• The fifth season of Mask Singer continues this Friday, April 28 at 21:10 on TF1.
  • This third episode of the program will be marked by the irruption of the first international star of the season in the guise of the Sun. She will succeed actresses Itziar Ituño (La Casa de Papel), Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives) and Tori Spelling (Beverly Hills 90210), actor David Hasselhoff (Malibu Alert) and singer Seal.
  • "All of a sudden, we're going to look for unlikely people," Jeff Panacloc told 20 Minutes, who tried to detect the identity of the star behind the scenes of the show.

"I have revised all my irregular verbs, bring it to me!" It's February 6 and surprises punctuate the studio invested by the teams of Mask Singer for several days. True to form, Camille Combal is in the starting blocks to welcome the first international star of season 5. Since the second edition of the TF1 program, five personalities from abroad have succeeded each other under a costume halfway between a character and a faceted ball.

Le Soleil opens the ball this year. If the identity of this celebrity has so far only been revealed to a limited number of people, 20 Minutes slipped behind the scenes of the show during the recording of the performance of this character who will be both unveiled, staged and unmasked in the space of an evening. A lightning passage that, if we believe the production, should remain in the memories.

Going incognito, a matter of season

"International stars are more recognizable than others," says Anthony Meunier to 20 Minutes, an hour before attending the performance of his new recruit. Since the arrival of Mask Singer on TF1, the producer becomes at the same time the coach, the advisor, the accompanist and sometimes even the friend of international stars who try the bet to tread the stage of the program incognito.

It is he who accompanies these rare guests in France and ensures that their identity is well guarded. If the show is usually shot during the summer, a period when many celebrities set foot on French soil during their holidays, its task is made more complex by the winter cold of this month of February. "It's rarer to see a foreign personality at the moment so we have to be even more careful," insists Anthony Meunier.

The usual "cooling room", where the secrets and therefore the celebrities of the show are kept, has turned into a "heating room", to use the names used by the production. It is only accessible to a privileged few. If we are greeted in the film studio by a string of colorful bracelets to wrap around our wrist, none gives access to this container whose door remains closed before the start of filming. Each phone that accesses the studio is wrapped in a sock sealed by a magnetic mechanism because the secrets of Mask Singer must be well kept.

"American-style work"

The show has already welcomed five personalities known beyond the French borders and mostly from the United States. Each appearance of an international star on screen is an opportunity for Anthony Meunier to meet a star. "We suspect Anthony of making them come just to spend the weekend with them," jokes Solène Le Goff, head of entertainment for the TF1 group. With Teri Hatcher, he remembers an "incredible worker", ready to do anything to offer the craziest performance hidden under the mask of the ladybug.

Since he has been at the bedside of these personalities, the producer has become aware of what the expression "working the American way" means. "It's not a cliché. They are very hardworking, very precise. Our Sun repeated until late at night yesterday. It is always millimeter performances but the work is done with great kindness. An artistic work with little onions, just like the costumes, prepared in advance but adjusted the same day on the body of the stars.

And if the casting of recurring personalities of the program works mainly via word-of-mouth, it also begins to take effect in English in the text. "An international star of this season told me that Teri Hatcher told him we were cool," says Anthony Meunier.

"We're going to look for unlikely people"

So who could hide behind the mask of the Sun? "Brad, George, Bruce, Bradley," says Michèle Bernier a few minutes from climbing the stairs that will take her to the jury table. "I loved Babylon so much that I'd go crazy if it was Margot Robbie," adds Elodie Frégé. The two new recruits are a little apprehensive about being next to the plate for this baptism of fire in the presence of a world celebrity.

If the investigation concerning recurring characters generally revolves around a limited number of French stars, "there all of a sudden, we will look for unlikely people," says Jeff Panacloc while Jean-Marc remained in the dressing room. If he attended the unmasking of David Hasselhoff and Tori Spelling the previous season, he ensures that every time an international celebrity steps on the set, "the field of possibilities widens because it can really be anyone". It does not take more to leave Camille Combal the hope of presenting the show next to Scarlett Johansson or Jennifer Lawrence without even knowing it.

"The Americans are more playful, it makes them less afraid" to appear under a mask and make tons, adds Jeff Panacloc.

A well-kept secret

While the jury takes leave for the last clothing and hair adjustments, the public is preparing to discover the first performances. The Husky and the Camel open the ball to warm up the crowd. In the room, the surprise is total since most of the people who populate the stands discover the costumes still in competition.

When the fateful moment arrives, Camille Combal no longer holds in place. The program teams are busy installing a huge throne decorated with hundreds of mirrors that reflect the lights of the studio. The time to put a huge sun on his shoulders, the international star makes his appearance from the mouth of the huge masks that decorate the stage. The shapes appearing under the costume betray a feminine look, but we know the adage that says not to trust appearances, especially in MaskSinger. After crossing the few steps that separate her from her seat during the broadcast of the clue magneto, the star is ready to radiate or rather roar in front of the audience. After the performance, the clues and the voice of the Sun put us on a track while the predictions diverge among the jury.

For the public but also for 20 Minutes, evacuated before the crucial stage of unmasking, it will be necessary to wait for the broadcast to know the identity of this international star. So have our doubts taken us on the right track? The suspense is coming to an end, nearly four months after filming.

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