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Season 12 of The Masked Singer announced its winner on Wednesday night (Dec. 18), revealing the trio of buffaloes was R&B luminaries Boyz II Men. Coming in second place was Mario as The Wasp, who, in recent weeks, didn’t show his hand and played it coy when asked if he was the artist behind the mask. In an exclusive interview with Billboard, Mario speaks about his time on the show and how he enjoyed the role of The Wasp.
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“So many great things came out of that for me,” reveals the “Let Me Love You” singer. “I have a wild imagination, so using my imagination just to imagine how The Wasp would move or even if when I was standing still, creating this character was really fun. I enjoy challenging myself [by] singing different songs like Aretha Franklin. It was a lot of fun.”
Mario divulges his tedious preparation and explains how he sang in the mask to get a feel for the outfit before going out on stage. “You could breathe, but it’s five times harder breathing and delivering. Even if you go back and watch my performances, you can hear the muffles, but that’s what made it real. Once the costume is done, you have to commit to it. So, I was committed.”
December has been an active month for Mario, who released his new album, Glad You Came, on Dec. 13. Executive produced by songwriter extraordinaire James Fauntleroy, Mario etched together his first project in six years and his first with Epic Records, completing his grand return to the R&B circuit.
“I really absorbed how he takes his time to process the music and not rush the storytelling,” Mario says of Fauntleroy’s work ethic. “I like to work like that too, where I like to get my melodies down first. I’ll lock in my melodies, have intention behind it, and be free in the thought process behind it.”
With records such as “Space” and “Glad You Came,” Mario aims to show growth and evolution since entering the music industry in 2002. Next year, he’ll accompany Mary J. Blige and Ne-Yo on tour, and hopes to show off his flashy performance prowess after pitstops on Dancing With the Stars in season six and now, The Masked Singer.
“It looks like a lot of rock n’ roll,” says a gushing Mario when speaking about the forthcoming tour. “It looks like sex, love, partying, crying and everything you would want to feel at a show. All of the human emotions are going to be onstage that night. It’s going to be beautiful.”
Watch Mario’s full interview with Billboard News above as he speaks about “Let Move Love You” turning 20, teaming up with Nas on King Disease 3 and replacing Usher for his first-ever hit “Just a Friend.”
It’s the season of giving, and GloRilla is doing her part. Big Glo returned home to her alma mater Melrose High School in Memphis on Wednesday (Dec. 17), where she surprised students and faculty members with a $25,000 check. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The CMG […]
Thursday (Dec. 19) would have marked Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White’s 83rd birthday. To honor his big brother, EWF co-founder Verdine White has released a new single titled “Superman.” The release — available on all music platforms through DistroKid — also marks the first time that the group’s renowned bassist is singing solo.
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“Would you believe this is my first time,” a laughing White tells Billboard. “I was nervous, but it turned out beautifully. Now that the pressure is off, I think I’ll do more.”
“Superman” was brought to White’s attention by Motown Records lyricist Janie Bradford (Barrett Strong’s “Money [That’s What I Want]”) a little over a year ago. Completed by Bradford and White in collaboration with Carnell Harrell, the loving tribute was produced by Shelly Clark White, co-founder of the late ‘60s R&B/soul girl group Honey Cone (“Want Ads”) and Verdine’s wife. Featured along with Clark on backing vocals are fellow current Honey Cone members Kathy Merrick and Wendy Smith-Bruné.
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Verdine White and Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire
Verdine White Archives
With its vibrant fusion of R&B, soul and pop, “Superman” is immediately reminiscent of EWF’s legendary zeitgeist. And its heartfelt lyrics evoke all that Maurice means to baby brother Verdine. As the latter expresses in a pleasing tenor on the song’s chorus, “More than any other/ He would always understand/ He called me his little brother / I called him Superman.” (Check out the song and its video on YouTube, which also features photos and clips of Maurice.)
