Here is what Darren Hayes had to say about why he chose to do “The Masked Singer” show even though he had said on social media prior that he wasn’t interested in doing it:
“I had just had a bit of a rough year. The whole world knows I was going through a divorce, and I have a very tender heart. I knew about the divorce when I put my album out, so it was a couple of years of just really putting my feelings out there, a lot of that record was dealing with that subject. I was reclaiming myself and coming back from a self-imposed sort of exile and trying to love myself again. I went straight onto a world tour, I toured Australia, a huge UK run, and then the US. And at the end of it, I was faced with either just sitting in my feelings and dealing with the grief. Or I could go and do this fun TV show. And so I went, ‘fun TV show!”
More thoughts from Darren:
“I think I have a love or hate voice. people either love it or hate it. I thought ‘I’m going to be guessed immediately’ which is what happened, but I thought I would just be voted off.”
“I’m really bad at business. I thought that the network would just be like… I mean, it was a generous paycheque. I thought, ‘You’re not going to pay me this every week!’. This is how stupid I am at business. So I thought, sure, I’ll do this. And I signed the contract. But I thought they were not going to keep me on the show. Like, they’ll vote me off. And I didn’t want to be on the show the whole time because I just needed to come home, see my mum, do whatever. And I kept getting through. And then I fell in love with the show.”
Source: The Masked Singer: Darren Hayes reveals what changed his mind about doing the show
Kristin’s thoughts: Previously, Darren Hayes mentioned on Twitter that The Masked Singer wasn’t really his thing, but fortunately, he had a change of heart. I loved watching YouTube compilations of him performing as The Grim Reaper on the show. Darren has a truly unique, incredible, and unforgettable voice; I can’t believe that they (the judges) didn’t all guess it was him right away. What amazes me even more is how Nick Lachey managed to win over Darren. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed some of 98 Degrees back in the day, but once you’ve heard one boy band, you’ve pretty much heard them all. They often had similar sounds in the 90s and early 2000s. But Darren? His voice is so sweet, it truly sounds like that of an angel. I will die on that hill that Darren should have won.