During his time on The Masked Singer season 14, Jack had three phenomenal performances. He made his debut on Fear Night, singing “Rocket Man” by Elton John, and followed that with “American Woman” by Lenny Kravitz on Red, White & Clue Night. Jack’s final performances were on Ozzfest Night when he competed with “One Step Closer” by Linkin Park, and then went head-to-head with High Voltage during the Ozzfest Royale, singing “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath. High Voltage won the Ozzfest Royale, which meant that Eggplant was eliminated, and he was revealed to be Jack.
None of the Masked Singer panelists guessed Jack correctly. Their final guesses were Kenny Loggins (Robin Thicke), Kevin Cronin (Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg), Alice Cooper (guest panelist Kelly Osbourne), Rick Springfield (Ken Jeong), and Nathan Lane (Rita Ora).
In an interview with ScreenRant, Jack shared what it was like to become Eggplant and why he joined the show, what he thought of the panelists’ wrong guesses, what it was like being invited to the recording of “We Are the World,” how his past performing experiences compared with being Eggplant, how he chose his songs, which performance was his favorite, which of his When Calls the Heart co-stars should compete on The Masked Singer next, and what’s next for him.
The Masked Singer Season 14’s Jack Wagner Loved The Theatricality Of Becoming Eggplant
ScreenRant: You were so phenomenal as Eggplant. Everybody loved you. What was it like to become him?
Jack Wagner: Well, it was, I’d say, probably a lot of fun and also very challenging because it was a big costume, right? It was a bit cumbersome, but, still, the songs I got to sing and the energy of the show and the whole theatricality of it was fantastic.
ScreenRant: I loved seeing you dance in the costume too.
Jack: Did I dance? I thought I was dancing, but when I actually saw it, it looked like I was just kind of like wobbling around a little bit.
ScreenRant: Well, whatever it was, it was a lot of fun.
Jack: Thank you.
Jack Was Flattered To Be Asked To Join The Masked Singer
ScreenRant: Why did you decide to do The Masked Singer?
Jack: Well, I was flattered to be asked. It’s a wheelhouse for me in terms of singing and dancing and performing. So, yeah, I was grateful to be asked and really excited to do it.
Masked Singer’s Heidi Montag reveals an injury she sustained as Snow Cone that would’ve forced her to leave the competition if she wasn’t eliminated.
Jack Enjoyed Being Back On Stage For The Masked Singer
ScreenRant: You’ve performed live in concert, on Broadway in the very challenging role of Jekyll and Hyde, and you were on Dancing with the Stars. How did those experiences compare with The Masked Singer?
Jack: Well, first of all, I think that my theatrical background was a big stump for the panel because my first clue was Broadway for them. So, they didn’t really piece that together with some of the clues. And then my next clue was “We Are the World,” so I think it was a stump for the panel because they couldn’t piece together the fact that I was with Quincy Jones on his label through the ’80s and had a number one record.
So, you know, they were comparing me to, I guess, Kenny Loggins and Daryl Hall and different characters, Nathan Lane. So I was in good company there. But it was great just to be theatrically back on stage and singing and moving around and doing some great tunes.
Jack Loved Being Present For “We Are The World”
ScreenRant: Speaking of “We Are The World,” can you tell me more about what that was like to be invited to witness that?
Jack: Sure. I actually was a presenter at the AMA Awards that night and gave Lionel Richie an award, and then went over to the session with Quincy. And I was able to hang out for about a half hour. All the artists started coming in. Michael Jackson did come up to me and say, “I just love your record. You have such a great voice.”
All that [from the Masked Singer clue package] was true. I think it was a great clue to have to sort of throw the panel off. But that experience was, for me, at the time … to be on General Hospital, and to be a recording artist was … I don’t know, you can’t really compare it to anything else in my career in terms of … I was so young and so ambitious and so in the middle of it. To look back on it now, I was just … it was just kind of like one of those things that was just happening, you know? It was just happening, and I was part of it, and it was just so cool.
Jack’s Favorite Performance Was “Rocket Man”
ScreenRant: You sang some incredible songs on the show, including “Rocket Man,” “American Woman,” “One Step Closer,” even “Iron Man” in the Ozzfest Royale. How did you choose those songs?
Jack: Well, it was actually the show; it was a collaboration. When you start out as a contestant, they want a big background check on you. They do that in terms of what kind of music you grew up with, what kind of music you like, etc. So I went over all that.
So that’s how I think they came up with Elton John to begin with, which was just … to sing that song, for me? Forget about it. That was … first of all, to honor Elton John. I feel as though my vocal was pretty solid. I feel like I kind of nailed it. And to come out of the box with that song was awesome. I just loved it.
To see my performance, when I watched it, it was a cumbersome outfit. I felt I was doing a lot more than actually happened because it was a big round plastic eggplant. But the whole process was about picking songs. FOX had a lot to do with that ultimately. They kind of made the decisions. They made strong suggestions.
ScreenRant: I loved the “Rocketman” performance, especially the falsetto that you did. But what was your favorite performance?
Jack: Ah, God, I can’t get past “Rocket Man.” I mean, you do Lenny Kravitz, “American Woman.” I mean, that was a blast. But just “Rocket Man.” If I would have gotten through the next round, I was going to do Frank Sinatra’s [sings] Come Fly With Me. Come fly, let’s fly away.
That was my next song. I wanted to really do some Sinatra, but I would say “Rocket Man” was my definitely favorite.
Jack Thinks One Of His When Calls The Heart Co-Stars Would Be Perfect For The Masked Singer
ScreenRant: You’re on When Calls the Heart–one of my favorite shows, by the way. Which of your co-stars would you like to see do The Masked Singer next?
Jack: Oh, my gosh. We have so many singers up there. You know, Erin Krakow is a singer, Kevin McGarry, Pascal Hutton. You know, it would probably be great to see Erin do the show, right? Because she’s the star of our show. She’s very theatrical. She’s about ready to have a baby right now. So it’ll be a while.
But I’m glad you watch that show. It’s so great to be on the Hallmark Channel, and season 13’s airing right now on Sunday nights. So I hope you enjoy it. We’ve been picked up for season 14. So it’s just great.
Jack Shared His Future Plans
ScreenRant: What’s next for you moving forward after The Masked Singer, especially musically?
Jack: You know, musically, not a lot right now. I’ve stepped away from that. I’m not touring any longer. I had a franchise of movies on the Hallmark Channel called The Wedding March. So I was actively recording music and doing music for that franchise of movies. And that’s wrapped up. So I’ve kind of chilled out musically. Nothing’s on the burner right now. And I’m really focusing just on promoting When Calls the Heart and getting ready for season 14.
The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
Sources: The Masked Singer/YouTube, The Masked Singer/YouTube, The Masked Singer/YouTube, The Masked Singer USA Recap/YouTube, The Masked Singer/YouTube, The Masked Singer/YouTube