“Maurice is the icon,” says White of his brother, who passed away from Parkinson’s disease in 2016. “A great leader, great big brother, great mentor. And he did a magnificent job in putting together Earth, Wind & Fire. We miss him dearly.”
Still going strong 55 years after it 1969 inception, EWF — whose bastion of hits includes “Shining Star,” “That’s the Way of the World,” “September” and “Can’t Hide Love” — hit the road this year for a string of solo shows in addition to joint shows with Lionel Richie and Chicago. And the group is already set to play the Hollywood Bowl next year on July 2, 3 and 4. Also in the works: an EWF documentary directed by Questlove.
Asked how Maurice would react to “Superman,” White says, “I think he’d chuckle and say, ‘Man, I didn’t know you could sing like that.’”
Warning: the following story contains graphic language about sex.
Eminem has never been one to hold his tongue. Which might explain why Slim Shady is an extras shade of blue in a super NSFW promo for his pal Snoop Dogg‘s new album, Missionary. Keeping in mind that the punny title is a call-back to the equally sex-obsessed name of Snoop’s 1993 debut album, Doggystyle.
That is all you need to know before diving into Em’s X-rated plug for Snoop’s triumphant on-wax reunion with both men’s mentor: Dr. Dre.
“Fellas, are you tired of bl–jobs like I am?” Em asks in the clip shared by Snoop on Wednesday (Dec. 18) in which Marshall is seen hanging on a bland stage set in all black as sombre piano music plays in the background. “I think it’s time to take it back to the basics. Who wants their d–k sucked every day? That s–t can get to you, man. I mean every day, it’s just…,” Eminem adds while pantomiming a sex act with two hands.
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“S–t gets old. It gets boring. Can we just lay down and f–k?” Marshall pleads. “I don’t know why everything’s gotta be so f–kin’ complicated. You don’t have to put your leg over your head. Snoop Dogg, Missionary, just f–k me, in stereo.” Snoop captioned the video “Bacc 2 the basics [laughing, music notes, fist pound emoji].”
Late night host Jimmy Kimmel also got in on the action in his own similarly spicy promo. “The human penis gets cold, so wrap it up, because nothing is colder than a sexually transmitted infection,” Kimmel says while standing in a similarly drab void wearing jeans and a white button down. “Ask your Dr. Dre about Snoop’s new one, Missionary. It’s more than just an album, it’s a position.”
The big Dogg even tapped his old pal, Martha Stewart, aka M. Diddy, to cut her own promo in which the domestic doyenne mentions the new album’s title in a slyly seductive way, while also marking what is likely her first time saying Doggystyle in public.
Snoop’s new album, his first to be produced by Dre since Doggystyle, has features from 50 Cent, Sting, Method Mad, Jelly Roll, BJ the Chicago Kid and, of course, Slim Shady on the song “Gunz N Smoke.”
Check out Eminem’s promo video below.
SPOILER ALERT: The following story contains the name of the winner and runner-up from Wednesday night’s (Dec. 18) season 12 finale of The Masked Singer.
It was another wild and wooly season on The Masked Singer, with the 12th go-round of the series welcoming everyone from former superstar NFL QB John Elway (Leaf Sheep) and surfer Bethany Hamilton (Macaron), to actors Yvette Nicole Brown (Showbird), Laverne Cox (Chess Piece), Jana Kramer (Royal Knight) and Drake Bell (Ice King), as well as former Conan O’Brien sidekick Andy Richter (Dust Bunny).
There were, of course, some professional singers in the mix too, including Paula Cole (Ship), Natalie Imbruglia (Bluebell) and AJ Michalka (Strawberry Shortcake). But when the last notes rung out, it was one of the all-time-great vocal groups that won out over one of their fellow R&B crooners.
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On their route to the winner’s circle, three-person masked marvels Buffalos were all over the map when it came to their musical choices, from an impressive early take on Cutting Crew’s 1986 hit “(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight,” to a soulful run through Foreigner’s ultimate power ballad “Waiting for a Girl Like You” and a no-notes, touching cover of Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One.”
