TV

Thingamajig liked looking weird on The Masked Singer because he's not an ordinary dude

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Published on December 11, 2019 08:51PM EST

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Wednesday’s episode of The Masked Singer.

That thing he did just couldn’t save him. On Wednesday’s special holiday episode of The Masked Singer, Thingamajig — a.k.a. Indiana Pacers point guard Victor Oladipo — became the latest contestant to get the boot from the Fox show. Here, the 27-year-old baller talks about how hard it is to hide your identity when you’re freakin’ 6 feet 4 inches tall.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Have you taken a moment to respect how far you’ve gotten in this show? Look at all the singers you’ve outlasted!
VICTOR OLADIPO: I know, right? It’s crazy.

The juxtaposition of you singing these gorgeous ballads while wearing that costume is surreal. Why did you pick Thingamajig?
They presented it to me. They asked me if I liked it. I just liked it. It was something unique. It’s not something you see every day. It’s something out of the ordinary, and I don’t consider myself ordinary.

How did they contact you? Was it easy to convince you to do the show?
They contacted me through my recording team. It was a no-brainer to me because I just wanted to do something different. Obviously this summer was a little different for me because of my injury. I love to sing, I heard about the show before, obviously I have two albums out [Songs for You and V.O.]. The biggest thing is that even if they didn’t know [that I could sing], an athlete presenting himself as being interested in the show would not only be good for me, but the show as well. Just to see what the athlete is capable of. Coming on the show, I think I surprised a few people, I guess.

Were you worried your height would be a dead giveaway?
I thought they would guess obviously because of some of the clues, and me being tall. But it took them a while.

The ballads you sang were such a sweet spot for you. You chose those?
Yes. That’s where pretty much my strength is.

Was it easy to move in that outfit?
It was very hard to breathe, honestly. It was a very compact outfit. It was hard to move, seeing how I had that injury. I tried not to move too much because I didn’t want to hurt myself.

How did you injure yourself?
On Jan. 23, 2019, I tore my quad in my right leg. I had surgery, and I’m still rehabbing. I haven’t come back and played yet. I feel a lot better now. I’m progressing well. It’s been 10 and a half months. I’m moving in the right direction. I’m just taking my time.

Did your teammates call you?
A lot of people called me and asked. Obviously I had to play dumb because I didn’t want to give it away. Everyone has their opinion. A lot of times I would ask, “Why are you asking me?” They break down the clues and then they ask me to sing. So then I have to say, “No I can’t really sing right now. I’m not feeling well.” It was a great time trying to hide it from everybody.

Check back on EW.com Thursday to read the parting words of the other eliminated singer from Wednesday’s episode of The Masked Singer.

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