with SAFTA winner Warren Masemola hiding behind the mask
In the epic season finalé of The Masked Singer South Africa Season 2, the coolest Giraffe in the country towered above his fierce competitors to snatch the crazy mystery celebrity singing competition’s coveted Golden Mask trophy.
And the guessing game is over! The undercover Mzansi superstar who gave Giraffe his inimitable swag and wowed SABC audiences with his whacky, deep-voiced performance was SAMA-winning actor Warren Masemola.
To reach the top, Warren’s Giraffe trampled over runner-up Blue Crane in a final battle of note after she had crushed shining star Gold, and he silenced the “king of hoots”, Owl.
When the graceful Blue Crane with the beautiful voice was unmasked, former Miss South Africa and author Shudufhadzo Musido showed face. Owl’s impressive feathers belonged to multiple award-winning thespian Aubrey Poo, and Gold was mined from the fantastic talent of charismatic gospel singer and medical practitioner Sbu Noah.
But how did the show’s detective panel – J’Something, Somizi Mhlongo, Sithelo Shozi and Skhumba Hlophe – fare in deciphering the identities of the show’s top four masked singers?
Gold, who was unmasked first during the finale, after his sterling “Where have you been” by Rihanna, was one of the detectives’ favourite masks throughout the season. When he once landed in the danger zone, they even saved him to continue his masked singer journey.
During the show, the detectives learnt from his clue packages that Gold and Whitney Houston were “sculptured the same way”. Showing off a golden soccer ball, he also revealed that he wanted to be a football player, and 1225 seats were once filled for one of his golden “spectacles”.
Based on these revelations, all four of the detectives guessed correctly by the time of his unmasking that Sbu Noah was creating magic on the show disguised as Gold. However, Somizi was the first to catch onto Gold’s true identity, straightening his detective colleagues’ crossed eyes.
When it was Owl’s turn to come clean after losing the smackdown with Giraffe performing “As Long As You’re Here” by The Backstreet Boys, the detectives disagreed. They all gauged from his clues that they were dealing with an actor, particularly one who had a connection with some kind of royalty. So, J’Something and Skhumba locked in Sello Maake KaNcube, while Sithelo and Somizi nailed it by settling on legendary actor Aubrey Poo.
Aubrey confessed that he deliberately tried to create confusion by walking like Sello.
In the early days of the competition, the detectives wondered if runner-up Blue Crane might be Charlize Theron. Still, from the get-go, Skhumba insisted that the gorgeous, feathered creature was current Miss South Africa, Natasha Joubert, while J’Something later gathered that Blue Crane was actress Bonnie Mbuli.
Those were also the names Skhumba and J’Something provided after Blue Crane’s final performance of the Black Coffee mix of Alicia Keys’ “In Common”. But Sithelo and Somizi caged Blue Crane’s identity by guessing that Shudu was behind the mask.
J’Something, in awe of Shudu’s incredible pipes, encouraged her to continue sharing her hidden singing talent with the world, to which the former Miss SA confessed that she loved performing while growing up. If there were a musical at school, Shudu would sing and dance.
Among Giraffe’s clues during the season, he once mentioned that Wednesdays were his favourite day of the week. Somizi gauged that it was the day of the week he spent with his son. Somizi was spot on. When Giraffe returned to the stage after taking a Kit Kat break from his big win, and before his unmasking, he had the Golden Mask trophy in one hand and a small giraffe soft toy in the other. Little did he know at the time that the final episode would be aired on the owner of the little Giraffe’s fourth birthday!
With their final Giraffe guesses, J’Something locked in TV presenter Katlego Maboe while the other three detectives closed the case, exposing Warren Masemola.
The detectives couldn’t stop praising how Warren immersed himself in the Giraffe character from day 1, delighting the audiences with his animated goofy performances.
J’Something raved: “Warren, I have so much respect for you. This game is, yes, about the singing, but it’s also about the acting and living the moment. You have really blown me away.”
Somizi added, “You deserve to win. You have brought so much light to the show,” and Sithelo commented, “You gave The Masked Singer a whole new meaning. What a ball of fun!”
Furthermore, Sithelo couldn’t stop laughing, noticing that even after dropping the Giraffe head, Warren continued acting like Giraffe.
Afterwards, Warren noted backstage that he loved every moment on the show and was chuffed that he could sing his favourite song, “Welcome to Jamrock” by Diaman Marley.
While Warren won the prestigious Golden Mask trophy, another trophy was up for grabs for the detective with the most correct first guesses this season. Sithelo and Somizi shared the Golden Ear trophy.
The Masked Singer South Africa was produced by Rose and Oaks Media for Primedia Studios and sponsored by Andolex. If you missed the final, catch it on SABC 1 on Thursday at 21:00 or S3 on Friday at 18:00.
