‘Masked Singer’ Winner Ne-Yo Reveals Inspiration Behind Sultry Cow Costume

With Season 10 of The Masked Singer ending on Wednesday, the celebrity hiding underneath the busty cow costume was revealed as three-time Grammy Award winner Ne-Yo. While performing songs like “Rhythm Nation” and “Take a Bow”, the singer outshined his fellow contestants who happened to be Janel Parrish, John Schneider, and Macy Gray. Besides sharing his excitement about his win, the performer discussed what it was like being on the show, his friendship with judges Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke, and why he decided to take the stage as a cow with a figure. 

Although enjoying his time on The Masked Singer, Ne-Yo wanted to win, and that came with plenty of challenges thanks to his friendships with the judges and even host Nick Cannon. The singer told PEOPLE he was adamant about taking the necessary precautions when keeping his identity a secret. And it started with his songs. “We picked songs that were slightly outside of my wheelhouse, songs that you wouldn’t regularly expect to hear me singing. I was very, very adamant about, ‘Listen guys, I do not want to get discovered quickly. Let’s figure out ways to throw them off.’” 

[Why Watch Ne-Yo When You Can See Him Perform Live]

Admitting that the producers approached him with two different costumes—one being a female cow and the other a male cow, Ne-Yo instantly picked the female. And his reasoning, “It gave me the opportunity to step outside my wheelhouse a little bit. As a male cow, I could probably still dance like me. I’m definitely going to sound like me. And I was like, yeah, I’ll get caught quick like that. But as a female cow, I got huge breasts and hips and the whole nine, so I can’t move the way NE-YO would normally move.”

[RELATED: 5 Songs You Didn’t Know Ne-Yo Wrote for Other Artists]

The People Who Knew Ne-Yo From The Start

Growing up in a household “full of women”, Ne-Yo found it easy to master those “female mannerisms.” While loving his time as the cow, he did reveal the challenges that came with it. “She’s a busty girl, so I got on this huge bra full of padding. I got padded hips. But it actually helped because I couldn’t dance the way I would normally dance. And it was very, very hot, super hot. They were on standby with fans the whole time. And I couldn’t see almost at all.”

While the judges found it difficult to pinpoint the singer under the “padding”, Ne-Yo joked that his family instantly knew. “My mom and my kids figured it out right away from the first performance.” 

For those who might have missed The Masked Singer season 10, the entire season can be streamed on Hulu. 

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(Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for ABA)