The Masked Singer‘s Paparazzo Had to Get Permission from His Girlfriend Before Singing This ‘Guilty Pleasure’ Song (Exclusive)
The newly unmasked star tells PEOPLE he chose a song that he loved to sing in the shower “back in the day”
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Paparazzo on The Masked Singer. Photo: Michael Becker/FOX
Warning: This story contains spoilers from the April 16 episode of The Masked Singer.
Paparazzo has been revealed — and he’s sharing why he had to ask his girlfriend for permission to sing one of his favorite “guilty pleasure” songs on the show!
On Wednesday, April 16, the final six celebrities hit the stage on The Masked Singer, where they not only sang their hearts out, they also had to answer rapid fire questions from panelists Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy, Rita Ora and Ken Jeong.
By the end of the episode, Paparazzo was unmasked and revealed to be none other than Boy Meets World alum Matthew Lawrence, leaving Pearl, Mad Scientist Monster, Nessy, Coral and Boogie Woogie as the final five.
Ahead of his unmasking, Lawrence, 45, spoke exclusively with PEOPLE about his experience on the show, including sharing how he ended up singing TLC’s “Unpretty” in his final episode of the season. The actor revealed that before he could perform the classic song, he had to ask his girlfriend Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas and her fellow TLC member Tionne Watkins for permission.
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Paparazzo performs on The Masked Singer.Michael Becker/FOX
“I had to ask them and get their approval,” Lawrence tells PEOPLE. “They had to give me approval, because Tionne, she wrote that song, so she had to give me personal [approval] and Fox approval. I had to go and ask her, I was like, ‘Hey, you know that song you wrote about feeling unpretty? Do you think I could sing that on The Masked Singer?’ “
Luckily, Watkins, 54, was just as supportive as Lawrence’s girlfriend of three years, Chilli, also 54. “They’re both — obviously Chilli in particular — they’re so amazing,” Lawrence gushes.
According to Lawrence, when he shared his love for “Unpretty” with the show’s producers, he never imagined he would actually end up singing it.
“They ask you a bunch of questions when you say you’re down to do the show, and they asked me what’s a guilty pleasure song you would sing in the shower?” Lawrence says, adding, “And this truly happened, and it’s so amazing how things work out, but when ‘Unpretty’ came out back in the day that was one of those guilty pleasure songs I would sing in the shower. So I put that down as a joke, and of course, they chose it.”
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Matthew Lawrence (left) and Chilli Thomas in 2023.Randy Shropshire/Getty
The ’90s heartthrob may have been joking when he added the 1999 hit to his list, but he gave it his all onstage, thanks in part to his inside help from his famous girlfriend. “She was so awesome, so supportive, she even gave me little critiques on how to sing it,” Lawrence shares of Chilli.
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Lawrence, who shares that he has long had a fear of singing in public due in part to a “one Broadway audition in particular,” also shared that he never imagined joining The Masked Singer before he got the call, despite his big brother Joey Lawrence appearing in season 8.
“I have a fear of singing on stage,” he confesses. “So seeing Joe do it? No, that only further re-instilled that I was not going to do it.”
Candace Cameron Bure Says She Starred in The Masked Singer as a Way to Honor Late Full House Costar Bob Saget
However, Lawrence is currently in his “yes” era and he saw the show as a chance to face his fears head on.
“I’m in a point in my life now where I’m not allowing fear to kind of enter into things,” he explains. “It’s also the season of yes, no no’s. So I really thought about it, and I was like, okay, you know what this is, this might just be an opportunity to get over a fear and I should take it.”
The risk paid off. Not only did Lawrence have a blast on the show, he also reveals he may have caught the singing bug.
He adds, “I wish I hadn’t allowed fear to dictate my singing life as much. Because yeah, now I do kind of get that bug … I’m definitely open now to receiving more opportunities to sing, for sure.”
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The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
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