The panel didn\u2019t even need a second guess.<\/p>\n
On \u201cStar Trek Night,\u201d The Masked Singer delivered one of its rare unanimous unmaskings as all four judges \u2014 Robin Thicke<\/strong>, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg<\/strong>, Ken Jeong<\/strong>, and Rita Ora<\/strong> \u2014 correctly identified Stingray as actor and musician Evan Ross<\/strong> \u2014 thanks in large part to a final clue that might as well have come with a flashing neon sign: a \u201cpermission slip\u201d signed \u201cMother Supreme.\u201d<\/p>\n More from Gold Derby<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course, when your mom is Diana Ross<\/strong>, there\u2019s only so much you can hide.<\/p>\n Still, Ross tells Gold Derby he wasn\u2019t too worried about staying anonymous \u2014 he was just there to have a good time.<\/p>\n \u201cI think from the beginning, for me, it was about just having fun and not worrying about whether people knew it was me or not,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I\u2019m pretty sure \u2014 especially being friendly with almost everybody on that panel \u2014 I was like, there\u2019s no way they don\u2019t know it\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n Below, Ross opens up about stepping into the Stingray costume, his childhood memories of Luther Vandross, and the celebrity he’d like to see join The Masked Singer.<\/p>\n Gold Derby: What made you say yes to doing The Masked Singer?<\/strong><\/p>\n Evan Ross:<\/strong> Well, I liked the show a lot \u2014 I just hadn\u2019t seen it as much as I have now. But I thought it was going to be interesting because it\u2019s kind of fun to sing these songs and do this stuff without people knowing who you are. Just being able to play around with that.<\/p>\n And I was so blown away with what goes into every episode \u2014 the characters, the costumes, the whole thing. It\u2019s really next level. I had an amazing time.<\/p>\n What was your reaction when you saw the Stingray costume?<\/strong><\/p>\n I just thought it looked so cool. I kind of left it up to the team to decide what the character would be.<\/p>\n My main concern was that I have very skinny legs, and I was like, \u201cCan you guys put some muscles in there? Because I\u2019m going to look crazy with the big head and skinny legs.\u201d<\/p>\n So yeah\u2026 those are not Evan\u2019s legs.<\/p>\n You performed songs like \u201cStayin\u2019 Alive\u201d and \u201cStarboy.\u201d Did you have a favorite?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cStayin\u2019 Alive\u201d is a really hard song to sing. I don\u2019t think people realize how high that is. I even took it down a bit and I can sing pretty high.<\/p>\n And then \u201cStarboy\u201d \u2014 I\u2019m friendly with The Weeknd<\/strong>, and I love that song. But I didn\u2019t realize how many lines there are. It\u2019s like a rap song. That was very hard to learn in that amount of time.<\/p>\n How difficult was performing in that costume?<\/strong><\/p>\n You couldn\u2019t see anything. People were literally walking me around.<\/p>\n The amount of times I nearly fell over was hilarious. It was like singing in my own world.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s talk about that final clue \u2014 the \u201cMother Supreme\u201d permission slip. What was your reaction?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think even from the beginning, they kind of knew [it was me]. I\u2019m friendly with almost everybody on that panel, and I\u2019m so close to Nick \u2014 I\u2019ve known him since I was 16.<\/p>\n So I was like, there\u2019s no way they don\u2019t know it\u2019s me. But I just pretended that wasn\u2019t the case so I could have fun.<\/p>\n You grew up around some of the biggest names in music \u2014 who were you listening to?<\/strong><\/p>\n So many. Because of how I grew up, I think I ended up listening to a lot of music from a little bit before my time \u2014 and I actually got to bring some of that into the show.<\/p>\n Michael Jackson<\/strong> is probably my favorite of all time. But also Stevie Wonder<\/strong>, Luther Vandross<\/strong>\u2026 I love Luther Vandross.<\/p>\n What do you remember about Luther Vandross? <\/strong><\/p>\n I actually didn\u2019t like Luther at first.<\/p>\n He used to come over to the house and mess my hair up all the time, and I was very OCD about my hair as a kid. I\u2019d spend so much time brushing it, and he\u2019d just mess it up \u2014 so I wasn\u2019t a fan, and he knew it.<\/p>\n And then one day my mom told him, \u201cYou should sing him some Michael Jackson \u2014 he\u2019ll like that.\u201d<\/p>\n So Luther sang \u201cABC\u201d to me\u2026 and after that, I started listening to Luther Vandross \u2014 and I was obsessed. I love him.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot of things I\u2019ve been working on that I\u2019ll be sharing soon. I\u2019ve been producing a lot \u2014 some things I\u2019m in, some I\u2019m not.<\/p>\n I\u2019m finishing what I think is a really cool album, and I have an art show coming up in London in the next few months.<\/p>\n Lately I\u2019ve just really enjoyed creating things on my own and deciding how I want them to be.<\/p>\n Final question \u2014 if you could nominate someone to do The Masked Singer, who would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n Cara Delevingne<\/strong>.<\/p>\n She\u2019s a close friend of mine, but I don\u2019t think people realize how incredibly musical she is. I think she\u2019d kill it.<\/p>\n This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n the-masked-singer-judges-host-season-2<\/p>\n \u2018The Masked Singer\u2019 reveals for all seasons: Celebrities and costumes through the years<\/p>\n View Gallery227 Images<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Best of Gold Derby<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for Gold Derby’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n