The Masked Singer, Season 12, Episode 11, aired on December 11, 2024, on Fox. The recently released episode revealed Strawberry Shortcake's identity: songwriter and singer AJ Michalka. The singer was eliminated and sent home.
In her December 11, 2024, interview with Variety, The Masked Singer star AJ Michalka opened up about how she wanted to challenge herself. The singer also mentioned her difficulties while singing from the mask. She also discussed feeling like a "challenge" and "excitement" as her sister was not with her on stage.
"The challenge and the excitement came from knowing that I had never really performed on stage without my sister. I wanted to challenge myself as a solo artist and see how far I could get. And I had a blast. I didn’t realize it would be that hard to sing under a mask that heavy, but I did it, and I’m really proud of myself."
The Masked Singer star AJ Michalka opened up about singing under the mask and more
Strawberry Shortcake, aka AJ Michalka's final performance, was Selena Gomez's Love You To Love Me on the reality show. Talking about the freedom to choose her songs, The Masked Singer star told Variety in her recent interview:
"I loved that I was able to choose my own songs. Knowing that I felt really comfortable with the material I was choosing, that made me really happy."
She also recalled her favorite performance, I Hope You Dance, dedicated to her mother.
AJ revealed her mother was an "incredible" singer, but she stopped singing because she struggled with "self-confidence." Hence, as a message to her mother, AJ performed the song and tried to get her mother "out there to sing."
Additional songs performed by Strawberry Shortcake on The Masked Singer were:
- Slow Burn by Kacey Musgraves,
- Wrecking Ball by by Miley Cyrus,
- I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack, and
- Closer by Tegan and Sara.
AJ also revealed that she had two more songs ready, as she had been preparing for them but hasn't gotten a chance to perform them. They were Billie Eilish's What Was I Made For and Liz Phair's Why Can't I?
Sharing more about how she originally planned to participate in the show with her sister, Aly, AJ Michalka shared:
"Initially, we were supposed to do it together, and we were like, this would be really fun to do as a team. But it was going to be really tricky to schedule. So I ended up doing it on my own. And she fully supported it."
Fans witnessed how none of the panelists on the reality show could correctly guess the Strawberry Shortcake's real identity.
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Fans can stream The Masked Singer Season 12 on Fox.
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