Season 11 “American Idol” winner Phillip Phillips was forced to identify himself as Pugcasso on “The Masked Singer” after he was sent home during the season 14 finale.
Phillips placed as the runner-up, losing to pop singer Ashley Simpson, who was hidden behind her Galaxy Girl costume.
After taking his mask off for the world to see, Phillips took to Instagram to share how “perfect” it felt to release his new single “Homesick” during the finale — a moment reminiscent of his first-ever single, “Home,” which debuted when he won “American Idol” in 2012.
Phillip Phillips Unmasked on ‘The Masked Singer’ Season 14
“The cat is out of the bag. Or the dog, rather. My time on @maskedsingerfox as Pugcasso was certainly memorable. The show had a wonderful crew and backstage team. Releasing ‘Homesick’ with the finale felt perfect,” he captioned a 9-photo carousel.
Phillips went on to explain how he and his wife, Hannah Blackwell, welcomed their second child, Isla Grace, around the same time he filmed for the “The Masked Singer.” He shared that performing on the competition show with his growing family waiting for him at home was a very special feeling.
“This song bottles up exactly how I felt. We filmed the show last fall when I had a new baby girl and my big boy was starting kindergarten,” he continued. “Getting to do this with my family cheering me on was awesome, especially having them to come home to. Thank you all for coming with me on another journey sprinkled with some TV. Let’s get back to the music. So, so much more to come. #TheMaskedSinger #Pugcasso.”
Phillip Phillips Jokes About ‘Offensive’ Guesses From ‘The Masked Singer’ Judges
During the finale, Phillips sang “True Colors” and “Sussudio” by Phil Collins. The singer opened up in an interview with TV Insider about his experience on the show, saying how the judges were far off on many instances with guessing his identity. He joked that when he would go backstage after performing, he couldn’t help but think how “offensive” some guesses were. “And they made some good guesses, but I knew they would not guess me ever,” he noted.
Phillips also detailed how his time on “American Idol” helped him perform on the hit FOX competition show. He joked that since he’s an experienced musician, he didn’t have to warm up as much as the other celebrities. However, he said the continuous noise from those practicing their songs did eventually get to him.
“I would hear some of these other singers just warming up all day, and it was just kind of my ears would just start to die, and I would just start to lose my mind a little bit,” he said. “So I was like, oh man, I cannot warm up for hours. I would just go over the song by myself and then go on stage and sing it, and then that was it. It was like, alright, where’s dinner? So there was just no pressure. Like I said, I didn’t have to make it to a certain level or place or whatever. It was just there just to get the experience.”