And though the judges were sure they were members of a soul singing crew, Buffalos kept trying to keep Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, Robin Thicke and Rita Ora off the scent with sing-alongs and sing-offs on Fall Out Boys’ “High Hopes,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way” and a slam-dunk semifinal torching of Toto’s yacht rock anthem “Africa.”
In the end, though, after nearly being eliminated while trying to keep viewers and the judges guessing, they pulled out an absolutely stunning take on Sam Smith’s “Too Good at Goodbyes” on Wednesday night’s finale, leaving little doubt that their old pal McCarthy-Wahlberg was right all along.
When the wooly heads came off, it was none other than Boyz II Men‘s Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris who triumphed over Wasp, fellow R&B singer Mario. Billboard spoke with the trio before their elimination to talk about how the show challenged their nearly four-decade onstage rhythm, why they kept picking such seemingly out-there songs, and how they ended up on a Christmas tune with football’s Kelce brothers.
Why Buffalos? Those costumes seemed crazy heavy and hot.
Nathan: I like the power. I like the strength, I like the unity, the whole crew, the herd. … It’s everything about who we are. Everybody had their roles, but at the same time we know what we need to do to make the pack stronger.
Wanya: Extremely [hot in there]. I’m talking about water, sweat running down every aspect, every orifice.
Nathan: I almost hyperventilated in that joint and I’m normally not like that. When you’re in there you have to give a lot more energy than you would to get the costume to have personality. You’re like a mascot. It’s hell in there, bro. Doing that, and singing and staying in key and doing routines? That sh– ain’t easy!
You all have been in sync for decades, but on the show you couldn’t see each other or watch each other’s mouths move. Was that a challenge?
Shawn: It was almost like wearing a football helmet, where you only have a certain line of sight. You had to turn your whole body to communicate and then turn around and all you saw was what the mask allowed you to see. We had in-ears [monitors], so we could hear the mix, but then the music and the crowd are going, it gets your adrenaline up and you’re trying to put on a character. It’s a lot of information in those few minutes, outside of trying to sound good and stay on key.
Wanya: The only thing you could see through was the nose. The eyes were up here [points to forehead], so it was like a cone.
We’re used to smooth R&B from you, but you really stretched out with songs by Toto, The Verve, OneRepublic, Shania Twain, Fall Out Boy — were you trying to throw people off the scent?
Nathan: We tried to trick people. We all thought, “They’re gonna know us right away,” so we had to pick different songs and each guy had to sing a different part than they normally do. So we did that and as we got further along in the battles, we almost got kicked off, so it didn’t work and we decided, “Just let ’em have it!”
Shawn: The cool thing was the irony that with the masks on we were able to be ourselves. Those songs were representative of who we are, not just an R&B group. All those songs you hear us sing are ones we listened to as kids, the genres we love and songs that allowed us to display who Boyz II Men really is.
Your voices are so instantly recognizable apart and together. Were there people who figured it out right away?
Wanya: Yeah, Jenny [McCarthy-Wahlberg] knows us. We’ve been on the road with her a few times with [husband] Donnie [Wahlberg]. She knowns our mannerisms and has heard our voices night after night when we were on a package tour with the New Kids [on the Block]. She knew right away. We tried to be less recognizable, but then we were pushed to the bottom two and were like, “Hell no!”
You’ve had some many unique experiences in your career. Was this one of the most unusual things you’ve done?
Wanya: Absolutely. It really fits up there with one of the most different things Boyz II Men have done in our career, with the closing ceremonies of the Olympics when we did the national anthem [at the 1996 Games].
What was it about being behind a mask that appealed to you? What did you want to prove?
Nathan: No expectations. When you hear Boyz II Men in your mind, you expect it to sound a certain way, but when we don’t have those expectations you can go anywhere you want.
