Vanessa Anne Hudgens Talks Finding "Freedom in Being Anonymous" on 'The Masked Singer'
Goldfish performs on 'The Masked Singer' Season 11
WARNING! This interview spoils the winner and identity of the winner of The Masked Singer Season 11. Please do not keep reading if you do not wish to be spoiled on the season's results.
Vanessa Anne Hudgens was grateful to go from singing scales to donning them. The actress and singer had risen to prominence at only 17 with High School Musical, showcasing her acting and singing over nearly two decades. So she jumped (or swam) at the chance to do The Masked Singer, an opportunity to showcase her talents without having her name attached. And she did just as intended, wowing the judges from the very first note of "Vampire." The first performer of the season was the last one standing, winning the Golden Mask trophy.
The day of her reveal, Vanessa Hudgens spoke to Parade about her time on The Masked Singer.
Related: Everything to Know About The Masked Singer Season 11
What was your reaction to getting asked to be on The Masked Singer? Had you been asked before?
No, they actually asked me a long time ago. And this time around, it came kind of at the perfect time. We were in a strike. And this was one part of the field that I could actually work in. And my fans had been asking for more singing, more singing, more singing. And I was like, "You know what? This will be an interesting way to give it to them. Let's see who the real fans are." And they were there. They showed up.
To that point, I'm sure your most loyal fans recognized your voice as soon as you showed up singing "Vampire."
Yeah, they really stayed true.
It's one thing to sign up for The Masked Singer, it's another to actually get in the costume and perform. What was your reaction to getting to be Goldfish?
I mean, I was just kind of blown away, in general, by the creativity that went on behind the scenes there. The wardrobe department, oh my gosh, I was in awe. I saw a sketch of Goldfish from the very beginning stages. And I was like, "You know what? I love it. I think that's great. I would love to see how this comes to life." And I showed up my first day and put on the seven different pieces that it took for the Goldfish to come together. And was just really in awe of the artistry that went on there.
I don't want to put the bowl before the goldfish too much. Congratulations on winning The Masked Singer! What was your reaction to taking home the Golden Mask trophy.
I mean, it meant so much to me. I didn't expect it to affect me emotionally as much as it did. I was like, "Oh, yeah, that would be cute. That'd be like really fun and special. Who doesn't love a win?" But I, through the process, realized how much freedom I gained in being anonymous and how special that experience really was for me. And because of that, knowing that I earned this win, not because of fame or celebrity, but because of who I am and what I bring to the table, my soul and my talents, it just made it feel really, really special.
I would imagine, especially for someone who has been in the public eye since a young age, it must be nice to have been looked at as just an anonymous performer rather than Vanessa Anne Hudgens first and foremost.
And I also could just be myself completely. Which was so much fun, because I am such a nerd and such a goof that I could really let it fly. [Laughs.]
Do you have a personal highlight of the many performances you did this season?
Honestly, I had such an amazing time on this show for so many reasons. And one of them was because of how closely I got to work with my producer on picking the songs. When I first came into it, I was like, "I want to sing jazz!" [Laughs.] That's all I wanted to do. And they're like, "I mean, that's definitely a choice. We can't do jazz the entire time. But you give us a list, we can see what we can do." And I put together a list, a lot of which the songs I got to do live. "Unforgettable" was, of course, one of my jazzy songs that I really wanted to do, which was so special, and the production was so amazing. And I remember watching that performance back and being like, "Oh my gosh, this is beautiful." And like doing Alanis Morisette, "You Oughta Know," having that total female empowerment moment was just so much fun. I love performing, so any chance I get to sing songs that I love, I'm stoked.
Throughout the competition, you got guesses from the judges that seemed super close, from fellow Disney Channel alumni like Selena Gomez and Hillary Duff to your Grease Live! costar Julianne Hough. What was your reaction to those guesses?
I mean, it is hilarious. I really wish there was a camera underneath the mask, because the faces were facing. [Laughs.]
That being said, what was your reaction when a couple of the judges guessed who you were? Were you happy they recognized your voice, or angry that you didn't evade their guesses all season long?
I mean, I definitely did not go into it being like, "I'm gonna trick everybody!" I was like, "My voice is really recognizable. And there's nothing I can do about that." Nor do I want to be like I'm hiding myself. But my voice is my voice. And I have integrity in my voice. So I want to keep that. But it did crack me up. Because I saw Rita probably two weeks before we started filming. And we were catching up. We sat next to each other at Michael Kors show in New York. And no mention of this came up or anything. And then I show up, and I'm like, "Oh my gosh, Rita is a judge." [Laughs.] And she texted me, "Hey, I'm in L.A.! Let me know when you're free and we'll catch up." And I was like, "Oh my gosh, yes, of course. Love that!" And then she guesses me and I was like, "I can't see her. Because I can't lie." So that was definitely kind of a bummer. But also hilarious. I was just like, "She's my friend!" She's gonna know my voice, and she did right away.
What has it been like to watch this experience back? Because you've had a busy past several months to say the least, between being on The Masked Singer, getting married, and then announcing your pregnancy. Is it a time capsule to look back on what happened in the fall when you filmed this?
I mean, the fall in general is always a time that I look back at fondly just because I love fall. And I love Halloween. So anything that coincidentally falls around that timeframe, I remember fondly. But it was a really special time and so much fun. I think that, once you start doing these live performances, you end up working with a lot of the same crew. Even the camera guys, I was just like...[Stands and stares.] Trying to be like, "I know you know. You know my voice. We did Grease and Rent together!"
To that point, if you could pick one of your costars from any one of your projects to do The Masked Singer, who would it be and why?
[Pauses.] Gee, you really threw me. Maybe Jordan Fisher. Because he has that musical theater background, which to me means you can adapt to anything. So I know that he would absolutely crush it. And that voice is just beautiful.
