/WireImage
“I would just say that we grow up and we believe in ourselves so much as little kids and then somewhere along the line, the world starts to pick apart you and they start to make you realize the things about you that are different,” Hall said. “I think that being inside this costume gave me courage.”
Next, they lifted the large costume from Jewel’s body, and the audience learned it was her – although people had predicted her identity for some time.
“It’s just the privilege of a lifetime to get to be yourself,” she said. “This show oddly really gets at your essence, and I find that really special about this show.”
Following her win, the “Who Will Save Your Soul” singer announced she was releasing an EP of all the songs she performed on “The Masked Singer.”
“Performing on @maskedsingerfox was fun for me because it allowed me to pay homage to songs that inspired me to be a songwriter and a singer in the first place, like La Vie En Rose and She’s Got You.” Jewel wrote. “Those have long been favorites, and being able to pour myself into these heroic songs to challenge myself vocally was really wonderful. I worked hard on all the arrangements and fell in love with each song.
I had so much fun interpreting these songs that I wanted to share them!”
Songs on the EP, which is out now, include Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” Patsy Cline’s “She’s Got You,” and Sia’s “Bird Set Free.”