Jordan Mailata sang his ass off and probably shouldn’t have been revealed as Thingamabob on Wednesday night’s episode of FOX’s The Masked Singer. The Eagles’ offensive lineman made the transition from blocking defensive ends to singing “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi on national television.
Here’s Mailata in action:
Mailata made it one round farther than the “Ram” who was unveiled last week to be ESPN-bound commentator Joe Buck. The famous sportscaster only made it two shows before having to unmask. None of the singing competitions panelists correctly guessed Mailata’s identity, while special guest Eric Stonestreet believed Buck was inside the Ram costume alongside full-time panelist Robin Thicke.
Mailata impressed during his three performances, with wrong guesses including Jason Mamoa, J.J. Watt and Metallica lead singer James Hetfield. Wrong guesses for Buck included Matthew Stafford. It might’ve been too obvious for the Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl-winning quarterback to wear a costume that connected to his real-life job.
Buck didn’t hold back in showing off his personality during his performances of “I Want You To Want Me” by Cheap Trick and “Learn To Fly” by the Foo Fighters, belting with purpose and breaking out a dance move or two. It’s hard to convey that much emotion during a usual broadcast, as you’re commentating on other’s actions, but Buck had no problems with that. Stonestreet said the timbre of Buck’s speaking voice, modulated to sound completely different, is what gave away the longtime Fox Sports employee.
Mailata sang “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran and “Classic” by MKTO in the later rounds of his stay on the show. The 6-foot-8, 346-pound former rugby standout even pushed “Firefly,” thought to be professional singer Teyana Taylor vocally. “Firefly” advanced to the show’s season finale in several weeks, edging out Mailata, who would’ve been the first athlete to make a finale episode of the popular show. Buck and Mailata are two of four unmasked celebrities so far this season, with pastry chef and television personality Duff Goldman and Jorge Garcia, best known for his role in the TV show Lost. There are 10 more masked celebrities yet to compete this season.
Athletes with undiscovered vocal talents deserve a ton of credit, as Mailata outsang “Firefly” for much of the series for my money. Mailata and Buck join a long list of current and former athletes to compete on the show including Antonio Brown, Victor Oladipo, Rob Gronkowski, Chloe Kim and Caitlyn Jenner. Mailata ties Kim and former Cy Young winner Barry Zito for closest to winning the show. All three were one elimination away from reaching the finale.
Good on Mailata and Buck for having the guts to appear. Things could have gone terribly wrong in the spotlight, especially with rumors of Rudy Giuliani appearing as a contestant this season.
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