Wanya: Watching the show last night and looking at Nate, who was the green Buffalo, I swear you would never know it was Nate in that suit because Nate doesn’t perform like that — he’s mellow, smooth. He looked like me in that Buffalo suit! He was super-animated and I was so happy to see it.
Nathan: I was just trying to throw them off. I was having fun because this is what I do when I’m around my crew.
Were you able to still do some of your patented choreo in those costumes?
Wanya: We had to switch it up for sure, the feet were big, bro. The feet… and that head!
Nathan: I stepped on Shawn like three or four times.
On the finale, you impressed with Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” which rocked. But you really made Sam Smith’s “Too Good at Goodbyes” your own. It sounded like it could have been your single.
Nathan: That’s when the gloves came off.
Shawn: We knew we had to go full-out Boyz II Men on the last show, and by that time there were a lot of people who were clued in on it being us, so we were like, “Let’s do Boyz II Men things!”
Wanya: We had an inkling of who we were going against [Wasp], and that dude is no joke!
Nathan: We weren’t supposed to know, but we [could tell] who it was.
You said Jenny knew, but she also mentioned B2K, and Robin thought it could be the Jonas Brothers or the rest of 98 Degrees [minus their show mentor Nick Lachey] or Big Time Rush. Always wrong Ken Jeong went with Bell Biv DeVoe, Bone Thugs -N-Harmony or Tony! Toni! Toné! There were also guesses of Earth, Wind & Fire and Blackstreet. Your thoughts?
Shawn: Some of that was a bit off, like Bone Thugs? No offense to the Thuggers.
Since it’s the holidays, tell us about your collab with the Kelce brothers on their “It’s Christmastime (In Cleveland Heights)” single.
Shawn: They reached out to us and they felt like we were synonymous with the idea that they had for the song and it was fun. It’s always cool to do things like that because they’re unexpected and we’ve been in this business for over 30 years. At this point, we’re just trying to do things that are interesting or fun or funny or something that pushes the boundaries of what a group at this point in our lives can do. Not only that, but it was for a good cause, for charities and some of our personal charities. And, it’s the Kelces! They’re the hottest brother duo in the country right now.
We know they can ball, but most importantly: How do you rate their vocals?
Nathan: You know… they ain’t bad! They did their thing. They are really good at football and they do that really, really good and they did that well, and I think that’s what their lot in life is. No diss, but they were great.
Wanya: How about this? They did that better than some of us would run a 9 route. I’ll tell you that!
“Paul Wall, baby. Whatchu know ’bout me?” is apparently a deeper question than we’ve realized.
The Houston rapper and jeweler was recently on The Breakfast Club where he revealed that he wasn’t aware that he was white until elementary classmates pointed it out.
“I didn’t know I was white ’til white people told me I was white,” said The People’s Champ with a bashful smirk on his face. “They was like, ‘You white. Why you talk and act like that? You white. And I’m like, what do you mean?’”
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Co-host Jess Hilarious then asked when he did finally realize that he was indeed white. “Definitely in elementary school or middle school,” Wall answered. “I mean, all my friends were Black or Mexican or Asian. I lived in a very diverse neighborhood, there were white people there, but it was Mexican, Black, Vietnamese, Indian… A lot of everything. So, we got a great mixture of growing up in America, I guess.”
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He then jokingly pointed out that his mother took a DNA test and said she was three percent African before adding, “I know she can’t say the N-word. That ain’t enough for her to say the N-word,” which drew a couple laughs from the room.
Paul Wall recently released his 15th solo album Once Upon a Grind which features DJ Fresh, Slim Thug, Cartel Bo, Lil’ Keke, Eddie Coke, Crys Wall, Big Tonka, Z-Ro, Big K.R.I.T., Berner, Freeway, Rich the Factor, Termanology, and Young Al.
You can watch the full interview below.
