Medusa; Bishop Briggs.Photo: Michael Becker/FOX; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Bishop Briggs came back from near elimination to winThe Masked Singerseason 9 — and she doesn’t even consider herself a competitive person.
Briggs, who welcomed her first child last August, beat out Gargoyle (Keenan Allen) and Mantis (Lou Diamond Phillips) torejoin the competitionand as a result, gave more performances than any other contestant this season.
“I feel like I really gave my all and put so much of my personal life out there, so the fact that the emotion came across means so much to me,” the “River” crooner, born Sarah Grace McLaughlin, says.
The season 9 winner reflects on her journey, balancing pumping and performing, and the song her son surprisingly doesn’t like.
What made you want to go onThe Masked Singer?
I’ve been a fan of the show really since it began and I wanted to experience and lean into this idea that it’s about the emotion that you’re putting across. It’s about your vocal and it’s not about how you look. It’s really about making that connection with the people in front of you. That really drew me to the show.
Why the Medusa costume? In one of your clue packages, you said that it wouldn’t surprise your loved ones that you picked her.
Medusa is someone that I feel is really misunderstood and is someone that is multiple things at once. There are multiple different sides to Medusa. During the show, I was six months postpartum, so I was pumping and I was performing, and I really leaned on the Medusa costume to find that strength. That made a huge difference.
Medusa.Michael Becker/FOX
Have you had people reaching out to you guessing that you’re Medusa?
Yes, I have received text messages and it has been so difficult to not reply — not even with an emoji, which is especially difficult for me.
How did you pick which songs you performed and craft the unique arrangements?
The biggest thing that I wanted to make sure that I had with each song was, would I be proud if I left today? If this was the final performance that I did, would I feel as though I had given all my emotions, given my own take on whatever the song is? That was something that really motivated me with the song choice, and making sure that it would tell a part of my journey and show a chapter in my artist’s journey too.
Was there anything that you wanted to perform but didn’t?
Oh, I wish that there had been a Motown night. I would’ve loved to do that. Motown is really where I first got introduced to music, so I would’ve loved to have had more of those options.
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You do have some new music coming out — what can fans expect from that?
Has Medusa influenced you in any way that concertgoers will be seeing on stage?
Yes, yes, yes. Now that I can speak openly about this, I will be going to the grocery store with my snakes. I will be doing all that I can. This is such a cool experience that I got to be a part of. So if I could in any way put a few songs in my set, that would be incredible.
You talked on the show about sending a message of strength to your son. Did you show him this season ofThe Masked Singerat all?
If I sing it to him when he’s in the bath, he enjoys it. But there was something about the visual that was extremely shocking to him. But at the same time, if this was an adult that stood there, silent, drooling, without blinking, I would feel as though I had made an impact. So maybe I’m not giving him enough credit.
The judges didn’t bring up your name until the very end of the competition. What do you want viewers to know about you?
The most important takeaway that I’d want people to have is that they feel less alone and know thatwalking alongside your griefis not easy and you’re not alone in it. Even with my shows, that’s always something that I want to make sure that people leave feeling — as though we’re in it together.
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The Masked Singerseason 10 will premiere in the fall on Fox.
source: people.com
