The Masked Singer contestant, Skunk, who was revealed to be legendary R&B star, Faith Evans, shared how the show helped her to get back on stage after taking a break of about four years to focus on caring for her 14-year-old son, Ryder, who is on the autism spectrum. Grammy-winning Faith was unmasked during the Group A finale after two powerhouse performances. Nick Cannon revealed that it was the closest vote in the history of the show. Although Bull charged his way past her to the finale, Faith proved herself to be a worthy competitor throughout the season, belting out classic songs such as James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World,” “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight and the Pips, and “At Last” by Etta James, among others.
During the Group A finale, Faith wowed the panelists with her stunning rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You).” In the second round, Faith performed a spirited version of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” alongside her celebrity duet partner, Michael Bolton. Panelists Jenny McCarthy and Ken Jeong declared Mary J. Blige for their final guesses, but Robin Thicke and Nicole Scherzinger guessed Faith correctly. Robin even had Faith as his First Impression Guess from the first night of the competition because he recognized her beautiful voice from the very start.
In an interview with People, Faith revealed that she had made the choice to step away from performing to care for her son, but the show made her realize that she could still deliver amazing performances on the stage. She said that coming back to the show "felt great, because I could do it still even after not having done performances in so long. It's not like I walk around the house singing every day. I literally have not been performing or singing, so it definitely reassured me that you can still do this." Faith opened up about the fact that for the last three-and-a-half to four years, she has not performed or recorded much because her son is on the autism spectrum and "has been going through a lot of legal stuff with the school district. We actually pulled him out of school before the pandemic, so he's been privately homeschooled for a while. There are so many moving parts to navigate, having a child with special needs, so I chose to shut my schedule down as far as that. This was a great honor to have this opportunity and it's based in L.A. and I had enough time to put things in order for someone to be at home with my son while I was working. I said, 'Why not?'"
Faith explained that she did not find it hard to step back from her career because she has had children throughout her time in the spotlight. She said that she has "never been a heavily touring artist, I've always had children. I had my daughter before I got my first record deal. As I had more children, I kind of always chose to not be away from home so much. Thankfully I had decent success to not have to be on the road to supplement the income but certainly, this isn't the first time [I took a break]. When you're coming from the right place you can't go wrong." In her clue package, Faith even said that the show allowed her to be "a badass mom and performer." She knows that she is her children's "number one advocate and it's absolutely necessary for her to be there." However, the show made her realize that she could come back and perform, and perhaps even go on tour again if she wanted to, but she will not do that until all of the issues with the school district are completely settled for her son. Faith confessed that she enjoyed her experience on the show so much that she would love to return as a guest judge some day.
Although Faith did not make it to the Masked Singer finale as Skunk, she gave fans of the show some of the best performances ever. Her powerful vocals brought down the house week after week. Her choice to put her children first is very inspiring, and her triumphant return to the stage sends a positive message to mothers everywhere. Her devotion to her children is beautiful, and her example will help other moms to keep the Faith.
Source: People