Ice King Talks Being Frozen Out of 'Masked Singer': 'Everything Came Together at the Right Time'

SPOILER ALERT: This article features the name of the singer who was eliminated on Wednesday night's (November 20) episode The masked singer.

So far, its season 12 The masked singer has already seen the usual mix of athletes, singers, actors and media personalities sent home, including John Elway (Leaf Sheep), Yvette Nicole Brown (Snowbird), Paula Cole (Ship), Marsai Martin (Woodpecker), Andy Richter (Dust). Bunny), Laverne Cox (Chess Piece) and Natalie Imbruglia (Bluebell).

So the stakes were high on Wednesday night when the Group C singers kicked things off with a collaboration of Miley Cyrus' “Party in the USA,” with Ice King, Strawberry Shortcake, Royal Knight and Sherlock Hound stepping up together on stage after last week's elimination. their teammate Macaron (surfer Bethany Hamilton);

Last week, the week before Disguised Hanson contestants revealed in a package of clues that the Ice King had topped the charts around the world, sold out stadiums and been given the “royal treatment as if he were one of the Beatles”, before retiring from the limelight. That could have been anyone, so Wednesday night's package of clues gave the game away, with King noting that he can really relate to Miley, as they've both learned how the media can be “completely unusual.” and that this year is was part of a “storm” of the press.

This revelation was a prelude to Cyrus' impassioned cover by Ice King Plastic Hearts hit “Midnight Sky,” which she sang in the middle of a blizzard of fake snow. It followed last week's rip through Hot Chelle Rae's 2011 Billboard Hot 100 No. 7 hit.Tonight Tonight.”

Guessing from the judges was all over the place, with Robin Thicke praising the King's “rock” energy but not ending up with a Teen Choice Award winner to match, even as always Ken Jeong backed up his guess. from last week: Joe Jonas. Rita Ora has been linked to a possible former child star who's gone through it, Shia LaBeouf, although Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg vacillated between James Franco and the real man behind the mask: the three-time Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award winner Drake Bell.

The child actor who started his career in sitcom Home Improvement before becoming a Nickelodeon superstar The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh and The Fairly OddParents he also sang in Drake & Josh soundtrack and released his debut album, Telegraphin 2005. It followed the 2006 breakthrough It's Only Time and 2014 Ready Steady Go! and has since released two albums independently: 2020's The Lost album and this year's Non-stop flight.

Earlier this year, Bell, 38, revealed to Quiet on the set: The Dark Side of Kids TV documentary that during his time at Nickelodeon, his dialogue coach, Brian Peck, had repeatedly sexually assaulted him starting when Bell was 15 years old. Peck was arrested in 2003 and convicted of lewd conduct with a minor.

Bulletin board spoke with Bell ahead of Wednesday night's elimination episode and found out why he loved his costume, how TikTok sleuths blew his mind, and what his next season could look like.

What did it make you want to do? Masked singer this season? Are you a fan of the show?

Completely. What's interesting is that I had the opportunity to do it Masked singer in Mexico [last year]so I had experience going in. I was the Baby Alien [holds adorable stuffed Baby Alien doll up to the camera] and I'm on tour doing meet-and-greets and a fan made me this stuffed animal.

You have a young son at home. Has he seen you on the show?

He's a little too young. … I don't think he would tell any of his friends, but I had to keep it a secret. I hope he can watch it tonight and when I pop my head out he's like, “Wait, what? Was that Dada?'

Every contestant complains about how hot and uncomfortable the costumes are. Tell me about the Ice King outfit. Why did he talk to you?

The costume designers did me so well because my costume was so easy to move into. But not that of Mexico. it was a really hot suit. Every 15 minutes I would ask for a fan or take the head off. But this was awesome and it was so light and easy to move around. I just saw it, seeing this big character, the King and his big mustache and cape… [I thought] “There will be so much to play for.” I got completely lost in the character.

You really seemed to nail it with the song Hot Chelle Rae. What inspired you to choose this? It seems a little out of your usual vibe.

It's totally out of my wheelhouse, but totally a guilty pleasure song. It's cool because when I'm in the suit, I'm not sure what people will think. It allows you to lose yourself and get into character and sing songs you wouldn't normally sing.

The package hinted that you and Miley both understood the hardships of growing up in Hollywood, so why Midnight Sky?

I think honestly just the vibe of the song. I love old music, from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and it had a real vintage feel to it. As soon as I heard it, I thought, “This has to be it.” It was the closest thing to what I care about.

You've done movies, TV, albums, video games, but this is your first competition show. What was your goal? Did you want to win?

First of all, it's just plain fun. This was a chance to have fun and really let you play the game. You always think it's smoke and mirrors and it's all Hollywood and the contestants know who the other contestants are. But it's a secret and we really have no idea who anyone else is. When you leave the hotel, you're completely covered, with gloves and everything. You look at how high they are and try to hear their performance, but you can hear the singer right in front of you. You don't eat lunch together or rehearse together… so you play the game together.

Did anyone in your life immediately know that it was you under that suit?

I didn't think anyone would ever guess or recognize my voice, but I was looking at a clip on TikTok and in the comments section every comment was, “Oh, that's Drake Bell.” They were like, 'That's Drake because when he's singing on stage without a guitar, if you look at a picture, his hands are like that and you look at Ice King and his hands are like that too.' The first night they guessed it was me? I thought I would be the furthest thing from anyone's mind.

Was there anything about being a masked man that you liked as someone who spent so much time with his face in the spotlight? Was there a comfort in that?

There's an absolute comfort, like when I'm doing vocal work on The ultimate Spider-Man. Like when you do fight scenes, you move your face in a way to make the sounds come out and if you were on camera you wouldn't make those faces because you'd be worried about how you look. But if you get the right voice behind the mask, you're not worried about someone saying, “Wow, Drake Bell can't dance.” Or “Why is Drake Bell singing this song?”

It's obviously been a hectic, intense year for you as you've returned to the limelight. You feel like Masked singer is it a chance to get a “second chance” in hollywood?

I certainly feel that way. To be able to do something so fun and music-driven now that I've just released a new album and I'm on tour now — life works in mysterious ways, but it all came together at the right time. As I'm launching the new record and reintroducing myself to the world, that's a really cool thing.

You mentioned you dropped it Non-stop flight album earlier this year. Should we expect more music from you soon?

The album is long, 25 songs, and it's a total concept album that sounds like you're on a plane flight with announcements from the flight attendants and the captain. It's a journey through my life and the most autobiographical, self-reflective album I've released. … Songs about the past, the present, the future, the good, the bad, the ugly, the ups and downs. It took four years to complete, and every time I thought I was done, I'd write another song and something would happen. I'd also like to get back on screen and now I'm really focused on the work I'm doing with a production company and I'm looking to get more into writing and directing and producing and hopefully going the other way [of the camera].