Grim Reaper was finally unmasked in the season five finale of The Masked Singer Australia as none other than Savage Garden band member Darren Hayes.
All season long, fans have placed their predictions on which secret celebrity singer was hiding underneath the spooky mask, with Darren’s name remaining at the top of the list.
WATCH NOW: Grim Reaper performs on The Masked Singer. Article continues after video.
“With a voice to die for, Grim Reaper will have the whole crowd screaming!” Channel 10 teased in an official contestant clue released ahead of the season five premiere.
And they certainly weren’t wrong!
As one of the stand-out performers of the season, each and every time Grim Reaper took to the stage, it was an emotional experience – bringing guessing panel member Abbie Chatfield to tears on more than one occasion.
“I’ve never heard anything like that in my life. There’s only really one other time in my life that a voice like that made me cry instantly,” a visibly emotional Abbie said following the Grim Reaper’s first performance.
“And it was for personal reasons and it was the first Mardi Gras that I was able to go to. It was the first time that I was able to express my queerness in full.”
Shortly after his unmasking in the finale, Darren finally had the opportunity to respond to Abbie’s moving comments, telling her: “I cried the first time you cried. I was inside that mask on episode one and I started crying, and then every time you cried, then I had to try and sing,” he shared.
“I never thought I would do this show. I’m so glad that I did this show. Really, it’s been like a warm hug, and I really needed that. I’ve had a tough year, and it’s been a really, really beautiful warm hug.”
Describing his time on the reality singing show as the “most extraordinary adventure”, the 51-year-old shared with New Idea just how “humbled” he felt to see the fan response to his participation in the show.
“I’ve taken 10 years away from the music industry and having just been on tour, I saw people in the audience who have grown up with me or had patiently waited for me to come back, and I was very humbled by that,” Darren divulged.
“It was a very moving experience to see people and meet people at meet-and-greets that were basically like, “I never thought you’d tour again,” and hearing their stories and what the songs meant to them, so very quickly, [The Masked Singer] went from a job to this challenge of ‘I have to do a good job.’ People know it’s me every week, so now the pressure is on.”
The music legend also reflected upon the difficulties he faced when taking to the stage as Grim Reaper, describing the elaborate mask as “incredibly difficult” to perform in.
“It involved a harness that strapped around my chest that was shaped like a V that held this massive head above me to make me almost 12 feet tall, and my arms threaded through so that they were up [above my head], which meant my lungs were always lifted, so I had to become accustomed to singing with an elvated chest,” he shared with us.
Darren added: “It was very hot, and terrifying.”
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