The season 5 champ tells EW about joining the show with just four days' notice.
Warning: This article contains spoilers about Wednesday’s season 5 finale ofThe Masked Singer.
Plus, he announces a 98 Degrees comeback tour and new music.
Nick Lachey as Piglet on ‘The Masked Singer’.Michael Becker/FOX
What was the story there?
Would you want to do it?
It’s like in four days."
Nick Lachey.Paul Archuleta/Getty Images
[Laughs] So I said yes, and jumped right in.
So that worked out.
I’ve always wanted to do the show, so even a last minute call was a welcome one.
So I guess you probably had less leeway with your costume than the others did.
It was kind of meant to be.
It was seriously so cute.
I couldn’t get over the spinning hat.
It’s so ridiculous.
You just have to have the best time with it, you know what I mean?
That’s what I tried to do.
Yes, speaking of that, I had no idea you were such a hampardon the pun.
There’s no self-consciousness about it because you’re in a pig costume.
It’s just completely ridiculous.
And I credit Joey Fatone, I talked to him after he was the Rabbit in the first season.
So that’s what I tried to do.
So that was part of the appeal and part of the fun of it for me.
You talked a lot on the show about doing it for your kids.
Do they know you’re the Piglet yet?
Well, my kids don’t know that I won, but we watched the first episode together.
So I said, “Well, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
It’s been fun.
Anything you might do that your kids enjoy, at this point, that makes it worthwhile.
One of your performances that sticks out to me was your opera version of “Superstition.”
How did that come about?
So I went to a performing arts school, and we did some opera when I was in school.
It’s kind of cool, but I don’t know if we could do a whole song.
That might be too much."
What was your favorite performance of yours?
I think it’s probably the Lukas Graham song “7 Years.”
So I was thrilled to have the chance to perform it.
It’s a real honor to be able to do that.
It felt good to see emotion like that.
That’s the goal.
Has it sunk in that you won yet?
I mean, it’s so weird, because no one knows.
You know what I mean?
It’s such a different kind of show in that it’s totally anonymous.
I’ve really tried to go out there and better myself every week and hope for the best.
The person I heard the most was Black Swan, just like in soundcheck and stuff.
So you know, I knew from early on there was definitely some good competition on the show.
It’s hard to put into words because it’s such a unique experience.
I know you have some exciting news for 98 Degrees fans.
What can you tell me about that?
We’re doing a campaign this summer called 98 Days of Summer, which kicks off June 11.
And there’s also more new music coming as well.
I think we sound better than ever, and love the song we’re about to put out.
What surprised you the most about doingThe Masked Singer, and what did you personally take away from it?
I think what surprised me the most is how hard it was.
It’s just such a learning curve with that costume.
The first few times I got in it, I was just so frustrated because I couldn’t breathe.
I felt like I couldn’t sing.
And you kind of have to figure out a way to make it work.
I think that’s what I didn’t expect.
I didn’t expect it to be that hard.
It’s one of those unique experiences I’ll always have, and got to share with my kids.
So no regrets at all, I enjoyed every second.