Cardi B and Offset’s relationship drama played out publicly on Wednesday (Dec. 18) as the former couple aired their dirty laundry with a heated social media spat. After being spotted in the same nightclub in Miami over the weekend as Offset celebrated his 33rd birthday, the latest argument seemed to be sparked by Cardi accusing […]
On Wednesday (Dec. 18), SZA unveiled the album artwork for Lana, the long-awaited deluxe edition of her blockbuster album SOS. On the cover, the superstar metamorphosed into a shimmering bug-eyed creature with a golden camouflage jacket and cargo pants in her natural outdoor habitat. SZA officially announced Monday that Lana would arrive Friday via Top […]
SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for Rhythm + Flow season 2 are included in the content below.
First came American Idol and shows like The Voice, and then Netflix put its own spin on the format with its first hip-hop competition series Rhythm + Flow in 2019. Following a five-year hiatus, the streaming giant rolled out the red carpet for season 2’s return of Rhythm + Flow in November.
R+F fielded aspiring artists auditioning across the country, from Atlanta to a basement music hall in Michigan that Eminem once roamed, with a check for $250,000 on the line.
Although their fate would be held in the judges’ hands as Netflix tapped the trio of DJ Khaled, Latto and Ludacris to step into the hot seat and find the last one standing, they had some help in discovering the next star with guest judge appearances from Eminem, Big Sean, GloRilla and more throughout season 2.
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“I think it gives people an inside look at what really goes into becoming an artist,” Latto — who won The Rap Game in 2016 — tells Billboard. “I think social media gives this perception that you blow up overnight and some people are lucky enough to do that, but I think a lot of times all three of us can attest that this is blood, sweat and tears. It’s a lot of being put on the spot and come up with the plan.”
While the judges dished out plenty of constructive criticism and praise throughout the season, the process was also reciprocally rewarding for Ludacris, who was inspired creatively by some of the contestants’ hunger.
“It’s so good for me being in the game for so long to get that hunger and energy of when you are trying to prove to the world that you are that motherf—–r,” Luda explains. “I was loving every minute of just from that perspective of putting myself in a room full of people that had so much to prove.”
Back when he had a fear of flying, DJ Khaled grinded for years on the road before becoming the We The Best mogul he is today. He preaches that same mantra to emerging artists to not skip steps and embrace the process laying the foundation for what’s to come.
“When you win overnight, you win so big on top and now you gotta find a way to keep going,” the Miami hitmaker says. “You might be going down now. I want to remind artists: Don’t try to skip the steps. Enjoy it, enjoy every moment of it.”
Khaled continues: “We gotta make sure that we tell the young artists make that music that will play forever. You might not be able to make that record today. But your process will and then you’ll enjoy it more. I always look at that blueprint with Quincy [Jones]. It doesn’t matter how old you are… They always try to put a time cap on hip-hop… You could do this forever.”
John Legend also returns as a producer of the rap competition series. “What I love about this show is you really get to know these artists and they’re creating original music that’s based on their real life,” he relays to Billboard. “I think that’s something that no other competition show can offer.”
Season 2 champion DreTL ended up hoisting the trophy and taking home the six-figure check after edging out California native Jay Taj in the final round, which the judges described as “a close call.”
Every time Ludacris attempted to put a ceiling on DreTL’s ability, he surpassed expectations and eventually couldn’t be denied.
“He just kept surprising me in areas where I thought he would only reach a certain amount of expectations,” Luda says of giving Dre the nod. “If your trajectory is starting a certain way, but you continue to ascend, that lets me know I don’t know how far you can get past someone I’m looking at that’s already considered great. You might go into another stratosphere of greatness. I just saw him ascend the entire show.”
From the camaraderie to the competition and bars, all 10 episodes from the rap competition series are now available for streaming on Netflix. Watch our full interview with the three superstar judges below.
Flavor Flav was down in Washington D.C. this week as he celebrated the festive season at the White House’s holiday party on Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 17). The rapper seemingly went back to the presidential home a day later when he got the honor to play piano at the historic residence. Explore Explore See latest videos, […]