The Masked Singer welcomed back Jesse McCartney to sing a duet with Bull during the Group A finals, but even Jesse was in the dark about Bull's true identity, wondering if he might be Mario or Chris Brown. Jesse dominated the competition in 2020 during season 3 when he took the stage as Turtle, coming in second to Kandi Burruss’ Night Angel. Singing songs such as “Kiss From a Rose” by Seal, “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” by Shawn Mendes and his finale song, “Before You Go” by Lewis Capaldi, Jesse wowed the panel and the audience.
Jesse returned to the stage during the Group A finals to sing a duet with Bull. Bull began the night with a rousing rendition of Paula Abdul’s hit song, “Straight Up,” complete with dance moves that would be impressive in street clothes, never mind a giant bull costume. The panel’s guesses after the first performance ranged from Ken Jeong thinking he could be Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jenny McCarthy wondering if he was Adam Lambert, and Nicole Scherzinger guessing he might be Jaden Smith or Jeremy Pope. In the second round, Jesse and Bull sang “Breakeven” by The Script. With these performances, Bull charged past Skunk, who was unmasked and revealed to be legendary singer Faith Evans, and sent straight to the finale, during which he will compete against the winner of the Group B finals, either Queen of Hearts or Banana Split.
In an interview with The Wrap, Jesse revealed that he had no idea who was under the Bull mask while they were rehearsing and performing on the show. And even though the season was filmed months ago, he still does not know who Bull is. He revealed that even after their performance, he is still unsure of the Bull’s identity, saying, “I’m really not sure. I think for sure it’s a soulful singer. I mean, the guy can really, really sing. And I can tell he can step into different genres. This particular song has more of a rock feel, but I think he still has that soul underneath him. So I want to say it could be somebody like a Mario or a Chris Brown—somebody who’s got that pop-urban flare. And I don’t know, those are probably my two best guesses.”
Jesse also shared that he wants to reach out to Bull as soon as he is unmasked so that they can discuss their experience together. He said, “I think once we all find out, I’ll definitely want to reach out and say, ‘Hey, it was great performing with you.’ I mean, he’s the kind of guy, whoever he is, that I would absolutely perform with and do a song with, once his mask is off, just because I can tell he can really sing. So whoever he is, I’m sure I’ll either DM him or get his number somehow to say good job, win or lose.” Jesse believes it wouldn't be surprising if Bull won the competition “because he definitely has the vocal chops.” Jesse obviously has a lot of respect and admiration for Bull and his talents.
The fact that even Jesse, a duet partner with Bull, doesn’t know his true identity is a testament to the security of the show, which Nicole Scherzinger has compared to that of Fort Knox. It is funny and incredible to imagine Jesse working with a singing partner so closely without knowing who he really is. When Bull is unmasked, Jesse will be just as excited as the rest of us to find out with whom he created those perfect harmonies.
The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on FOX.
Source: The Wrap